OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLIC A 'J D I T ? I .
P r p r
Volume 54, Number 11
F. & S. Bank's Good
Liquidation
Taxes Law's Scope
Shareholders' Right
to Interest on As
sessments to be Tried
The exceptionally good liquidation
of Farmers and Stockgrowers Na
tional bank of Heppner has appar
ently been responsible for raising
an extra-legal point which may soon
be decided in the United States dis
trict court, reports J. L. Gault, re
ceiver. The point to be determined thru
suit instituted by those share-holders
of the bank who paid the stock
assessment made by the comptroller
of the currency in 1933, is whether
these shareholders shall receive in
terest on the extra assessment money
for the time it was tied up in the
liquidation proceedings.
The bank had paid depositors in
full plus the legal rate of interest
for the time their money was not
available, and Mr. Gault recom
mended full repayment of assess
ments to shareholders plus interest
at the legal rate, asking confirma
tion from Washington, D. C. His pro
ceedings at that time were said to be
correct. In the meantime, however,
the receiver had been notified that
as a "100 percent" bank Farmers
and Stockgrowers was required to
submit income tax reports covering
the period of the bank's liquidation,
and if it were determined that the
bank was not subject to any tax, to
secure clearance to that effect be
fore making his final recommenda
tion for distribution to shareholders.
After considerable correspondence
and delay such clearance was re
ceived. Then Mr. Gault recommend
ed that shareholders be reimbursed
for all assessments paid, plus in
terest thereon, with a further sug
gestion that an additional dividend
to the shareholders of 3 percent be
paid on the bank's original $50,000
capitalization.
Between the times of Mr. Gault's
two recommendations the comptrol
ler of the currency apparently met
with some situation that caused a
change in viewpoint, as his office has
now instructed Mr. Gault to advise
those shareholders who paid assess
ments in full or in part that the
comptroller and receiver propose to
pay only the principal contributed to
the double liability and that the dis
tribution of available cash will be
made upon such basis unless, after
they are so notified, they promptly
institute suit in the federal courts to
avoid such basis of distribution.
Thus, contributing shareholders,
believing they are entitled to inter
est upon their payments, will imme
diately file suit so that the matter
may be quickly determined. The
outcome will be watched with con
siderable interest, Mr. Gault be
lieves, as apparently a decision is de
sired upon a point not covered by
law or definitely passed upon by the
courts.
IONE WINNERS NAMED
Poppy poster contest winners in
the upper division in the lone school
were Marianne Corley first. Patricia
Emert second and Lucille Reno third.
Each was awarded a prize. The di
vision included high school fresh
men and seventh and eighth graders.
SPORTSMEN TO MEET
A meetng of Morrow County
Hunters and Anglers club is called
by Thos. J. Wells, vice-president,
for next Thursday evening at the
Elks club. A successor to President
Jack Parsons, resigned, will be elect
ed. CLINICS POSTPONED
Dr. R. M. Rice, county health of
ficer, announces that the infant and
pre-school health clinics originally
scheduled will not be held due to
prevalence of scarlet fever at this
time.
Heppner,
SCARLET FEVER
WARNING ISSUED
County Health Association
Gives Advice; Community
Workers Named at Luncheon
Due to known cases of scarlet fe
ver and those feared to be unreport
ed, Morrow County Public Health
association has issued a warning to
parents to keep their children out of
crowds and to watch for symptoms
of the disease.
Scarlet fever is now prevalent over
the state, and in its March bulletin
the state board of health called at
tention to its dangers. The after ef
fects are frequent and serious and
may include not only rheumatism
but heart disease and that dangerous
disease of the kidneys, nephritis.
Officers of the county asosciation
met at dinner at the hotel Tuesday
evening to discuss policies and also
named chairmen of community com
mittees. Dr. A. D. McMurdo was
named chairman of the medical com
mittee for the association.
Dr. R. M. Rice is county health
officer who should be notified of any
cases of contagious disease.
Boost Rodeo at
Cattlemen's Meet
The coming Heppner Rodeo was
given recognition at the Oregon
Cattle and Horse Raisers associa
tion convention at Baker last Satur
day when Miss Maxine McCurdy
and Miss Harriet Hager of this city
rode horseback in the parade and
carried a Rodeo banner.
Henry Aiken, president, Harlan
McCurdy, director, and Mrs. Aiken
accompanied the girls to Baker, and
all return with reports of a very suc
cessful ' meeting. Hospitality of the
Baker people and cordiality toward
the Rodeo was outstanding, Mr.
Aiken said. Miss McCurdy and Miss
Hager were appropriately clad in
cowgirl attire and drew a hand all
along the line of parade spectators,
he commented.
Dates of the forthcoming Rodeo
are August 18-19-20.
Students Get Awards
At School closing
One member from each of the four
high school classes received a medal
for scholarship, and two high school
students were given citizenship
awards at high schol closing exer
cises last Friday afternoon.
Harriet Hager for the girls and
Paul McCarty for the boys received
the citizenship awards. Those re
ceiving class scholarship awards
were Ruth Green, senior; Betty
Happold, junior; Edna Stephens,
sophomore, and Laura Warfield,
freshman.
BOUNTY SYSTEM BEST
Foster Collins, Camas prairie res
ident who has drawn fire from a
recent statement quoted in this pa
per against the government trapper
system, still maintains the bounty
system on coyotes is more effective
and cheaper. In town yesterday, he
exhibited support for his belief in
the form of a letter from Jeff Mar
tin of Grants Pass, a 50-year trapper.
Mr. Martin said he had checked the
cost of killing coyotes in Josephine
county with hired trappers and
found it to be $28 per head. In Doug
las county good hunters cost $50
each and no one knows if they get
any, he said. He enclosed a clipping
of a letter from the Oregonian which
he wrote recently in contention that
a $3 per head bounty would not only
cut the cost but would result in get
ting a lot more of the predators; also
cut the cost of relief. Martin said,
"I am 71 years old and never been
on relief or pension."
B. P. W. CLUB ELECTS
Business and Professional Wom
ens club elected officers for the
coming year at their meeting Mon
day evening as follows: Rose Leib
brand, president; Mary White, vice
president; Lorena Wilson, secretary,
and Neva Neill, treasurer. Dinner
was held at Hotel Heppner.
Oregon, Thursday, May
L. Van Marter, Miss
Hager Honored at
Commencement
27 Graduates Get
Diplomas; Professor
Thompson Speaks
La Verne Van Marter and Harriet
Hager took high honors among the
27 high school graduates who re
ceived diplomas at commencement
exercises at the gym-auditorium
last Friday evening. Van Marter won
the Norton Winnard memorial cup.
Miss Hager won a place on the class
honor plaque.
J. G. Barratt, member of the class
of '18 who sponsor the Norton Win
nard cup, presented it to Van Marter
with due recognition of the high rat
ing in leadership, character, coop
ativeness, activities and scholarship
which possession of the cup implies.
Robert Knox, high school principal
made the award to Miss Hager.
Charmingly presented on a stage
set with spring flowers the class was
inspired to further heights in accom
plishment in the commencement ad
dress delivered by R. Franklin
Thompson of Willamette university.
Presentation of the class was made
by Alden Blankenship, superintend
ent, and diplomas were received from
Spencer Crawford, chairman of the
school board.
The class was seated to strains of
the processional, "Coronation
March," Meyerbeer, played by Dor
othy Howell, who gave as prelude,
"Thine Own," by Lange. Rev. R. C.
Young pronounced invocation, Har
riet Hager and Jack Merrill sang
"By the Waters of - Minnetonka,"
Lieurance, in duet, and ' a quartet,
Jack Merrill, Donald Bennett, La
Verne Van Marter and Jackson Gil
liam, sang "Sylvia," by Oley Speaks.
Members of the class are :
Hazel Adkins Jack Healy
Bertha Akers f James Healy
Florence Becket Emmett Kenny
Bill Browning Evelyn Kirk
Margaret Browning Vernon Knowles
Marvin Caaebeer Paul McCarty
Gladys Casebeer Maxine McCurdy
Daniel Chinn Norma McFerrin
Rose Cunningham Irena McFerrin
Robert Davidson Scott McMurdo
Jackson Gilliam Arlene Morton
Ruth Green LaVerne Van Marter
Harriet Hager Clayton Wright
John Hays
Car Breaker Gets
Term at Reformatory
Ivan David Ryan, 16, CCC en
rollee at Camp Heppner, was sen
tenced to the state reformatory by
County Judge Johnson Tuesday up
on conviction of petty larceny. Ryan
was apprehended as the culprit who
broke into cars belonging to Roy
Johnson and Arnold Sprauer at Lex
ington Saturday night. His appre
hension resulted from the . good
sleuth work of Sheriff Bauman and
State Policeman Sauter, who, with
the boy's fingerprints to start with,
singled him out from a group who
were in Lexington to attend the
dance.
Ryan was at first convicted in jus
tice court when he gave his age as
18. He later admitted that he was
only 16, which required action in
juvenile court. Hisome is at Port
land. SHOWERS GIVEN
Mrs. Raymond Huddleston, nee
Jeanette Turner, was honoree at two
showers this week tendered by
friends preceding her early depart
ure to join her husband at Valdez,
Alaska. Miss Mary White and Vir
ginia Dix sponsored a bathroom
shower at the Dix home Saturday af
ternoon, and her cousin, Mrs. James
Valentine, was sponsor for the sec
ond at her country home.
FFA BUILDING LET
Contract for construction of an
FFA shop at the school was let by
the board this week to T. Babb, con
tractor, for $2150. The building, of
wood and stucco with concrete base,
will be located at the northeast cor
ner of the school grounds.
26, 1938
Everybody May Know
How at Least One
Man Voted in County
A weakness in the Australian
ballot system was revealed at the
election in Morrow county last
Friday, for with all the precau
tions of the system in keeping the
ballot secret everybody may know
how one man voted.
It so happens that Charles Mc
Elligot was the only democrat who
voted in Gooseberry precinct as
recorded by the poll books, and
tabulation of only one democratic
vote was given in the abstract.
Therefore, anyone who cared to
take the trouble could check on
Mr. McElligott's vote.
This paper has no intention of
putting Mr McElligott's vote on
the spot, but attention of the law
makers is called so they may cor
rect the flaw.
Wheat Meeting at
Walla Walla Called
A meeting of representative grain
growers of the states of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho will be held
in the Grand hotel at Walla Walla
on Friday, May 27, at 12 noon, ac
cording to George N. Peck, president
of Eastern Oregon Wheat league.
The Walla Walla meeting is really
a follow-up of the meeting at Ar
lington on May 19 at which some 100
or more wheat growers from the
Columbia basin met with George E.
Farrell to discuss the wheat outlook
situation.
The Oregon growers at the Arling
ton meeting were strongly of the
opinion that congress should make
money available for price adjust
ment payments to cooperators so
that the loans already authorized for
wheat might be low enough to en
courage exports but that the total
price received by cooperators un
der the farm program might be
larg enough to pay cost of produc
tion and avoid the repetition of the
serious price situation of 1932, said
Mr. Peck. It is hoped by the wheat
league that the Walla Walla meet
ing will result in unified action by
Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
First Tanker of
Boat Gas Comes Here
The first railroad tank car of gas
oline loaded out of The Dalles from
the first boat tanker, which arrived
there last Friday evening, was re
ceived by Ferguson Motor com
pany, Shell distributors, yesterday.
The boat load of gas containing
300,000 gallons was the first such
cargo making its way through Bon
neville locks to The Dalles. A cele
bration in honor of its coming was
attended by Mr. and Mrs. E. O Fer
guson and Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Turner
from here. Mr. Ferguson said stor
age facilities for more than a million
gallons of gasoline have been in
stalled at the port of The Dalles. It
just so happened that the local com
pany's order was timed just right
for it to receive the first tank car
loaded out of the boat cargo. Having
already effected a half-cent a gallon
saving on freight between Portland
and Heppner, the service from The
Dalles will also speed up delivery to
interior points, Mr. Ferguson said.
Valuable Cows Killed
When Hit by Auto
Two of Wightman Bros.' purebred
Guernsey cows were, killed and sev
eral others were injured when they
were struck by a pick-up driven by
Don Pointer of Lexington at the
highway crossing at the Wightman
ranch three miles below Heppner
last Friday morning. Mr. Wightman
valued the two cows slain at more
than $600.
Pointer had a load of eight young
sters in the pick-up on their way to
a picnic, and all occupants of the
pick-up escaped injury. Pointer
failed to see the stock in time to
avert hitting them, investigation revealed.
Subscription $2.00 a Year
Peck, Wells Win
Local Contests as
Light Vote is Cast
County Supports
Martin, Sprague
for Governor
Only 48 percent of the qualified
voters of Morrow county visited the
polls at the primary nominating
election last Friday, the percentage
holding about equal for republicans
and democrats, evidencing a lethar
gic interest in the few contests of
note.
In the two county contests, a one
sided victory for assessor was won
by Thos. J. Wells over Edw. D.
Clark in the democratic ranks, and
Geo. N. Peck outran George Bleak
man for commissioner on the repub
lican ticket by a neat majority. Wells
and Peck took the nominations .of
both parties, gaining the majority
write-in vote of the opposite party
in each instance.
Hess, the democratic choice for
governor over the state, ran second
to Governor Martin in this county,
while Mahoney for the long-term
U. S. senatorship received this coun
ty's endorsement along with the
state's.
Sprague for governor and Holman
for the long-term U. S. senate seat
gained majorities here as they did
over the state in the republican
voting.
Rex Ellis outran Hawley J. Bean
heavily in Union county to receive
republican endorsement for joint
state senator, as Bean carried Uma
tilla county and was only a slight
loser in this county. Sirrine of Un
ion took the democratic contest from '
Lewis of Pendleton.
Pierce, democrat, and Balentine,
republican, won easy victories for
congresisonal nominations and will
square off in the November general
election.
The heaviest pre-election registra
tion shift to democratic ranks oc
curred at Boardman where Hess's
lead over Martin for governor in
dicated opposition to Martin as the
reason.
The three incumbent supreme
court justices ran ahead of their
fields as they did over the state, and
Chief Justice Bean is the only nom
inee who failed to gain a clear ma
jority to receive election. He will be
opposed in November by the second
highest candidate, Zimmerman.
Total vote for governor on the
democratic ticket, the highest re
corded for any office for the county,
was 361. Earl Snell, unopposed for
secretary of state, received the high
est vote recorded for any office in
the republican ranks, 660.
Vote for the various offices here
showed:
Republican
U. S. Senator (short term): Barry
186 (state nominee), Ireland 127,
Weed 225.
U. S. Senator (long term). Hol
man 419 (state nominee), Stanfield
212
Rep. in Congress: Balentine 220
(dist. nominee). Merrill 163, Tull 141.
Governor: Brown 131, Hanzen 27,
Hendricks 14, Morton 77, Paine 67,
Schrock 25, Sprague 220 (state nom
inee), Wagoner 26.
Secretary of State: Snell 660.
Supt. of Public Instruction: Rice
512.
Com. Bureau of Labor: Graham
241, Gram 309 (state nominee).
State Senator: Bean 288, Ellis 347
(dist. nominee).
State Representative (two to nom
inate): Fatland 442, French 357.
County Commissioner: Bleakman
293, Peck 392.
Treasurer: Briggs 598.
Justices of Peace: J. O. Hager,
Heppner, both Dem. and Rep. nom
inations; A B. Chaffee, Boardman
Constable: Homer Hayes, Heppner,
both party nominations.
County Central Committeemen
and Committeewomen: Alpine, W. J.
Continued on Page Eight