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About The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1896)
5ood Jiver Slacier. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1S90. The Dalles Chronicle, lit its Issue of Wednesday, says "the people of Hood River are still 'chewing the rag' over the recent lease of the river to the lum bering company," and further says: Two or three corporations have heretofore been organized for the avowed purpose of Im proving the river so as to make It fit to trans port the timber of the valley to market but none have ever attempted the work because It required too much capital to make that tur bulent stream a highway for floating logs. Now that a company Is actually threatening to do what will be of greater benefit to that turbulent little town than any enterprise ever before started there, there Is wild excitement and abitie oftho county court for entering In- to the contract of. lease. By the way, the - whole scheme was warmly supported and .heartily approved by the Hood River end of i the county court.' We would suggest that Hood River let the people who have the courage to spend money In their community in Improving their stream alone. At least JCO.OOO or 830,000 will be required to make the proposed improvement, and that amount of money turned loose, even In that rich com munity, will help everybody out a little. The ;hronicle editor, tor some iea- fton, persists in misrepresenting the elate of affairs in our town. If be wants to be fair in the matter, let him come down here and interview our cit izens on the lease question. There never was much of a sentiment here in favor of the lease, and he will find there is none now, outside of the par ties directly interested. Talk is cheap, but it will take money to improve Hood River and keeo up the improve tnents for the driving of timber at all seasons down the stream. When the company owning the lease have ex pended $ 20,000 or $30,000 for Hood River, our town will be a great city find Hood river will be bigger than the Columbia. .- A mass meeting is called to meet in Hood River, tomorrow, at 2 p. m., for the purpose of extending the organ iza- tion of the Valley Improvement Co. It is hoped that everybody in the val ley who is interested in having a ditch and flume built will be present at this meeting and make a bona fide sub scription to ns many shares of Stock as be is able to carry. If matters had run smoothly until the completion of the first mile, the original plan would have (wen carried out and no money have been asked for until after the mile had been built; but 'as matters now stand, before there is any further progress it will be necessary for every one inter ested to manifest such interest in a substantial way at once. Those who Attend the meeting will get the benefit of a full explanation, and if a sufficient number of people give it their support, the ditch will be pushed ahead, and if not it will be dropped, and such rights s are now acquired will be forever lost or regained only after a desperate struggle. The place appointed for the meeting is theMt. Hood hotel, but it is hoped more commodious quarters will J. found to be necessary. The Hood River Water Supply Co.'s notice, published Jn the Glacier du ring last month, stating that on Feb. 0th applications for water would be re ceived and preference given to old cus tomers, drew a large and eager crowd to the company's office last Saturday. All day long the crowd kept up, each man waiting his turn to give security for the payment of rent for the num ber of inches he required, while others not fortunate enough to be old custom ers, hoped the water would hold out to allow them to come in for a share. But many were turned away disappointed. The interest taken in the water ques tion at this meeting showed plainly that an irrigating ditch that will supply our fanners and fruit growers with sufficient water is of more im portance than any other enterprise ever projected In the valley. Any scheme that will in any way hinder the build ing of the proposed, flu me and ditch is Dot worthy the support of our people. Mr. R.D. Cameron of White Salmon was a caller at the Glacier office Wednesday. Mr. Cameron owns boom privileges at the mouth of White Sal mon river. The state law of Washing ton allows him 75 cents per 1,000 feet for booming saw logs, and other tim bers iu proportion, but he says he . has never charged cordwood men any thing for using his boom. He ex pressed surprise at the terms of the lease. We give up mot of our space this week to correspondence on the lease question, and several letters on the same subject are crowded out. This questiou has crfused more comment than anything that' ever aflfected the Interests of our citizens. The people talk of nothing else, and it would be a hard matter to gather items on any other subject. , , Do not fail to attend the water meet ing tomorrow. Everybody is expected to attend and help give the new ditch a grand starter. Thinks the Winans Didn't Get Enough. Mt. Hood. Feb. 30, 1896. Editor Glacier: I feel it my duty to protest gainst this terrible kicking against Winans Bros.' grand scheme for mak ing u all rich. I think the court has not given them enough, considering how liberal they have been in giving the right of way for ditches and other improvements demanded by a Butter ing public; I am in favor 'of giving the devil his duty Logger. , A Tale of Several Woes. Ono woe Is passed and there comes two more woes. Revelation. It seems that while Hood River is free from tornadoes, cyclones and yel low fever, it has more than its share of other "woes" woes that drive tax payers nearly to madness are fast driv ing settlers from our midst and pre venting others from coming in. We will mention a few of our woes as be walled by some of our "chronic kick ers:" - , Woe I. (Remember, these are only the "woes" as .. enunciated by our "chronic kickers.") Every man in Hood River has to toil with his wife and children from early morn till dark to make enough to pay his taxes, his children going barefoot much of the time. About $ 17,000 tax money, more or less, has gone into the drawers of Dalles saloons and other dens and never credited on the books. Taxpayers hav ing lost their receipts, are called on to pay again. A special agent is appoint ed to hunt up such "delinquents" as have lost their receipts. This agent, or emissary, is to be paid for his services, The taxpayer . who has lost his receipt for $50 is asked to pay it again, and shoves perhaps several dollars into the pockets of the agent for collecting it. The son of toil, with bended back, fur rowed cheek and callous hands, goes to his labor encouraged by the county commissioner who assure him "We will hunt these thieves to their holes and make them disgorge." The poor man waits for months and reads the papers in vain to see what luck the court has had in getting his money back. He expects a calcium light to be thrown across their path and a pho tograph, or at least the names of the thieves. He finally settles down, sat isfied that the "court" has hunted the thieves to their holes and made them pull the holes in after then- And now comes ' , Woe II. The "chronic kickers" charge that in order to justify the malice of certain parties, after failing In an effort to throw a poor widow's sand bar open as a public highway, the "court" ran the taxpayers to heavy ex pense by sending the county surveyor nere to snow mat tne state road ran through her premises in order to ena ble the road" supervisor to tear down her, fence, when the court knew, or ought to have known what every in telligent boy 15 years old knew, that there was not and never had been a state road running through Hood River. The expense of this useless sur vey was paid by the "chronic kickers," wl do not seem yet to know why the tax collector had punched a hole in the lower end of their breeches pocket. Woe III. The, "chronio kickers" charge that a poor pettifogger, at the install ee of a few who had an ax to grind and a gang of irresponsible hood lums, got up a petition to incorporate tne town or Hooa Kiver. This petition was withdrawn and another presented without names, taking in farms ad joining without the knowledge or Con sent ui tuc uwiiuis a uiosi uisiiouor- able transaction that this incorpora tion was voted in in the main bv hood lums, Indians and office seekers, and that the incorporation 'officials, while they have driven many home-seekers away, have only covered themselves all over with glory by impounding a few of the neighbors' horses and cows and running down perhaps two or three dogs. The county commissioners al lowed themselves to be led into this trap, passed the Incorporation act in spite of the wishes of most of the tax payers, and said (or one of them, at least,) "Well, .we couldn't help it!" But now comes . Woe IV., which has so enraged the chronic kickers" that thev teem to be going through the combined mo tions ot an enraged bull, hornine defi ance at a red rag, and a bucking cayuse tortured oy a pair oi r-punisli spurs. The "kick" isauainst the total trans fer of Hood river, with its water power, its fish and all privileges thereto be longing, to an organized monopoly for a period of five years as per charter (they claim it ought to read fifty years. but it doesn't). We hope the taxpay ers will not be called on to pay ex peine of a called session to change the 5 to 50 or iuu, wnen. it can be fixed up on Uie telephone. This franchise has been granted by Wasco county without any vaiuaoie consiaeration wnatever ironi the grantees. Our court gave this mo nopoly the- privilege of nnlliwt.tnir tnll on all cordwood, posts, ties, telegraph poles, lumber, logs, shingle bolts, etc. me company is allowed two rates. Booming rates to be collected when the boom near the bridge is completed. Raw logs,' ?1 per thousand, filing, telephone and telegraph poles 2 cents a foot, or 80 cents for a pole measuring 40 feet. . Cordwood and shingle bolts, 40 cents a cord. Fence posts, $1 a hun dred. The transportation rates to be paid whenever the company announces that 1 mllos nf tl,o vitro U V, "improved" to the satisfaction of them selves the court having such confi dence in the honor and disinterested benevolence of the lessees that it was not thought necessary to say what work is to be done, or appointing any one to receive the work and report it as done according to the contract, before being allowed to collect toll. Transportation rates to be added to the above: Transporting cordwood and shingle bolts, 85 cents per cord. Fence posts, l cent eacn. These rates are for 12 miles, with an additional tax for every mile above 12. Now we have got the posts, ties, saw logs, etc., In the boom, what are you going to do with it? If you fish your own lumber out of the river, have you any right to leave It on the sand bar without paying an other toll? You may think so, but the contract gives you no such right. If the boom is a poor affair, breaks away and you lose your property, the con tract says you are alone responsible for the loss, and besides, the lessees, In stead of being allowed a week to repair it, are allowed one year to do it. In the meantime, the man who has con tracted lo deliver 1,HI0 cords of wood aud has lost 500 cords by a break in the boom, stands on the bank beside his wood pile ami ."telephones'' down: "When will the boom be fixed?" He is answered:1. "Dear Sir You ougut io kuuw we nave a year 10 uo that work in. You signed over your riparian rights. We own this river. You cau go fishing, but be careful not to put a hook iu any waters you signed over to us." , , The poor man' goes home, wet to the skin, "covered with sweat and honor able mud," and says, "Old, woman, we're ruined; we have been damnably sold out." i But the contract does not require the company to build any boom or any dam. It incidentally mentions a dam, but what it is to be like, where to be placed, and of what material, is not mentioned. ' The contract in a very lucid way describes it as "the dam or boom the party of the second part pro poses to construct." "But," says a corporation capitalist, "the company has giveu a bond of $2,500 to complete the work according to contract." This is an extravagant bond even for a straw bond. A bond of 50 cents, signed .by old man Keizer, would have as well answered the pur pose, because the bond requires the company to do nothing only what it "proposes" to do. '""'.. We are told the whole thing was rushed through iu a hurry. "Mr. Wi nans did not hand iu his contract until a very few minutes before the court adjourned, when we looked hurriedly over it but had uo time to take action." The court ought to have the credit of examining a paper so vital to the interests of the community, as to know which side was up. Our commissioner has washed his bands of all complicity in this scheme. He telephoned to the juage as toiiows: - , "I advised him to be very careful not to give a monopoly- whereby interested parties could be injurea," etc. The fact that there was such a mo nopoly given throws -the whole re sponsibility on other parties. We have corroborative evidence that our com missioner is innocent of the conspiracy in the fact that many of our citizens heard him say he was at first opposed to the whole scheme. , - Again, upon stepping off the cars after Winans had come back to The Dalles aud reported that "every one was iu favor "of the project," he stepped square into a hornet's nest of "chronic kickers;" . . ' "I was informed that a report was being circulated to the effect that this whole scheme was being carried out on the part of Winans Bros, and myself to thwart and prevent the building of a proposed ditch or canal, beside any amount ol ouier nonsensical rumors." That Winans Bros, did not regard this as a "nonsensical . rumor," the kickers offer the fact that . Air. Bell holds a type-written proposition to Mr. Davenport, offering the ditch com pany 4,000 inches of water for irrigat ing purposes, but positively pr6hi0it ing Uiem frouf carrying the water in side of the incorporation. "Iu hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, aud begged of l azarus to put a drop of cold water on his part-bed tongue." By the grace of Heuld and some of his tools, 1 am surrounded by an "incorporation" wall. - Between tuat wall and the water we expected to get of the ditch company, have Wi nans Bros, dug a "great gulf": beyoud which enough Hood river water cannot pass to cool a man's parched tongue? , After 48 years' residence in Oregon, and 19 years in Hood River, I have found that when au enterprising man comes here to spend money, and build up the country, up rises a set that tries to put him lu hell or a hole. The "proposed ditch", is the only sensible move toward supplying the town with irrigating water, afl'ordintr water power to run mills and manufacturing estab- iisnments, employing a Hundred men. building up a large town, and enhanc ing the value of property 100 per cent. Have our county commissioners armed a company with power to crush out Wis enterprise? Winans Bros, aud "chronic kickers" say yes. The rec ords say uo. y "It is further expressly understood that this lease contract confers no rights to said Durtv of the second part so as to exclude or interlere with the use of water from said stream and branches by any other person, company or corporation for Irrigating purposes or power lur operating machinery oi any Kina. This ditch scheme offers us mills. useful, permauent, substantial. The "chronic kickers" can see in the mo nopoly scheme little else than wind mills, and more wind than mills. 1 his monopoly will lie defeated. It hasn't enough sound legs to stand on. though helped to hobble by a pair of new crutcnes, made to order and pa tented by our worthy county commis sioners but it is a great pity that our already overburdened taxpayers should be driven to the necessity of defending their rights by expensive and annoy ing lawsuits. W. L. Adams. A Protest. Hood River. Feb. 10, 1896. Editor Glacier: As kicking seems to be in order, I would like to put in my pro test and be on record as well as our honorable 'county court. And I think I have some reason to complain, for I am the only man that ever went on the west fork of Hood river and lived out a -homestead,' staying there five years and keeping my family there two winters, then moving back and forth, spring and fall. If I read the contract given by Wasco county to 'the Hood River Lumbering Co. rightly, I am practically debarred for a term of five years from receiving any benefits from my timber. The discrimination in prices is so rapid that timber will have to become very valuable before it will pay for transportation, as any one can see by the contract. . To illustrate; In the winter of 1888-89, a party of us cut and put in the river 50,000 fence posts. That winter there was no snow in the mountains and the water did not rise in the river, and without im provements or high water, the posts were put here for 3f cents, allowing every man wages that helped drive the posts. In the spring of 1894 there were 40,000 taken from the same ground.and it cost one-half of one cent per post to put them in the town of Hood River. There was plenty of snow in the moun tains that year and the water was suffi cient to make it very profitable to bring posts 18 miles; but under the present contract with the lumber company it will cost, after the river is improved. 5 cents per post to get them from my place to Hood River, regardless of whut j is said by those interested about the cost being only 1 cent. It is 1 cent for booming, 1 cent for the first twelve miles, i cent for each additional mile meandered, which is six mi.es, making 3 cents, and 3 and a are 5. Now thev will say this is not to go into effect un til the first l'z miles are completed. Granted, but said company can collect boomage after said boom is completed. That is what the winans are alter. They have been at Hood River ever since I have been in the valley, extort ing tribute Irom every post, every cord of wood and telephoue pole that came down the river, and now the county court has made it possible for them to string that old boom with Mr. Tucker's chain, and at once collect l cent tor every fence post, 40 cents for every cord of wood, 60 cents for every tel ephone pole, and they need not do one cussed thing to the river. But grant ing thev nil the letter of the contract, which is for 12 miles, that only takes it to their own timber, and then they control the price of timber for five years to come. No one else can get their timber to market, for they own the timber for four miles above the specified 12 miles, and as the rates ad vance 25 cents per mile for each addi tional mile, it will cost $2 per thousand to get the timber to Hood River, and $1 f r booming, making $3 per thou sand which will go to said company betore the man owning tne timoer can get pay for even cutting, let alone any thing for the timber. And as I am two miles further up the river, I can add 50 cents more. A few words in regard to looking up the law, whereby "Justice" refers us to pages 105 to 107 of laws of 1889. But few of us have said book. As for my part, 1 do not believe any set or men, even republicans, ever passed a law whereby thev intended it should con fiscate any man's property. Now, if "Justice" will sigu his own name so the people of Hood River can know who he is, they might get him to ex plain of what justice consists. - . .-,.. CD. Moese. ; In Doubt. - " Hood River Valley, 1896. To the glasher Edditer: I seed tother day that evry body was runnin for the glasher and gitten sort o' exsited. , my old woman sed it wus about sum bloted bond holder and corporation ristocrats that hed gobbled up hood river and all its rites privleges and herditiments what ever that menes. A feller cum along here yisterday with a big bundle of papers and asked me ef 1 tuck enoy in treat in publick impruvements. I sed yes i hev jist bilt a pig pen at my own expense. He sed you are the most intelligent est man i hev struck in iiood river, if all our honest and noble suns of toil was jist like us, times wood be flush and we wud see the last of monuoppolistick bloted bond holders and ristykrats that sentyment struck in to my hart, and bra kin out iu teers i sed giv us yer hand old feller, thems my centiments, and i thank god i hev at last struck ile aud a christen com bine in won. . jist then he run his finger into the butten houl of my coal and sed brother i am gitting intelly gent men and men without gile to sine their riparian rites, i first thot i'd sine, as it would be all rite of course to sine for a prayer meetin or euuy thing else a christien wanted sined. i told him so and he sed yes you are rite, and that's jist the vew taken by the court, i told him i thought well of his skeme, as it seemed to nock the wind outen all the monnoppylists. i promised to see him agin, but the old woman sed she thot she smelt suthin, and she was afeered i mite sine away our spring, & she wood hev no wotter ferdrinkin or waslien dishes, she sed if heald com tiack & tuck us in to the sitty limmets ve inout lose our Spring. me to sine or not to sine jist for a hon est christen rember? . i've alters bin agin Monnoppolyes ever sence i left Arkansaw. '. Thinks the Contract too Hard to Fulfill. In the.Forks, Feb. 8, 1890. Editor Glacier: Some people up this way are growling about Winans Bros.' lease, because the court has given them about a hundred thousand dollars priv ilege without requiring the enterpris ing company to do anything on their part. This charge is false, for I find fn theirontract: "The said party of the second part hereby undertakers and acreer?s I that it will secure the riirht of way and other necessary rights from tne laud owners along said several streams," etc. Is that not imposing a burden on these philanthropists which they, cannot carry? Let. the county commissioners call an extra session and lighten the load by striking Out the above and substituting the following: . You shall move Mt. Hood. . ' Scatter it all around, ' And leave nothing there -... i But a hole in the ground. - : ' - - Justice. 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No. i .. 8 .. 6 . ., 4 ,. 1 ' ,. 5 .. 3 ,. 8 , No. 20..: .; 8 ..25 .10 .. 4 .. 5 .. 8 .. 8 .. 4 .. 2 .. 6 .. 6 No, No. 2 No. 21.. No. 26 No. 29 No. 33 No. 35 No. 60..; NO. 62 No. 63 . No. 63 No. 61 No. 4 No. 5 No. 8 No. 12 No. 13 No. 14 No. 15 No. lo No. 17 Cure for Headache. ' ' As a remedy for ail forms of headache Electric Bitters has proved to be the very best. It effects a permanent cure, and the most dreaded habitual sick headaches yield to its influence. We urge all who are afflicted to procure bottle and ive this remedy a fair trial, In cases of habitual constipation. Elec- trie Bitters curew by giving the needed tone to the bowels, und few cases long resist I he use of this medicine. Try it once. Fifty cents and $1 a bottle. For sale at the Hood River Pharmacy.- -DEALERS IN Dry Goods, Clothing, , Boots, Shoes, Hats and Caps, Staple and Fancy Groceries, FLOUR, FEED AND SHELF HARDWARE. The Largest and Filost Complete Stock , IN HOOD RIVER. FREDERICK HOOD RIVER, OREGON. Crayon Work and Enlarging at Moderate Prices. MOUNTAIN STAGE AND LIVERY CO. OP HOOD RIVER,SOR., WILL CONDUCT GENERAL - :; . B L i s . ' Comfortable conveyances to all parts of Hood River Valley and vicinity. Heavy dray Ing and transferring done with care and promptness. Also, dealers in AG R I CU LTURA L I IMPLEMENTS And Vehicles of All Kinds. ; . ... ' Call and see our stock-and.get prices; they are interesting. 'EST;; '..r-..;-; ,-.-'', : KEEP CONSTANTLY ON HAND : ' ".: Choice Fresh Meats, Hams, Bacon, Lard, And All Kinds of Game. ALSO, DEALERS IN FRUITS AND HOOD RIVER, - - - WE HAVE C ..S H '- ; And shall endeavor to merit custom ;JWILLIAMS Hood Bi-ver C. M. WOLFARD, "; ' " DEALER IN , Sells only ; . :. We invite trade WE WANT UNDERTAKER AND EMBALMER Wall Paper, Paints, Oils, etc., etc. Agent for All the best variety of Apples, including Yakima, Gano, Arkansas Black, etc., and all other kinds of nursery stock kept constantly on hand. Prices wiir be made satlstactory. Buy your trees at the home nursery and save expense and damage. We are here to stay. , . r H. C BATE HAM, Columbia Nursery. GEO. P. CROWELL, Successor to E. L. Smith Oldest Established House in;me vaney.j .a... . DEALER IN Dry Goods, Clothing, ' ;'; ' AND '' ; General Merchandise, Flour and Feed. Etc., HOOD RIVER, OREGON. I. HUBBARD, ja24 BEOS., VEGETABLES. - , - - OREGON. ADOPTED THE B SIS!! by QUALITY as well as QUANTITY. & ; BROSIUS, ja-araaQ-eic- for CASH at of close buyers. , YOUR TRADE: And dealer In all kinds of Building Materials. the Bridal Veil Lumber Company. Administrator's Notice. TO CREDITORS. - - Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has been duly appointed by the honorable county court of Wasco county, Oregon, ad ministrator of the estate of Martha Purser, de ceased. All persons having claims against said estate an notified to present the same to me in Hood River, Wasco county, Oregon, , within six months of the date oi this notice. Dated November 11, 18H5. , A. 8. BLOWERS, Administrator of the Estate oi Martha Pnrser, ' deceased. nl5d!3 Bargains in Land. 200 acres of unimproved land for sale.on the East Bide, 6 miles imm town, U7 to KIO an acre. Other land, about, half cleared, S20 nn acre. Well Improved land, $V) an acre. Plenty -of water for irrigation. Will sell iu 20 or 10-nore tracts. Inquire at. Glacier- office. Je22