HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1937
PAGE SEVEN
Virgil Cowdrey, son Lyle Cow
drey, Orrin Furlong and sister, Miss
Ruth Furlong, and Jim Farley, Jr.,
returned home last night from a
week's visit in Portland where they
took in fleet week activities and vis
ited Don Cowdrey, son of Virgil and
brother of Lyle, who was with Un
cle Sam's marines. Don took them
from hull to turret on the Louisville,
the ship to which lie is assigned.
The party also saw the boat races
on the Willamette, which proved
thrilling. Don left yesterday with
his ship, headed for Long Beach.
Raymond H. Turner, manager of
Lexington Oil Co-op, was a business
visitor in the city Tuesday morn
ing. He had just returned home from
the veterans hospital at Walla Wal
la where he underwent treatment
for arthritis for two weeks, and felt
considerably improved in health.
Mrs. Tom Howell and sister, Mrs.
Zephal Harrison of Top, left for
Eugene Saturday in response to
word that their mother, Mrs. Martin
Stewart, was in a hospital there in
a critical condition as the result of
injuries received in an automobile
accident.
Report was carried in the Walla
Walla Bulletin this week that a mar
riage license was issued in that city
Saturday to W. E. Francis and Rose
French of this county. Mr. Francis
is state policeman in charge of game
protective work in this section.
For Sale 1 49 x 40 Gorden dra
per; 1 15 x 40 Gorden spout draper;
1 39 x 36 Morrison double edge dra
per; sections, rivets, draper and
feeder sticks at sale prices. Beach
Equipment Co., Lexington.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Akers were
transacting business in the city yes
terday from the Eight Mile farm.
Harvest in that section will be
starting the first of next week.
Mr. and Mrs. Guy Huston and
Tuesday morning from the farm in
Tuesday morning from hte farm in
Eight Mile. Harvest in their section
will be starting next week.
Miss Leta Humphreys is spending
the week in Portland attending
Buyers Week, and expected to go
on to Eugene for a visit before re
turning home.
Mrs. George Stephens and son
Buddy arrived yesterday at the home
of Mrs. Stephens' sister, Mrs. Earl
Gordon, for a few days' visit.
Mrs. Alice E. Gaily of Enterprise
arrived in the city Monday and will
visit until Saturday at the home of
her son, Hubert Gaily.
Mrs. Harlan Devin and two chil
dren are visiting this week from
Condon at the home of her sister,
Mrs. Andrew Baldwin.
D. N. McKay, Condon mayor, and
Alex Currie, Gilliam county assess
or, were in the city Friday on bus
iness. Mrs. Raymond M. Rice left last
Friday for Seaside to spend two
weeks' vacation at the seashore.
Charles Klinger, north Lexington
wheat raiser, was a business vis
itor in the city this morning.
H. O. Ely was transacting busi
ness in the city a short time Tues
day morning from lone.
Mrs. George Krebs was a Heppner
visitor Monday morning from the
. farm at Cecil.
For Sale 2- and 3-lb. friers, de
livered. Phone 3F6, Clarence Biddle.
Legion Auxiliary food sale, Sat
urday, July 31, Hughes' store, 11 a.m.
Good Jersey cow for sale. Jason
Biddle, lone. 21
Safety Leaders
Offer Pledge
"I will drive carefully at all times,
kepeing hands on wheel, eyes on
road, mind on driving. I will learn,
respect and obey the safety rules."
Striving to stem the flux of traffic
disaster scourging Oregon, thus will
mm.
every motorist in the state be given
an opportunity to allie himself with
Oregon's crusade against death.
The mitorist's "White Cross Safe
ty Pledge" bearing the signature of
the car's operator, is contained on a
small, red, white and blue sticker to
be attached in the lower right-hand
corner of the windshield. It will sig
nify the driver's sincere intention
to drive safely.
The pledge is sponsored by the
Oregon State Motor association and
other safety leaders as a part of the
traffic safety program of educa
tion, engineering and enforcement.
Motorists will be asked to sign the
pledge only with the understanding
that they will accept, as the pledge
outlines, their clear-cut duty to cin
serve life and prevent suffering and
injury with every means in their
power, the safety leaders aver.
Three out of five fatal vehicular
accidents are caused by some neg
ligence of the man behind the wheel,
the motor association points out.
To motorists desiring to lend their
support to the battle against this
needless toll, the pledge will be
available throughout the state at
offices of the motor club. Here it can
be obtained at the office of this
newspaper and any official appoint
ment of theOregon State Motor as
sociation. The support of every owner regis
tering his car with the secretary of
state will, be requested. Through the
copoeration of. James H. Cassell,
president of the Oregon Automobile
Dealers, purchasers of new or used
cars will be given a chance to take
the pledge of safe driving.
Crops Near Average
As Prices Hold Steady
Near average crop prospects, with
food crops somewhat more promis
ing than feed crops, is the general
agricultural situation in the United
States to mid-July as indicated by a
report just released by the O. S. C.
extension service. Considering the
somewhat reduced numbers of live
stock, the feed supply is expected to
be about adequate in the country as
a whole.
Despite some improvement in crop
prospects compared with a month
ago, the general farm price level in
the whole country and in Oregon
appears not to have continued dur
ing the past few weeks the decline
which was apparent during April
and May. Farm prices are generally
considered higher than a year ago,
being supported by substantially
higher consumer purchasing power.
The decline in the general level of
farm prices during April and May,
without a similar decline in farm
costs, resulted in a decline in the
index of farm purchasing power of
approximately 8 per cent since Jan
uary, as measured by the ratio be
tween prices farmers receive for
farm products and the prices they
pay for commodities used in pro
duction and living. The June index
of purchasing power of farm prod
ucts stood at 93 per cent of the pre
war average, compared with 101 at
the high point in January, 1937.
The report, which is available from
county agricultural agents, contains
much detailed information on farm
prices and market outlook for nu
merous commodities, including
wheat and rye, corn, oats and barley,
potatoes, truck crops, fruits, nuts,
hops, flax, hay, pastures, hogs, milk
and eggs and chickens.
4-H CLUBBERS MEET
4-H club members of Heppner
met in the club rooms at the fair
pavilion yesterday. A picnic to be
held at Miss Moyer's in August was
discussed. Demonstration and ex
hibits to be given at the fair were
also discussed. A demonstration of
blac manage was given by Claudine
Drake and Peggy Tamblyn. Work
assignments for the next week were
handed out by Miss Moyer. Refresh
ments were served.
DIVORCE FILED
Emma Bellenbrock filed suit for
divorce in circuit court this week
against Delbert Bellenbrock, with J.
0. Turner as attorney.
Schools Cut Debt
While Plants Go
Backward, Auditor
Consolidation Here
Though Unnecessary
Work Goes On, Said
Though the current financial con
dition of the 41 school districts in
Morrow county shows a net im
provement of $11,732.73, C. R. Ham,
auditor, reports a lamentable de
crease in expenditures for school
supplies and building repairs. In his
report, made this week on comple
tion of audit of all the districts'
books, Ham says:
"I wish to point out a few of the
conditions revealed here: At the bot
tom of the Schedule of Warrants and
Bonds Outstanding it may be seen
that the total indebtedness de
creased $24,764.20, but at the same
time the cash on hand decreased also
a total of $13,031.47, which results in
a net improvement in the current
financial condition of $11,732.73.
"I am inclined to think, however,
that this 'improvement," so called,
is somewhat misleading, in that it
doesn't tell the whole story. That is,
when we scan the clerks' reports of
most of the operating districts, one
of the most striking facts noticed is
the small amount spent in a year's
time for teaching supplies such as
maps, magazines, writing materials,
book, chalk, etc., and also the mea
ger expenditures for repairs and
improvements of buildings and
equipment. After years of depres
sion we should expect to see all
buildings and equipment recondi
tioned. A conclusion is easy to draw,
therefore, that most districts would
do better to lay in a good stock of
teaching supplies, books, paint, fur
niture and other needed equipment,
which is certainly the purpose of
the funds made available to the
boards."
A definite trend toward consoli
dation of districts, in fact' if not in
name, is indicated by the Pullman,
Wash., auditor, as he continues:
"The decrease of population in the
country in the past several years,
and I understand also the decrease
in the size of the families, have
brought a serious problem of edu
cation to Morrow county. For ex
ample, one district, which I think
is typical, was a district of 30 pupils
(including the present clerk) but at
present there are only six. Another
district used to maintain a school
of 27 children. When transportation
to Lexington was started there were
17 on the bus; now only one or two.
At the same time, the Heppner, Lex
ington and lone districts, which ac
commodate 18 of these non-operating
districts, charge only approxi
mately one-third or one-half of cost
as tuition: Excluding Debt Service
and transportation cost and the new
heating plant at lone, total educa
tion costs were about as follows: At
Heppner, $25,763 for 226 pupils or
an average of $114 per year; at Lex
ington, $11,142 for 74 pupils, or $150
each; and at lone, $11,945 for 85 pu
pils, or $140 each; these costs should
be compared with the tuition rates
charged to account for he state
ment by one clerk that it is cheaper
NOT to consolidate. Tuition rates
should be at least as much as the
average education cost.
"A fact, realized by no one except
the county school superintendent,
is that, excluding one district on the
eastern boundary, an area approxi
mately twenty miles wide from north
to south stretches across Morrow
county from the eastern border
northwest to within ten miles of the
western border with only three
schools in session during the school
term, which are those at Heppner,
Lexington and lone.
"That is, 22 fully organized dis
tricts are now, from the standpoint
of educating their children, prac
tically consolidated into three oper
ating districts. But 19 of those dis
tricts, although having closed their
schools, probably- never to be re
opened, must continue to pay their
clerks their salaries, to furnish the
county superintendent with bonds
for $2,000 each for those clerks, to
have (required by law) those clerks' I
records audited annually, and to
pay the various other clerks' ex
penses, mileage, stationery, etc. Last
year those expenses for 19 districts,
that could apparently be eliminated
for all practical purposes, amounted
to $831.10, as will be seen in the fol
lowing schedule: (The schedule
enumerates clerk's salary, varying
from $10 to $50; clerk's bond, $10
for each district; auditing fee, $3 in
all except two where it was $4, and
miscellaneous expenses varying from
$1 to $12.50, in districts 2, 3, 8, 9, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 32, 34, 37, 38, 41,
48, 50, 53.)
"Now those 19 clerks perform cer
tain apparent functions, of course,
but these services are doubtful be
cause the transactions being largely
inter-district and duplicating in na
ture may all be transferred to the
clerks of the three operating districts
without incurring extra burdens on
them. Moreover, if these 19 districts
should consotydate with the three
operating districts they would ac
quire an equity in the three modern
plants and equipment which already
they are using by paying tuition.
"The transactions of the 19 dis
tricts include the following items:
Paying tuition, receiving compensa
tion from the three districts for
transporting a few high school pu
pils in their busses, paying trans
portation expenses, and, of course,
paying their own salaries, bonds, in
surance on the closed school houses,
etc., out of school funds received.
District 8 pupils attended outside the
county; District 37 paid three years
tuition in advance; District 48 had
no pupil at,all; District 53 sold its
school house to the highest bidder
JOHN DEERE FIELD AND
Orchard Cultivator
A real seed-bed maker
. . . a sure-fire weed de
stroyer ... an orchard
and alfalfa cultivator . . .
a general purpose tillage
machine that tills the soil
as it kills the weeds
that's the John Deere
Model "CC" Field and
Orchard Cultivator.
It will pay you to come
in- -learn all about this
general-purpose cultivator.
PULL IT WITH A
CATERPILLAR
Morrow County's Own Store
BRADEN-BELL
Tractor S Equipment Co.
for $135. The pupils in the 19 non
operating districts totalled 105, run
ning from none to 11 per district or
on an average of 6; and for the 105
pupils an average of $8 apiece was
paid for the money -protecting items
scheduled above. Inter-district re
ceipts and payments are set forth in
the following schedule: (In the table
are listed the inter-district trans
actions for the 19 districts, before
listed, totalling $6,925.94.)
"This condition is increasing each
year as is shown below:
"For the school year 1932-33, these
inter-district transactions amounted
to $3,034.03; no schedule for 1933-34;
1934-35,, $4,195.58; 1935-36, $4,501.71;
1936-37, $6,925.94.
"The trend is apparently perma
nent. The causes are better roads
and busses and automobiles and
what is indicated in one farmer-director's
following statement: "The
big moneyed men,' he explained, 'are
buying up and combining the farms;
one I know has 6,000 acres; I used
to farm several places, but all those
I used to rent have been bought up
by big interests, so I only farm my
home place now! and when they of
fer me enough for that they can have
that, too'." ,
CHANGE OVER TODAY
J. R. Farrington, district manager
Pacific Telephone & Telegraph com
pany from The Dalles, was in the
city today superintending the switch
over of Lexington telephones to re
mote control through the local cen
tral office. t
F. B. Nickerson and Ambrose Cha
pin left the end of the week for a
fishing trip to central Oregon lakes.
li
"CC" Features:
k furnished with stiff or
spring teeth.
k Shovel equipment for all
conditions.
ir Wheeli are Imide frame
you can get close to trees,
fences, ditches.
1( Horse or tractor hitch.
Tractor outfit has power
lift and depth regulator.
Available in S-, 6-11-, -, 10-,
U-1I-, and 14-11-foot slses.
V )