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
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Reg. 3.60 SillsJ
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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.
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