OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLIC AUDITOR I "J '
PORT L
Volume 57, Number 21
School Districts
Reduce Bond and
Warrant Debts
Auditor's Statement
Shows Improvement
in Fiscal Affairs
School districts of Morrow county
have a bond and warrant indebted
ness of $96,805.37 as of June 17, 1940,
according to C. R. Ham of Pullman,
Wash., who completed an audit of
the school books Wednesday of this
week and submitted his report to
Mrs Lucy E. Rodgers, county su
perintendent. This is Mr. Ham's
eighth annual audit of the. Morrow
county schools and he has included
in his report a statement of receipts
and disbursements of all districts, a
consolidated statement of high school
education costs and tuition receiv
' able, and a schedule of warrants and
bonds outstanding, which is com
parative for June, 1939 and June,
1940.
An analysis of his report is given
by Mr. Ham as follows:
Expenditures by all of the school
districts amonted to $200,522.30 dur
ing the year. Of this amount, $96,
776.69 can not be considered as cur
rent education costs, but for the fol
lowing purposes: Transportation of
pupils, $33,669.75; capital outlay in
the form of new equipment and al
teration of buildings, $7,167.23; and
principal and interest payments of
bonds and warrants owing prior to
June, 1939, $55,939.71. The current
costs of education reported by the
several districts, therefore, would
appear to be the remainder, $130,
745.61. However, this amount in
cludes an element of duplication in
that many elementary school dis
tricts paid three other districts $6,
542 for tuition, which should reduce
the real cost of education to $97,
203.61. The schedule of warrants and
bonds outstanding, which compares
the indeptedness at June, 1939, with
that of June, 1940, reveals a net re
duction of $25,152.16 of school debts,
of which $20,000 has been by the
retirement of bonds. The present
indebtedness stands at $26,305.37 of
warrants and $70,500 of bonds, or a
total of $96,805.37 at June 17, 1940.
This situation can be appreciated
better by reference to the auditor's
first annual report for 1932-33 in
which the total of warrants outstand
ing was shown as $136,643.35 and the
total of bonds outstanding was given
as $197,100. And most of that $333,
743.35 of debt bore interest at 6 per
cent. No new school district bonds
have been issued during the past
eight years.
It should be pointed out also that
in addition to reducing the school
debt $25,152.16 the districts have in
creased their total cash on hand by
$9,400.71, and in addition they have
accumulated a sinking fund from tax
collections amounting to $26,300 that
is held by the county treasurer for
the purpose of retiring bonds next
year. This apparent financial im
provement, however, raised a serious
question which is out of the realm
of the auditor, and that is whether
more should not be spent by the dis
tricts for school supplies, books,
equipment, repairs including a few
coats of paint.
Inter-district payments, between
the clerks, for tuition, transporta
tion, books, etc., continue to increase
and amounted for 1939-40 to $8,
868.10. This steady increase from the
$3,034 of such inter-district pay
ments reported for 1932-33 indicates
the apparently permanent trend to
ward transporting the pupils to the
larger schools. These payments are
necessary under the system of main
taining separate school districts
without teachers. And it may be
pointed out again that this system
is costing those districts about $1,000
in clerks' salaries and bonds, audits
Heppner,
AMERICAN IDEALS
THEME OF SPEAKER
Russell McNeill Warns Against
Present Day Trends in Talk
at Camp Heppner Lawn Party
American ideals have undergone
some rough treatment In recent
years and our forefathers, could they
look in upon the scene in the present
day, might experience difficulty in
recognizing some of the principles
of the free government which they
so wisely devised. That in effect,
was the thought expressed by Rus
sell McNeill in a talk to the 200 or
more people assembled at Camp
Heppner last Sunday afternoon to
participate in the lawn parly staged
by Lt. Marius P. Hanf ord and his
corps of CCC assistants.
McNeill's talk was the highlight of
the party, main features of which
were a short concert by the Hepp
ner school baricL, the dinner served
on the lawn and the taking of mo
tion pictures of the assemblage by
Lieutenant Hanford.
The speaker's theme was Ameri
canism and while he did not at
tempt to give a definition of it that
might be accepted by all, he laid
down what he thought could be
accepted as a sensible rule of con
duct for the citizens of the country,
which, if followed, will instill the
principles of patriotism laid down
in the founding of the government.
First, think clearly; second, vote in
telligently, and third, accept full
share of responsibility in the prob
lems facing the country. In com
menting on the third clause, he
pointed to the tendency of the peo
ple at large to shift the burden of
government on to officials. The
trend toward centralized control has
been pronounced the past few years
and unless the people take more
interest in affairs and express their
disapproval of this tendency the next
few years will see more power in
the hands of the head of the gov
ernment Lieutenant Hanford acted as mas
ter of ceremonies. He said that the
party was originally planned as a
farewell, as at that time it was ex
pected the camp might be moved.
He was happy to announce that it
was not a farewell party and ex
pressed the hope that there might be
other similar affairs before the
camp is moved.
Turner President
Health Association
J. 0. Turner was elected president
of the Morrow County Public Health
association when that group met last
Friday evening. Mrs. Lucy Rodgers,
vice president, has been serving as
head of the group since the death
of Rev Carl Young, president the
past year.
Other officers elected at Friday's
meeting were Mrs J. J. Nys, vice
president; Clara Beamer, secretary,
and Mrs. Rodgers, treasurer.
Miss Lucille Vale, county health
nurse, made a report on her work
since coming to the county the first
of the year. She also presented a
chart showing the phasing and scope
of the work outlined for the year.
J. 0. Turner, treasurer, reported a
balance of $465.53 in the treasury.
The association voted to purchase
three copies of the book,.. Mother
and Baby, for use in the health
campaign.
FAT LAMBS MARKETED
Frank Wilkinson sold 1120 spring
lambs to the Hyslop Sheep company
of Spokane this week. When weigh
ed at the Parker scales today the lot
averaged 97 and one-seventh pounds.
This is probably the highest average
scored by Morrow conty lambs this
season. .
and other expenses which could be
eliminated by consolidation. Districts
No. 37 and No. 32 consolidated with
District No. 35, lone. District No. 48
did not function again for lack of
pupils.
Oregon, Thursday, July
mm jfyt
v . Pi t
It W f
Going to Canada?
Stay 48 Hours and
Save on Purchases
A ruling recently invoked re
lieves from duty payment goods
purchased in Canada up to $100
in amount, provided the pur
chaser has been in Canada 48
hours.
This worthwhile information was
obtained by Mr. and, Mrs. Ralph
L Thompson and son Alex, and
Mrs. Thompson's sister, Mrs. Ella
Burns of Mt. Vernon, Wash., who
just returned from a visit to Van
couver and Victoria, B. C. Under
the 48 hour limit, one must pay
duty as high as 50 per cent on
articles purchased.
At Victoria, one must not miss
the Empress hotel gardens, among
the grandest sights of the trip, says
Mrs. Thompson. And that they
were not the only Morrow county
folks attracted is evidenced by
their bumping into the L. E. Bisbee
family, entirely unexpectedly, at
this spot.
While away, Mrs. Thompson
enjoyed two days of clam digging
at the coast with her sister.
Local Men Attend
Order of Antelope
E. O. Ferguson and J. Logie Rich
ardson of Heppner were counted
among the 210 rugged Americans
who made the trek to Hart moun
tain, deep in the . desert of eastern
Lake county, to attend the annual
meeting of the Order of the Ante
lope. They were accompanied by
Lowell Stockman of Pendleton and
Jack French of Long Creek.
Ferguson made the trip more to
meet some of his old neighbors and
friends in Lakeview than to parti
cipate in the order's festivities, al
though admitting that he had a big
time. He formerly lived in Lake
view and drove an auto stage be
tween that point and Klamath Falls.
It was Richardson's first visit there
and he is loud in his praise of the
hospitality extended the visitors.
WADING POOL TO OPEN
The wading pool for little tots
which has been in course of con
struction for some time is nearly
completed and will be opened Sun
day, according to Dr. L. D. Tibbies.
The pool is 'located on the south
side of the swimming pool property,
separated from the main swimming
tank by the locker building. It will
be used by tots four years of age
and under and parents will be re
quired to take the responsibility of
supervising their own children.
25, 1940
AAA PROGRESS
NOTED IN WEEK
Indvidual Allotments Prepared;
Loss Adjustments on Insurance
Under Way; Loans Being Made
Several things of interest to Mor
row conty fanners have been hap
pening in the past week, according
to word from the local AAA office.
For instance, the county wheat acre
age allotment has been broken down
into,, individual farm allotments and
notices are being prepared for mail
ing to all interested persons. In this
connection it was pointed out that
allotments were set and notices mail
ed to all persons owning or operat
ing wheat farms, but that compliance
with the allotments is entirely vol
untary. '
Another phase of the program
showing much activity is crop in
surance. Loss adjustment work has
been progressing rapidly with ten
claims being filed to date. In the
county there are 313 policies in ef
fect covering 68,985 acres with a
total insured production of 610,668
bushels, and it appears at this time
that losses will be paid on between
10 to 15 per cent of the insured
farms. Most losses that have occur
red to date are the direct result of
severe hot winds in early June with
the dry fall and late spring drouth
contributing factors.
Along with the adjustment work
applications are also being taken
for 1941 insurance. The first Mor
row county farmer to sign a 1941
application was Clyde Denny of
Lexington. Mr. Denny had insurance
on his 1940 crop and, though he did
not have a loss, he is enthusiastic
about the insurance program and
feels that with crop conditions as
uncertain as they are in Morrow
county, no wheat farmer can afford
to be without it.
Also claiming its share of atten
tion during the past few days was
the wheat and barley loan program
with eight applications received to
date. The first producer to secure
a 1940 wheat loan was J. S. Moore
now of Seattle, Wash. Mr. Moore is
owner of a farm in the Alpine dis
trict being farmed by Russell Moore
and is spending a few days vaca
tion at the ranch.
NEW DIVING BOARD ORDERED
Patrons of the Heppner swimming
tank who enjoy diving will be glad
to learn that a new diving board
has been ordered and its arrival is
expected this week. A board used
in the old Legion tank has been
in use since the new tank was
finished a year ago.
Subscription $2.00 a Year
Rodeo Boosters
Plan Junkets to
Nearby Counties
Business Men Will
Tell Neighbors of
1940 Western Show
Plans have been crystalizing this
week to extend personal invitations
to the people of neighboring coun
ties to attend the 1940 Heppner Ro
deo. Gilliam, Wheeler, Grant and
Umatilla counties are included in the
proposed itinerary and an effort will
be made to arrange luncheon and
dinner meetings with as many
chambers of commerce or other civic
groups as possible in an effort to
contact business leaders in each
community.
It is proposed to visit Arlington,
Condon, Fossil, Kinzua, Spray, Day
ville, Mt. Vernon, John Day and
Canyon City to the west and south
and Hermiston and Pendleton to the
east. Literature will be distributed
and buttons sold in addition to the
personal contacts. An effort will
be made to get several cars to join
each junket so that many more po
tential Rodeo visitors may be con
tacted. Rodeo business has been slack
this week, due to the absence of
several association officials, but it
is expected that it will pick up wth
in the next week when these par
ties return and can devote their at
tention to the work of preparing for
the show. Grounds, stock, parade,
cowboy breakfast and other com
mittees will put the wheels in mo
tion to make this one of the most
entertaining week ends the gentry
of this neck of the woods have ex
perienced in many a snow.
To date the queen's dances have
attracted large crowds. Queen Mar
jorie and her attendants were in
troduced to the crowd at Willows
grange in lone last Saturday night.
The coming Saturday night they
will be the center of interest at the
Lexington grange hall.
There is some agitation for a street
dance on Friday morning. If carried
out it will be typical of the cowboy
days with music furnished by old
time musicians. This feature has
the backing of several of the busi
ness houses and will likely be in
cluded on the downtown program.
Mrs. Gilliam Laid
To Rest Saturday
Funeral services for Mrs. Effie J.
Gilliam were held from the Method
ist church at 2 o'clock p. m., Satur
day, July 20. The impressive East
ern Star service was used in con
junction with the services conduct
ed by the pastor, James Wilkins.
Interment was made in the Masonic
cemetery.
Effie J. Wright, daughter of Al
bert and Julia Wright, was born in
New York state July 24, 1865 and
departed this life July 18, 1940, aged
74 years, 11 months and 24 days.
When about seven years of age she
came with her parents to Oregon.
On November 20, 1882, she was
united in marriage to Frank Gilliam,
pioneer hardware merchant of this
city, whose constant companion and
helpmate she remained until Mr.
Gilliam's passing in April, 1933. To
this union five children were born,
of whom all were present at the
funeral. These are Ona, Leonard
and Earl Gililam and Mrs. Hazel
Vaughn of Heppner and C. C. Gil
liam of San Jose, Cal. Besides the
children, she is survived by seven
grandchildren and numerous rela
tives. Mrs. Gilliam became a member of
the Methodist church early in life
and remained faithful to her belief.
She was a charter member of Ruth
chapter of the Eastern Star and a
member of the Neighbors of Woodcraft.
J