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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1963)
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON SUNDAY. APRIL 7. 19(3 B 3 Early Ordinances of Medford Relate Story of Growing City By PEG HUTCHINSON Mail Tribune Staff Writer Did you know that Med ford had a speeding pr"b lem in the 1880 s so they lowered the speed limit for horses from ten to six miles per hour. That one member of the Medford board of trustees voted no to granting the right of way for the South ern Pacific Railroad compa ny track along E st. through Medford? That it was unlawful in J885 for any person to estab lish a laundry within the i hole tables, or other tables corporate limits of the town? j upon which games are played All of these facts are part ' with balls and cards or to of the old record of Medford I keep any barroom or drink and are being carefully pre- ing shop, served in the vault in city while some licenses cost hall. A review of the first ; as high as S300, ordinance 5, im ordinances passed by the ' passed in 1885. required that NOW TRUE TEMPER HEDGE SHEARS, ? Eft Reg. S5.50 Sj4.0U TRUE TEMPER PRUNERS, O OR Re9. 4.95 oaa TRUE TEMPER GRASS SHEARS. ) TC Reg. 3.60 SillsJ TRUE TEMPER SPADING FORK O Eft Res. 4.3S TRUE TEMPER SHOVELS, 1 QC Res. 4.80 WiBM 10 Off On All Garden Tools WHAT A PRICE! Carmel SCREEN DOORS 28x68 $088 30 x 68 Heavy Duty $16 95 GOLF BRAND LAWN FOOD Ea. Bag Covers 5,000 Sq. Ft. SC95 9 BAG BRUCE BAUER LUMBER COMPANY 765 South RIVERSIDE Medford, Oregon city from April 20. 1885, through April 30. 1890. high lights some of the problems of the young city. A number of the ordi nances are amendments to earlier ones while others sim ply repeal those on the books. Regulation of Licenses Many early ordinances con cerned the regulation of li censes and license tax, the principle source of income for the city. These included the aters, shows, or other public exhibitions, any bowling al leys, billiard tables, pigeon- PET TALK By M. I. L. PR l I,-" ""7iTiTiI UNPAID LABORERS Labor saving inventions are j charging the order of the day and farm ers spend large sums of mon ey for equipment to help in their work. But many of them ignore or destroy their most valuable assistants. Leading entomologists estimate one tenth of all the agricultural products in the United States are destroyed by insects, of which there are over 100,000 kinds. The majority of these are injurious and tests have shown that one insect-eating bird destroys 2,400 insects in a year. Many believe that if the birds had been allowed to multiply instead of being destroyed, there would be no necessity to spend thousands of dollars every year for in sect poisons. Besides their value in preventing undue in crease of insects, their serv ices include devouring small rodents, in destroying seeds o harmful plants and in act ing as scavengers. The farmer who sees birds eating his cherries may not consider the crops they save by destroying insects, nor re member that it is not in sum mer alone, but winter also, that birds are working for him. The chickadee, nuthatch. woodpecker and other birds are searching in tree trunks and along fences for the eggs and buried larvae of insects which would hatch' out mil lions of flying and crawling creatures that would destroy the garden, orchard and field. The robin eats but little cul tivated fruit, and if water is available they will be much less apt to seek this supply from the juicy fruits. Robins do destroy wasps, spiders, grasshoppers, caterpillars and especially the March fly lar vae, the pest of hay fields. The meadowlark specializes on the most injurious beetles. These are just a few of the birds who. as unpaid dav la- j borers, free us from the pests which wuuia aesiroy mucn OI our profits. Some farmers ap preciate the value of birds and understand the necessity for active measures to insure their protection. Unsprayed wild fruit trees like mulber ry, choke cherry, elder, buck thorn, dogwood and others, provide food and shelter when planted between fields, along roads and fences and j near orchards where they also divert the birds from the cultivated fruit. Of course, we all know j about feeding the birds in Winter when they are in great danger of extermination by starving, A feeder or two and a bird-bath attracts birds the year around and we can en joy their company and songs. Unlike a caged bird, we know they are working for us in payment for a few crumbs, birdseed and grain of almost any kind. Food boxes can be nailed to trees, turning the backs to the prevailing winds. Easter Cruelty This is the season when thoughtless parents buy live baby chicks, ducklings and rabbits for children too young to know how easily the baby things can be crushed tedeath I making the child unhappy when he sees the little limp body. Instead give toy stuffed animals which may be mauled and need neither food, water nor a place to sleep. any request for a license to sell liquor within the city must be accompanied by a petition signed by a majori ty of the legal voters of Medford. While many persons today complain of the difficult lan guage used in writing legal documents, one stands in awe at the variety of subjects cov ered in a single ordinance prior to the turn of the cen tury. Included Six Crimes Ordinance 1 for the town of Medford included six crimes and the punishment for each. They include the use of profane language, as sault and battery, drawing firearms or other deadly weapons, refusing to assist the marshal, set the speed limit of 10 miles an hour for horses, and prohibits the dis- of fire arms, fire works or gunpowder within the city or setting of any bon fires. The city fathers were wor ried about the sanitary con ditions of the town, a check of the ordinances show. Many of the early ordinances pro hibited refuse or stale water in the streets or on the side walks, obstructions of streets, alleys and sidewalks, and 17 of the first 64 ordinances con cerned sidewalk construc tion. All streets and sidewalks in the town were setup with the initial point for the grades as the corner of 7th and D sts., now Main and Front sts. To Improve Conditions In an ordinance, stated to improve the sanitary condi tion of the town, it "shall be unlawful for any persons or company of persons to es tablish or maintain a laun dry for the purpose as so understood by the meaning of the word within the corpor ate limits of the town. Pro vided however, it shall be lawful for any woman, who has been lawfully married, and has legitimate children to support; to. upon the rec- amended several times later Life had its problems in the 1885s, since one can guess what happened prior to the passing of ordinance 21. It requires the marshal and police officer to leave the keys to the town jail witli the recorder before leav ing town. Create New Office The office of night police man, with salary at $50 per month, was created by the board of trustees June 7, 1889. Some of the ordinances which were enforced by the police in early Medford con cerned minors loitering around the Southern Pacific depot, vagrants on the streets after 10 p.m., hogs running at large, smoking opium, baw dy houses and houses of ill story to have ladders or stair- the remainder to ' a special ommendation of the commit-1 fame, dog control and gaming New Measuring Instrument Made Eugene - Dr. E. G. Ebbig- hausen, professor of physics at the University of Oregon, has constructed a new instrument for making precise measure ments in astronomical re search. The machine is producing measurments which are four times more accurate than re sults obtained by older meth ods. His description of the ma chine appears in a recent is sue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Although Dr. Ebbig hausen adapted techniques in use in a few other laboratories and observatories around the country, this marks the first time that such an instrument has been reported in an astro nomical journal. The instrument measures spectograms, or spectral lines, on a photographic plate. The spectral lines are produced by the light of stars as seen through a telescope. Astronomers are able to find, by measuring the lines, whether a star is moving to ward or away from the earth, as well as obtaining other fun damental information about the stars. Dr. Ebbighausen is studying binary stars, two stars revolving around each other, and is able to tell from the measurements the size of the stars' orbits. tee on health and police ap ply for and receive a license to carry on said business." This was 1885. Evidental ly there was opposition to the ordinance it was re pealed four months later. Another ordinance in 1887, number 47. didn't remain on the books as long. This one outlawed pit privies tight boxes, which could be emp tied every 90 days were ordered. It was in effect slightly more than 100 days. Against Ordinance William Slinger, a member of the Medford board of trustees in 1889, voted not to support ordinance 65 which granted the Southern Pacific Railroad company the right to lay a track from the south boundary of their land in Medford along E st. in Med ford to the north boundary. Voting for the ordinance, which gave the railroad a right of way 10 feet wide, were J. W. Short, M. Purdin, and D. T. Lawton. Mayor at the time was Williard Craw ford, with D. T. Sears, re corder. The ordinance was passed April 18, 1889. While the town of Medford already had a marshal, law and order was important, for ordinance 11, approved Aug. 4, 1885, created the office of special policeman. The duties of the marshal are set forth in ordinance 9 and are Fire was always a prob lem in a young town, and or dinance 3 for the town of Medford regulates the con struction of flues and chim neys. This was approved in 1885. In May, 1888. the board of trustees approved the sale of S5.000 worth of bonds for the construction of a water main for fire, sewerage, purchase of fire apparatus, and con struction of a reservoir in city park. The authorized bonds were to be for 10 years at 8 per cent interest per an num. The sewer was to start at Bear creek, go under Ninth st. to a point on the line of the O and C Railroad. It was to be fitted with fire plugs or hydrants. Claims Creek Water The next ordinance approv ed claimed water from Bear creek for the city which ne cessitated construction of a dam and ditch. This ditch was to run through the donation land claim of E. E. Gore. He refused to sell and ordinance 55. July 27. 1888, authorized the city to go to circuit court to have the land condemned. In 1889, the city appoint ed the marshal as ex officio fire warden, who has "the direction and control of all necessary acts and measures for the putting out of any fires." This ordinance requir- ways leading to the roof. It also included proper build ing construction and how to dispose of hot ashes. With the establishment of water works in Medford, wa ter rates were setup in ordi nance 98 in 1890. Some of the annual rates were: hotels and restaurants, $12; mills and factors, $24; offices and stores which did not wash down the sidewalks. $4; resi ; dences, including irrigation, ' $9. and laundries, $9. Spread of Smallpox In 1888. the town of Med ford was concerned with the possible spread of smallpox. so made it unlawful for any person who had been exposed to the disease to enter or loiter within the town with out written permission of the sanitary committee. The following year a board of health was established to "protect the public health and prevent the spread of dan gerous and contagious di seases." Among the regulations set up by the city and enforced by this board was the dis playing of flags at homes where there were contagious diseases. The flags were: green for diptheria; scarlet for scarlet fever; yellow for smallpox and white for oth er diseases. It was stated that the flag had to be at least one by one-half foot in size which "may be seen by persons passing on the street." In 1889, the city fathers added cattle, sheep and goats to the list of animals not allowed to run at large. They also prohibited the keeping of animals within the city that were to be slaughtered. Allowed One Runner That same year the board of trustees allowed each ho tel livery stable to employ only one runner to solicit patronage, set up a street commission, established busi ness licenses, and approved making annual assessment of property and collection of taxes in Medford. The latter was signed Aug. 29, 1889. The first levy was $189,585, which was 10 mills to the dollar property assessment. Of this, 8V4 mills was for fund for bonded indebtedness On Sept. 24, 1889, the di rector of trustees granted a 25 year franchise and right of way to F. B. Converse, Portland, for an electric rail way. The ordinance, number 90. gave him the right to con struct the railway west of the O and C Railroad "through the center of such streets as he may desire to use." Grants Building Right The ordinance also grant ed the Portlander the right to "erect, operate, construct and maintain poles and wircs for the conveyance of elec trical currents for the pur pose of supplying municipal and private lighting and the furnishing of electrical pow er to operate such railroad." Ordinance 73, approved Aug. 22, 1889, includes nine offenses - - from not provid ing water and food for a tied animal (fine from $5 to $50) to prohibiting the burying of a dead person inside the city outside of a cemetery. It also prohibited keeping a house for smoking of opi um, mistreating animals, giv ing or selling liquor to mi nors, malicious cutting of plants, shrubs, or shade trees, loitering of minors aft er 10 p.m. on the city's streets, minors hopping rides on freight trains, Illegal parking of horse and buggy so it blocks traffic, not tying animal securely in the down town area, and set the speed limit at six miles per hour. Other early ordinances pro vided for jailing persons for nonpayment of fines and that all funds paid Into the city's treasury be paid in money. Residents need not worry about these ordinances. All have been repealed through the years. Little could the city fathers of the 1886 s vis ualize Medford's downtown area in the 1960's when they approved Ordinance 38. It prohibited the planting of trees on the sidewalks. EASTER BASKETS 29c y. Our Chocolates Are HAND-ROLLED and HAND-DIPPED . . . Made Fresh Daily in Our Candy Kitchen in Medford everson is (?andy All Kindt of Clever Novelties ORDER NOW! We have the largest variety of Easter baskets, chocolate eggs, chocolate nests, chocolate chicks and chocolate rabbits In Southern Oregon, at well as, full line of fancy Easter egg boxes. 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