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Heppner Gazette Times, Heppner, Oregon, Feb. 17, 1949
Page 2
EDITORIAL
Ptiii$Hty4sojriTioir
Why Not A Town Hell Meeting?
Numerous cilW'.is appear to be gelling exercised
over governmental alfairs relative to details of
operating the city's business. Criticism is being
heard about the hiring of employes, the salaries
paid, and what the city is getting in return for
all the considerable outlay of cash that has been
spent in the past two years.
The Gazette Times has tendered its columns to
those who have something to offer and for the
first lime a communication may be found else
where on this page. It was not written for the
paper but the author has requested that it be
published, and we think it is a good idea, whether
we agree with the contents in full, in part, or not
at all. The point is that our democratic way of
life such as is left of it permits a free expres
sion of the people and if the newspaper can pro
mote the welfare of the public by opening its
columns to people who have something con
structive to offer it is merely extending its use
fulness to its readers and to the community it
serves.
Since the newspaper's offer of its columns has
not been accepted, and since there are many
problems cf community life that need discussion
and, we might say, airing, why not organize a
town hall meeting and meet regularly to study
and discuss these problems? Much good could
come from such a meeting. A lot of help could
be given both our city officials and the county
court But we can't help feeling a bit pessimistic
about the attendance because when things begin
to crop out in the open they frequently lose their
importance. There are enough important projects
and enough flaws in our governmental set-up to
command the attention of all of our townsfolk,
and if a representative group of citizens of all
walks of life could be induced to get together at
stated intervals and thresh out their problems
there would be fewer grievances, less backbiting,
and consequently more constructive and progres
sive work done.
Ai of us are in on the expense account Even
the mayor and councilmen are property holders.
Some of them are heavily invested. They are
among the heaviest taxpayers of the town. Men
not acting in good faith do not usually deliberate
ly add to their own taxes. Men of good faith do
that when they believe they are acting in the
interest of all the people. They may be misguided
in their efforts, and that is where a town hall
meeting could be of inestimable service to the
community. A cross section of the thought and
the needs could be given the mayor and coun
cil or any other governing or law making group.
In all fairness to the officials and in justice to
"we, the people," is it not about time to call all
the street and office caucuses together into one
general meeting and lay all the cards on the
table? y .
Keep Oregon Clean
The Oregon Roadside Council is making an
appeal to highway users throughout the state in
what is termed an S. O. S. Save Oregon Scenery.
The Legislative Interim Committee on Highways
is proposing a tremendous program of highway
NATIONAL
EDITORIAL
ASOCjVtlN
mm
construction and modernization with which the
Council is in accord and urges its support by
the people, even if it means raising the gas tax
and registration fee. But the Council contends that
the highway job be well done, so that tourists
will be inclined to come and linger in Oregon and
that travel may be safe, speedy and attractive.
And here is what the Council suggests be done
to "Keep Oregon Clean."
Forty percent of the passenger car mileage is
for pleasure and social purposes. The tourist trade
is a $100,000,000 business, and could be made to
be more. The highway engineers should provide
picnic areas, forest corridors, scenic outlooks,
parks, landscaping, and access to streams and
beaches.
But aside from what the highway engineer can
do, we the people must see to it that Oregon's
great resource, the scenery of mountains, ocean,
desert and farm, is not spoiled and our highways
made dangerous, by inappropriate and unneces
sary advertising signs. Many stretches of rural
roads are already marred by large and small bill
boards, which are distracting to the driver and
boring, if not actually offensive, to the tourist.
Commercial signs, of course, have their place.
There must be signs' to tell of things for sale on
the property. Most of the outdoor advertising signs
are now within cities and towns, where they be
long. They do nc)t belong on rural roads of high
speed driving and where the passengers want to
relax and see farm and forest scenes and not be
importuned by billboards.
Though the owner of highway frontage may
get a small revenue from billboards, most farm
ers do not want to have their home places devoted
to that purpose, nor do they want to look out their
windows at billboards on their neighbor's land.
The presence of advertising signs changes the
character of a property and is likely to depreciate
it for high class uses.
Supreme Court decisions have said that the
owner of highway frontage has no inherent rights
to erect billboards for the advertising of things
not for sale on the property, and that for the pub
lic welfare he can be prohibited from doing so.
That the public spirited citizens of Oregon may
do their part in Saving Oregon's Scenery the Ore
gon Roadside Council suggests
1. If you have rural highway frontage do not
lease it for billboards; keep the property high
class. . .
2. Purchase goofls that are NOT advertised on
rural roads.
3. Promote rural zoning that will limit bill
boards (and other structures) to places where
they belong.
4. Make some study in group meetings of the
roadside problem, particularly what other states
are doing to keep their highways safe and attrac
tive for tourists Massachusetts, Vermont and
Maine, for example.
5. Keep in mind that advertising on ruraL scen
ic highways of goods not for sale on the property
is not essential for anybody's prosperity; the prac
tice only began recently. The hazards to driving
and the unfavorable effect on recreation seekers
far outweigh any claimed monetary advantage.
6. Back, up the State Highway Commission in
what it is doing to "Keep Oregon Clean."
A LEADER SPEAKS
A red-headed young fireball
stood in the marble halls of Ore
gon's capitol Friday and mapped
a moral route for government.
His audience was Governor
Douglas McKay, state officials
and the august joint assembled
legislators memorializing Abra
ham Lincoln.
All were deeply impressed with'
solved. Some work was done, but
the project never materialized.
This is still a question to )e set
tled. The feasibility of the route
is not questioned; in fact, that is
settled. There is but one thing
left to do: complete the road. Talk
is good in its place, but here's
a case where less talk and more
action is required. We can well
remember how this same thing
was talked about some twenty
five years ago, and while the
Heppner people were talking,
Pendleton put a road through to
that section and coppered the
trade. Cant we just DO something
once, and then talk about what
we have done, rather than just
what we want to do?
The generosity of the members
of St. Patrek's parish of Heppner
prompted them this week to buy
an atuomobile for the use of Fa
ther O'Rourke.
Thos. A. Lowe, merchant and
postmaster of Cecil, was in Hepp
ner over Sunday night last.
Dr. McMurdo reports the arriv
al at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Noah Pettyjohn of Butter creek
of a ten-opund son on Friday,
Feb. 14th a real Valentine.
A nine-pound girl arrived at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Anderson of Eight Mile on Sun
day, Feb. 16th.
W. P. Prophet, Hardman mer
chant, was down to Heppner on
Saturday. He had business at the
courthouse.
We are informed that plans are
being made for the organization
of a hospital association in Hepp
ner, in which all the people of
the county will be asked to par
ticipate.
The rehabilitation of the Hepp
ner library is at hand, and that
very useful institution will be
given new lease of life imme
diately. The following ladies
have been chosen as directors of
the library association: Mrs. S.
E. Van Vactor, Mrs. .Ada M. Ay
ers and Mrs. D. E. Gi'man. Miss
Margaret Crawford is librarian,
and a committee consisting of
Martina H. Thtele, Mrs. C. L
Sweek and Mrs. S. E. Notson has
been appointed to select books
and these ladies will serve for
one year.
the address by the young man,
Paul C. Smith, editor and general
manager of the San Francisco
Chronicle. He is rated as one of
the great editors of the day.
It vas not his first visit to the
capital. On that first visit 20
years ago he slept in the park
under a rhododendron bush, as
he lacked cash for lodging.
He said in speaking of the slate
of humanity, "man now can elim.
inate himself from the globe, but
at the same time stands on the
threshold of the greatest civiliza
tion ever conceived." The bomb,
he declared, "is the least import.
ant aspect of atomic power. The
dangerous thing is the detonator,
which is explosive human behav
iorism." Typical of behavior, he
listed promotion of class war, at
tempts to punish political ene
mies and refusal to yield even at
a traffic intersection.
In the evening at a Lincoln
Day dinner he admonished sad-
eyed republicans to put more
time to evaluating practical prin
ciples and less time in manipu
lation of personal interests.
GOVERNOR IRKED
Everyone attending a legisla
tive session eventually arrives at
that all-time-low of mental de
march, to question, "When will
the legislature end?"
This season's problem baby,
says Governor Douglas McKay, is
"When will the session start?"
The governor is of the opinion
that the more important state
problems should have the green
light and be considered first. He
has a special message prepared
wheh he will deliver to the leg
islature if the house taxation
committee does not show some
action this week This committee
is the only one that can pass
on tax-creating measures. Such
bills must originate in the house.
The governor had expressed a de
sire to keep out of the legisla
ture's business, but he said, "Now
is the time something has to be
done."
On the 36th day of this session
there had been 690 bills, resolu
tions and memorials introduced,
with 64 passed by both houses
and 36 of them signed by the
governor. Nearly all of the legis
lation passed so far has been of
comparatively minor importance.
The 1947 session had 1060 bills
and other measures, with the ses
sion lasting for a record of 83
days.
TAX DOCTORS STYMIED
Besides many huge problems
of finance the house taxation
committee has 26 bills including
those providing for repeal of the
withholding tax, eliminating
withholding tax on wages of ag
ricultural and domestic workers
earning less than $50 a month;
a 3 per cent tax on businesses op
erating in Oregon and also ia
!ther states; a 10 per cent tax on
theaters, races and athletic con
tests; timber lands to be assess
ed by state lax commission in
stead of county assessor; a 12 of
1 per cent gross receipts upon
business; placing tax on pinball
machines etc.; that federal in
come taxes shall not be deducted
from state income tax payments;
Congressman Asks
Overtime Exemption
Rule Be Retained
Congressman Lowell Stockman
of the Second district of Oregon
urges that the Fa Labor Stand
ards Act retain the exemptions
from overtime in the handling of
agricultural commodities.
In his appearance before the
house committee on education
and labor he stated: "Nature de
mands that crops be planted and
harvested when the season is
right, regardless of what the
wage and hour law may be. It
also demands that the perishable
crops of the district I represent
in Oregon be processed immedi
ately after they are harvested,
and that the work continue until
the crop is properly cared for. If
the world is to continue to enjoy
the fine fruits of the Hood River
valley in Oregon, these famous
cherries, apples and pears must
be handled within a period of a
few hours after they reach mat
urity, regardless of the overtime
work this requires. If the farmer
and processor loses the exemp
tions for such overtime work
which he has heretofore had un
der the wage and hour law, then
the price of these fruits will be
prohibitive and the result will be
a 2 per cent tax on cigartetes,
license dealers, fix minimum
sales price; placing corporate ex
cise tax on telephone companies,
public utilities, etc.
FEDERAL PRISON
FOR WOMEN
More adequate conditions for
rehabilitation of women prisoners
of the 11 western states could be
achieved if all were incarcerated
in a federal prison in one of the
states, is the belief of Warden
George Alexander of the Oregon
penitentiary. The plan was pro
posed at a recent meeting of the
American Bar conference and was
approved in principle by the west
ern regional conference of the
Council of State Governments.
A bill authorizing the state to
cooperate with' other western
states in the plan has been in
traduced in the legislature.
The states have different ways
of handling women prisoners.
California, with about 300 women
prisoners, has a prison for them
exclusively at Tehachapi, and has
been trying to get the govern
ment to take it over.
The plan would be effective
when ratified by California and
two or more of the states of Ari
zona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon
Utah, Wyoming and Washington
Open Sundays
FRIED CHICKEN
DINNER
LEXINGTON
CAFE
30 YEARS AG
Heppner Gazette Times.
Thursday, February 20, 1919
This paper is informed that
there is now a good prospect that
the Heppner Hotel Co. and the
Heppner Improvement Co. will
come together on the proposition
of putting up a hotel in Heppner.
With the assistance of the Civ
ic League of Heppner, Roy Coch
ran is undertaking to get a band
started in this city.
The new truck purchased by
the county is now on the job. It is
a Nash yuad, four-wheel drive
and has the appearance of being
a very useful machine.
Walter E. Moore reurned to
Heppner Monday and is again at
his desk in the First National
(Bank. Mr. Moore has been serv
j ing with the U. S. Army for the
i past year, being with the Spruce
division and stationea at Van
couver and Portland.
The ladies of the Red Cross
chapter are busy these days
working up their allotment of re
fugee garments, which they wish
to get ready by the first of March.
The fire company held a meet
ing at the council chambers on
Thursday evening last and it was
decided to give a dance on Sat
urday evening, February 22, to
raise money to be applied on the
purchase of rubber hats, rubber
coats and rubber boots for the
use of the firemen.
County Agent Brown held a
squirrel poisoning demonstration
at Morgan on Saturday last.
C. E. Lundell of lone this week
disposed of his Gooseberry farm
to Jess Warfield. The Lundell
farm consists of 800 acres and is
one of the best wheat producers
on the ridge between Eight Mile
and Gooseberry.
(Editorial): The newly organ
ized Heppner Commercial Club is
going to get down to business on
the proposition of some of the
roads leading to this city from
interior towns. Some four years
ago there was a big road meeting
in Heppner and there was a move
'started that had the appearance
of getting the Ritter road problem
DA
C
Third Anniversary
MARCH 19
lone American Legion Hall
WATCH FOR ANNOUNCEMENT
In Next Week's Gazette Times about the music.
A Good Orchestra will be retained.
utter waste of the products and
financial ruin to many of our
farmers and processors."
THAKTKS, FOLKS !
By turning off lights and appliances you've made
it possible for me to keep on serving
you . . . right through the famous cold spell, when streams
froze up and the power plants
just couldn't give me enough strength
to do all the work people normally want me to do-
I certainly appreciate your cooperation.
Now I can work full time
. Except between 5 and 6 PM
Milder weather, longer days and improved
water conditions have combined to let me work
normally for you again . . . except between
S and 6 at night. Please continue to turn
off lights and appliances during that
peak hour, for I still don't have enough
power plant capacity to work at full
Btrength during those 60 minutes.
Reddy Kilcuuati
Your PP & L Eectric Servant
P. S. Please don't waste power
at any time, and please be alert .
for notice of any new development
whether due to weather or possible
breakdown of heavily loaded generators
or transrr 'acilities.
AT
Penney's
Sheer AND Durable I
45-6AUGE
20&30 DENIER
Luxury Sheers I
51-GAUGE
15 20&30 DENIER
NOW
NOW
115
ALL FIRST QUALITY) Nvr Irregulars or Seconds
R.q. D. 3. Pal. OH.
NEVER BEFORE AT
THESE LOW PRICES!
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
JOS. J. NYS
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Peters Bldg., Willow Street
Heppner, Oregon
J. O. PETERSON
Latest Jewelry & Gilt Goods
Watches, Clocks, Diamonds
Expert Watch & Jewelry
Repairing
Heppner, Oregon
J. 0. TURNER
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Phone 173
Hotel Heppner Building
Heppner, Oregon
Veterans of Foreign
Wars
Meetings 2nd & 4th Mondays
at 8:00 p.m. in Legion Hall
P. W. MAHONEY
ATTORNEY AT LAW
General Insurance
Heppner Hotel Building
Willow Street Entrance
Saw Filing &
Picture Framing
O. M. YEAGER'S
SERVICE STORE
Jack A. Woodhall
Doctor of Dental Medicine
Office First Floor Bank Bldg.
Phone 2342 Heppner
Turner, Van Marter
and Company
GENERAL
INSURANCE
Dr. L. D. Tibbies
OSTEOPATHIC
Physician & Surgeon
First National Bank Building
Res. Ph. 1162 Office Ph. 492
Phelps Funeral
Home
Licensed Funeral Directors
Phone 1332 Heppner, Oregon
A.D.McMurdo, M.D.
PHYSICIAN & SURGEON
Trained Nurse Assistant
Office in Masonic Building
Heppner, Oregon
Heppner City
fn 1 1 n I Moeti Flrit Monday
VOUnCII EachMontn
Citizens having matters for
discussion, please bring them
before the Council. Phone 2572
Dr. C. C. Dunham
CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN
Office No. 4 Center St.
House Cals Made
Home Phone 2583 Office 2572
Morrow County
Abstract & Title Co.
INC.
ABSTRACTS OF TITLE
TITLE INSURANCE
Office In Peteri Building-
C. A. RUGGLES Representing
Blaine E. Isom
Insurance Agency
Phone 723 Heppner, Ore.
Morrow County
Cleaners Heppner. Oregon
Phone 2632
Superior Dry Cleaning
& Finishing
Dr. J. D. Palmer
DENTIST
Office upstairs Rooms 11-12
First National Bank Bldg.
Phones; Office 783, Home 932
Heppner, Oregon
Call Settles Electric
at HEPPNER APPLIANCE,
for all kinds of electrical work.
New and repair.
Phone 2542 or 1423
N. D. BAILEY
Cabinet Shop
Lawn Mowers Sharpened
Sewing Machines Repaired
Phone 1485 for appointment
or call at shop.
RALPH E.CURRIN
ATTORNEY AT LAW
First National Bank Bldg.
Phone 2G32
Walter B. Hinkle
REAL ESTATE
Farms, Busines, Income Prop
erty. Trades for Valley & Coast.
Income Tax Returns
Arlington, Oregon
Morrow County
Cmirt Meet. Pint Wednesday
VUUM of Eaoh Month
Oonnty Judge Of floe Honrat
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9 a.m.
to B p.m.
Tneiday, Thnriday, Saturday Fore.
non only