Page Six
Heppner Gazette Times, Heppner, Oregon
Thursday, April 17, 1941
STATE
CAPITAL
NEWS
Cities' Tax Levies
Largest Payroll
Utilities' Share
By A. L. LINDBECK
Salem. The city of Heppner with
a combined tax levy of 54.5 mills is
one of 112 Oregon cities to show a
reduction in the rate over 1940, ac
cording to a survey by State Trea
surer Leslie M. Scott Heppner's
1940 combined tax levy was 56.9
mills.
Granite, a small community in
Baker county, enjoys the distinction
of the lowest combined tax rate,
with a total of only 18.1 mills for all
purposes, city, county, school and
state.
Bay City, in Tillamook county, on
the other hand, has the highest com
bined tax rate in the state, 127 mills
Lexington's combined levy is 50.9
milla compared to 49.1 mills in 1940.
lone has a combined levy of 34.7
mills compared to 37.9 mills in 1940.
A total of 111,553 taxable returns
were filed with the state tax com
mission by income tax payers this
year, an increase of 17.9 per cent
over 1940 returns. Another 57,546
individuals filed returns but paid
no taxes. A preliminary check com
pleted by the tax commsision in
dicates that total collections from
income taxes this year will exceed
those of 1940 by 33.4 per cent. First
half payments reported by the com
mission totalled $6,483,687. The big
increase in tax collections is ex
plained as due entirely to improved
economic conditions.
Without committing itself to any
future course of action the Board
of Control has authorized John R.
Wald, industrial engineer, to make
a survey "of employment conditions
at the state prison and to submit his
recommendations as to what indus
tries would best fit into the picture
at the Oregon institution. Wald told
'the board that automobile license
tags are now being manufactured
by prison labor in 34 states. Other
industries suggested by Wald as
suitable for prisons include a oaint
and soap factory, a tobacco factory
and a mattress factory.
The Board of Control has acepted
the resignation of Dr. W. D. Mc
Nary as superintendent of the East
ern Oregon State hospital at Pen
dleton effective May 1. Dr. McNary,
however, will remain with the in
stitution in an advisory capacity un
til October 1 by which time the
board expects to name a new super
intendent. In the meantime Dr. Don
ald Wair, assistant superintendent,
will officiate as acting superintendent.
include: Baker, $168,910; Benton,
$53,340; Clackamas, $417,920; Col
umbia, $126,633; Coos, $196,485;
Douglas, $162,862; Hood River, $104,
862; Lane, $271,900; Josephine, $105,
400; Malheur, $122,324; Marion, $236,
498; Morrow, $77,736; Polk, $51,240;
Sherman, $30,954; Umatilla, $192,
540; Wasco, $175,649; Washington,
$124,342; Wheeler, $2400.
Construction work on the new
treatment hospital at the state hos
pital for insane will not be started
until next fall the Board of Control
decided this week after a conference
with Dr. J. O. Evans, superintend
ent of the institution. The board
hopes that by delaying construction
work on the new building for a few
months labor and material prices
will have come down from their pre
sent high peak to which they have
been pushed by the defense nro
gram. The recent legislative session
appropriated $325,000 for construe
tion of the new building which will
be the first of a new group to be
located north of the main hospital
building.
5 at'-Athe'
The state prison flax plant is
getting ready to handle one of the
biggest flax crops in the history of
that crop in Oregon, according to
L. L. Laws, manager of the prison
industry. Present prospects, Laws
said, are for a better flax crop than
last year although a prolonged spell
of dry weather could seriously dam-:
age the crop.
Oregon's 1942 automobile license
plates will consist of white letters
and numerals on a dark blue back
ground, it was announced this week
by Secretary of State Earl Snell.
This combination reverses the one
used in 1940, Snell pointed out.
Physicians and surgeons who are
subject to the military draft are
being urged by Lt. Col. Elmer V.
Wooten to apply for commissions
in the medical reserve rather than
wait for drafting into regular mili
tary service.
Industrial payrolls in Oregon for
the eighth month period ending
March 1 were the largest in the
state's history, according to records
of the state industrial accident com
mission. Total industrial payrolls
for the eight month period werel
Washington, D. C. April 17. All
of the high command in the na
tional capital are doing their best
to arouse the American people from
their apathy on the subject of war
and aid to the British. What the
higher-ups know, from President
Roosevelt down, is that the true
seriousness of the situation is not
recognized by the people. It is to
this failure to understand that the
United States is already in the war
and that every ounce of production
must be developed, that most of the
strikes are attributed. From now
on, the administration will bend ev
ery effort to educate the public as
to the gravity of conditions.
This point of view is not confined
to labor. It can be found among
many employers and in the public
generally. Not until something
happens to an American warship
or American soldiers, with resulting
loss of life, will the man in the
street come out from his indiffer
ence, his unconcern and his apathv
Pending the dramatic moment, it
will be difficult to arouse workers
in industry and the ordinary citizen
One by one the upper-case offi
cials have been changing their views
A few weeks ago Secretary of the
Navy Frank Knox asserted that no
more war vessels would be given
to Britain; that convoy duty is war.
Last week 10 coast guard cutters
(two from Pacific coast waters)
were given away, and- in wartime
the coast guard is part of the naw.
No protest was made by Secretary
Knox. His commander in chief had
made the arrangements and had giv
en the order.
President Roosevelt insisted ' that
prices increasing, and efforts are
being made to peg prices of half a
dri7fn pnmmnditips With several
j million people returning to work at
good wages, they can afford to buy
more food and this is having its
effect on the market; but the gov
ernment wants no run-away prices,
which would mean inflation.
Government wants more money
for the farmers so, apparently, the
distributing channel is the place
: where the prices will be held. Ber
nard Baruch, chairman of the war
industries board in the other war,
is a weekly White House visitor. He
has suggested to the president a uni
versal price control as the way to
prevent inflation. Thus far the pres
ident has not accepted the proposal
it is too complicated although a
food administrator may later be ap
pointed with powers such as were
held by Herbert Hoover.
With defense orders the attitude
of organized labor is this: A "closed
shop;" an opportunity to force in
dustrialists into bargaining collec
tively, and jurisdictional strikes. On
one point all administration officers
are in agreement: a jursdictional
strike is nonsensical. The officers
differ on the other two points raised
by organized labor. Most of the
strikes in Oregon and Washington
have been jurisdictional. The pres
ident wants strikes stopped, as they
interfere with the lend-lease plan,
but he prefers to have congress take
action in order not to offend organ
ized labor, which consistently sup
ported him in his three campaigns.
J. 0. Turner
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Phone 173
Hotel Heppner Building
HEPPNER, ORE.
A. D. McMurdo, M. D.
PHYSICIAN & SURGEON
Trained Nnrse Assistant
Office in Masonic Building
Heppner, Oregon
Heppner
Abstract Co.
J. LOGIE RICHARDSON, Mgr.
BATES SEASONABLE
Roberts Building Heppner, 0e,
P. W. Mahoney
ATTORNEY AT LAW
GENERAL INSURANCE
Heppner Hotel Building
Willow St. Entrance f
1 oi no? j , . president nooseveit insisted that
$118,910,57 compared to a previous tu tt j . u i
hieh nf $110 RRS QSfi Ar, the Umted St3teS W0Uld n0t ln
high record of $110,688,986. An av
erage of 130,649 men were employ
ed during the period at an average
daily wage of $4.55, an increase 'of
14 cents.
Four women are included in the
list of 98 law school graduates who
have applied to the state supreme
court for permission to take the
state bar examinations July 8 and
9.
Referendum petitions are now be
ing circulated by the State Retail
Grocers association in an effort to
place the cigarette tax act on the
ballot at the next general election.
Success of the referendum sponsors
in filling their petitions by June 13
will mean that the cigarette tax
will not become effective until after
the voters have approved the mea
sure.
State officials have joined owners
of other property in protesting
against the construction of a ser
vice station on property adjoining
that occupied by the capitol group.
The protest is in line with a reso
lution adopted by the legislature at
its 1939 session opposing the loca
tion of any business buildings in
the vicinity of the capitol.
One-sixth of all property taxes
paid in Oregon are contributed by
public utilities which this year will
pay a total of $6,915,816 toward the
support of governmental activities
state, county, city, school, etc. ac
cording to areport by the state tax
commission.
Electric utilities will pay $2,699,
496 in property taxes this year to
top the list, with steam railroads in
second place with payments totalling
$2,594,565.
More than one-third of the taxes
paid by public utilities in this state
are collected by Multnomah county
which this year will receive $2,744,
390 from this source. Utility taxes
to be collected by 'other counties
Water Said Ample
!For 55 Pet. of Lands
Approximately 55 percent of the
irrigated lands of southern and eas
tern Oregon for which water fore
casts are made will have ample wat
er for irrigation this season, accord
ing to a summary made by R. A.
Work, Medford, in charge of snow
surveys and irrigation water fore
casts for the Soil Conservation ser
vice and the Oregon Agricultural
experiment station.
About 45 percent of the irrigated
lands will experience various de
grees of shortage this year, with
some 28 percent expected to have
a mild shortage which will permit
the maturing of most crops. On
about 17 per cent of the irrigated
area of the state, however, the short
age is expected to become critical.
These percentage figures are bas
ed on records of irrigated lands by
districts in the state engineer's of
fice and are not issued as being
accurate as to detail. Thev do in
dicate, however, the general condi
tion of water supplies in the state in
relation to total volume of irrigated
lands, says Work. The figures do
not include the irrigated areas of
the Willamette valley or the coast
region.
In general, the regions with am
ple irrigation water supplies are
south and east of a line drawn from
Upper Klamath lake to the western
border of Wallowa county.
READ THE AD$
Along With the News
war; that only profiteers wanted
war; that there would be no United
States warships convoy goods to
England, for "a convoy means shoot
ing and shooting means war." The
president is shifting from his posi
tion and several balloons have been
sent up by Admiral Land of the
maritime commission, and others, to
get public reaction on a convoy.
On the best authority in Washing
ton today the statement is made that
the British cannot win without help
from the United States, and proba
bly cannot win with such help. The
authority are the ranking admirals
and generals, who are better in
formed on the situation than the!
layman. In confidential sessions
with congressional committees these
statements have been made. It is
because of this opinion, or belief,
that the administration is so anxious
that production attain top speed, and
there is so little time in which to
process and finish planes, tanks, mu
titions and other lethal weapons the
British require.
At the moment, however, it is
known that more important than
weapons is food. It simmers down
to "no food, no fight." Without a
food supply the Birtish cannot hold
out, and the German submarines are
sinking hundreds of thousands of
tons. Transportation division of
OPM is working 24 hours a day
with railroads arranging for freight
cars, thousands of them, to take
food from interior points to ports
of debarkation. Every boxcar that
can be located is wanted, and the
question is whether more should be
built or run trains faster and ob
tain greater use of the present cars.
The government is purchasing gi
gantic Quantities of food: condensed
and powdered milk, lard, powdered
eggs and other vital commodities.
but no wheat. England can obtain
all the wheat it requires from Can
ada and Australia. Wheat farmers
of the Pacific northwest will not
experience the high prices of the
tirst world war, but those raising
hogs will be in the money.
Consumers' division of OPM in
sists that there is no reason for food
Fighting Forest Fires
Takes Tall Financing
Coincident with the adoption of a
comprehensive forestry program bv
the Oregon legislature, comes the
publication of the results of a study
by Dr. W. H. Dreesen, agricultural
economist at Oregon State college,
entitled "Financing Fire Protection
for Timber Lands Under Oregon
Laws." Some of Dr. Dreesen's find
ings, made available to publication,
are reflected in the new legislation.
This experiment station bulletin.
No. 384, shows that a total of $470.-
249.93 was collected in 1938, for fire
protection purposes in Oregon. This
fund was collected from "tax roll"
lands, from members of protective
associations, and state, federal, and
county contributions.
Former Oregon laws reauired that
all owners of timber lands should
provide adequate protection against
lire, while the recent bills just
passed correct some of the weakness
es in the former laws, in the opin
ion of state and college forest officials.
J. 0. Peterson
Latest Jewelry and Gift Goods
Watches . Clocks . Diamonds
Expert Watch and Jewelry
Repairing
Heppner, Oregon
Vawter Parker
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
First National Bank Building
Dr. Richard C. Lawrence
DENTIST
X-Ray and Extraction by Gas
First National Bank Bldg.
Phone 562 Heppner, Oregon
Dr. L. D. Tibbies
OSTEOPATHIC
Physician & Surgeon
FIRST NATIONAL BANK BLDG.
Rec. Phone 1162 Office Phone 492
HEPPNER, OREGON
Professional
Directory
Maternity Home
Mrs. Lillie Aiken
Phone 664 P.O. Box 142
Heppner, Oregon
Jos. J. Nys
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Peters Building, Willow Stroet
Heppner, Oregon
Phelps Funeral Home
Ambulance Service
Trained Lady Assistant
Phone 1332
Heppner, Ore.
V. R. Runnion
AUCTIONEER
Farm Sales and Liveatook a Specialty
405 Jones Street, Heppner, Ore.
Phone 452
MAKE DATES AT MY EXPENSE
NEW AUTO POLICY
Bodily Injury & Property Damage
Class A $13.60 Class B $17.00
See us before financing your
next automobile.
F. W. TURNER & CO.
Heppner City Council
Meets First Monday Each Month
Citizens having matters for dis
cussion, please bring before
the Council
J. O. TURNER, Mayor
GLENN Y. WELLS
ATTORNEY AT LAW
ATwater 4884
635 MEAD BUILDING
6th at Washington
PORTLAND, OREGON
Morrow County
Abstract fir Title Co.
INC.
ABSTRACTS OP TITLE
TITLE INSURANCE
Office ln New Peters Building
Peterson fir Peterson
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
D. S. National Bank Building
PENDLETON, OREGON
Pr actio ln State and Federal Courts
Real Estate
General Line of Insurance and
Bonda
Phone 62
W. M. EUBANKS
Rotary Public
lone. Ore.
M. L. CASE G. E. NIKANDEB
Directors of
Funerals
862 Pnones262