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7 I fi!V •%i. k' -JS-*'. i» V,^. .IS- VOL. XXXX—NO 42. +-.Kr~'virw X&i? "4 9 REDUCING THL PRICE OF FOODS High prices for food tend to create high prices on everything else. The cost of producing any article is largely determined by the cost of subsistence of the workers that create it. When food prices are high, the ultimate re sult is to check consumption on the part of large classes of people who have not had corresponding advances in wages. Export trade is restricted, construction work held up, business suffers, and unemployment results. So to relieve the present unparalleled high cost of living, the first thing to do is to produce reasonable food prices. Some pAple think government price fixing will do it. It may help in ex treme cases. Yet in the long run you can't beat the law of supply and de mand. The supply is at. prese*-'. in sufficient for the demand, aggra £ed as this and will be by the disorjfe. zation of European industry. The farmer's interests must be cc ^paratus sidered. In the past the small farn. a ers profit did not fairly compensate ,ace him for his effort and investment. If ,v +n he is not able to secure a fair return people will not stay on the farms. So either production must be made more economical on the present aggregate of product, or a greater product must be turned out on the present level of expense. It will take the best scientific and organizing ability in the country to solve this problem. The ordinary ob server, however, can see many re spects i« which the work of food pro duction""^ not efficiently organized. The past fifty years have seen a complete revolution in most lines of industry. Labor saving machinery, systematic organization of great units of production, technical education for managers, training of workers in scientific methods, efficiency systems, these have kept down the cost of fac tory production.- Labor i§ paid a great deal more than formerly, but in many cases production costs less than it did 50 years ago. Can these modern efficiency meth ods be applied to the business of food production? A leading agricultural authority said the other day, that if the farmer could have the same ac cess to the markets for capital and la bor that other industries have, the production of food in this country could be increased four times. Even half of that result would enormously improve living conditions. A little series erf editorials to follow will en deavor to suggest how this could be done. N. 6. ENGINEERS IN SESSION HERE The North. Dakota Society of En gineers was caller to order Thursday morning at the council chambers, by E. J. Thomas, president, the city en gineer of Minot. About 30 are in at tendance, including city engineers, county surveyors, men from the office of the state engineer, and the other leading- engineers from every part jbf the state. Programs of technical* pa pers and talks on engineering ques tions and especially on their applica tion in this state is being carried out. There will be a banquet at the Ru dolf hotel at 6 p. m., and a lantern slide lecture later in the evening. NEW HIGH SCHOOL WILL BE BUILT The board of education is confront ed with serious lack of school room. This is not a new problem. The need began to be felt about five years ago, but war influence held building in abeyance. However, two years ago the need impelled action in spite of war's handicap, and plans were then quite well matured for building! when our own declaration of war placed final obstacles in the way. With the enforced delay the need has grown much more acute till the only way seems to be to build immediately. The lack of room pertains to both gradep and high school, but the great est pressure is in the high school. A new feigh school building will solve the immediate problems of both organiza tion and room all along the line. No other plan will give the necessary re lief- The high school has been run beyond the capacity of the .building for several years, with a gradual and regular increase of attendance. Last year it was thought the war* would cut down the enrollment, but instead it was increased. This year it was re garded unavoidable that the attend ance would fall off, but on the con rary again there was a large increase. At present the high school enrollment is 50- per cent over the capacity of the building, and with war's relief one can imagine what the cumulative in crease will be next year. The shortage of room manifests it self in many ways. There are over crowded rooms, corridors and stair ways, with attending problems of hygiene, discipline, fire-hazard and immense waste of time in Shoving from room to room every forty min utes. There is^ the necessity of using rooms not designed for class-rooms, which are unsatisfactory from the standpoints of health, instruction and administration. Throughout the sys tem no less than eight basement rooms are used for regular class work, w't'.i their varying inadequacy of 'her-t, licrht and ventilation. With 14 high school teachers and but ten irritation rooms under ^the high school roofrthe questions of peripate tic teachers and of'private help indis- pensftjle to the pupil's success, become embarrassing indeed. Many high school classes are sent to other build ings for recitation, involving exposure wasted' time, administrative difficul ties, and the use again of unadapta ble rooms. Dramatic' work, public musicale, athletic contests, commence ment programs, etc., Jiave to be held in unadaptable rented rooms—when even these are available, and with eofi stant threat that such use may be wholly withdrawn—at a cost that would pay the interest on about $10, 000 of bonds, and with much conse quent curtailment in such work. One of the greatest deficiencies of the high school is its dearth of spec ially appointed rooms. The heart of a high school is its library, yet our high school has no room it could use as such, aid consequently has but a small and inaccessible library. There isn't in the high school building a place left where a janitor may sit down or hang his broom, a place for the storage of teacher's or janitor's supplies, a teacher's rest room, a-vault for records "of priceless value, a place of privacy for consultation with prin cipal or superintendent without intrus ion, or a museum, dark-room, or ap- room s0 essential to a nce department. There is not even to the th ar to school. Another serious but growing diffi ci, & lies in the fact that special eqt Jlieqt cannot be sufficiently sprt out. Typewriting and book keep\ 0 classes may need to recite at the ..me time but their equipment has to be kept in one room. This also affects in a serious way the science, manual training, home economics and physical training departments. These embarrassments vitally affect the school by limiting the flexibility of the daily program, and consequently the course of study and the very method of teaching, and thereby the pupil's chances. The last few years, culminating in the period of the war, have brought new' ideas and methods and immense new responsibilities to the American high school, during the very period Valley City has gradually become in capacitated for that added require ment. With the war over, Valley City must not retrograde but rise to her responsibilities. G. W. HANNA, Supt. SAYS THE LEAGUE WILL DISINTEGRATE Former Justice Andrew A. Bruce of the supreme court of North Dako ta, one of the principal speakers at the mid-winter banquet of the Illinois State Bar association tonight, said he did not believe the. Nonpartisan League Vould endure. Judge Bruce who spoke on "Government by Law as Opposed to Government by Man/ discussed the agrarian movement in his own state revealing itself in the Nonpartisan League. "Though many of the ideas of the League will remain in our permanent law," said Judge Bruce, "the organi zation itself must sooner or later fall to pieces for the simple reason there are no points of common interest be tween the farmer and the Socialist and the farmer and the laboring man, and these today must be united." TEACHRERS' EXAMINATION The regular examination of appli cants for teachers' certificates U1 be held in Valley City, Thursday and Friday, February 13 and 14, 1919, in the Courth House beginning promptly at 8:30 a. m. 30-2tw NELLIE B. WHITCHER, Supt. Barnes County Schools CARD OF THANKS We wish to thank the many friends and neighbors for the kindness shown us during the illness and death of our mother. Also for the many beautiful flowers. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Moe, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Moe, Mr. and Mrs. M* L. Martin, George Moe, Louis Moe, .. Alma Moe, Ethel Moe Otto Moe. ltd-lw NEW STATE BANK IS ORGANIZED We mentioned some time ago that the American National Bank had been purchased by the league. Yesterday the stockholders held a meeting and elected the following officers: President—William Olson. Vice President—Henry S. Nelson, J. J. Hastings, S. A. Zimmerman. Cashier—A. C. Thorkelson. The new concern is to be known as the American Exchange Bank and is associated with the Skandinavian American Bank of Fargo. The paid-up capital stock is $200, 000 and the surplus $30,000. "The ac tion of changing a national bank into a state bank," said Mr. Hastings last night, "is significant of the confidence the farmers have in the new state bank law, especially at this time when some of the old line state banks are threatening to become national banks." O. P. Enerson left last night for Pasadena, Cal., to join Mrs. Enerson, who has been there for some time. Mr. Enerson will return here about the middle of March and while his vaca tion this winter will not be very long he figures that six weeks rest from the humdrum of farm life will do him good. It will." Here's hoping he will have a good time. The Jamestown basket ball team ac companied by a couple of hundred rooters arrived in the city about 7:30 last night on a special train. They came with the avowed intention of Hanging. the scalp of the Normal school team on their belt, and they got it. The Jamestown College team is a ?ood one and they played well togeth er which accounts for the victory. We are not saying that the Jamestown bunch can do that again for we- be lieve that the Normal school team with a little niore practice in team work will be able to reverse the de cision in some future game. It was a fast game from start to finish and the excitement on both sides was great. C. O. Easton, the insurance man, has moved his offices from over the City Drug store to rooms over the American National Bank. WHYNOTSIGN YOUR OWN NAME The editor of the Times-Record is amusing himself by writing articles in his editorials about the high cdst of everything in Valley City, first blaming the retail dealers for keeping the prices up and when he was called on the carpet for it, and to crawl out of it, exonerates the retailer and puts the blame on the wholesaler. We are not taking anybody's part in particular, and do not attempt to defend either the retailer or whole saler, but as a retail merchant we are interested in the world's markets with its changes in prices and naturally watch it very closely, and if our edi tor would have taken the time to get posted on prices as we do, perhaps the two articles would not have ap peared in his editorials. For it is a fact, and we can prove it, that mer chants in Valley City are buying from their local jobbers goods from 5 to 15 per cent cheaper here than from the east also is it a fact that the peo ple of Valley City are paying from 5 to 15 per cent less for what they buy (of course there are exceptions.) Our editor very likely read the but ter and egg market which showed a decline of 5c but did he take the trou ble to find out at what variance our prices here were from those in the east on those two commodities for the last ten months? For the benefit of those who do not know, we will say that when butter was 75 to 80c per pound in the east we bought butter at 50 to 55c per lb., and eggs from 15 to 20c per dozen cheaper (at all times.) As for fruit, candy, groceries, yes, and even wearing apparel and other com modities just take the trouble and read the Minneapolis and St. Paul ads, and compare them with the Val ley City prices and you will notice a great saving right in our own town. So Mr. Editor if you can't boost your own town merchants don't knock him. THE WEEKLY TIMES-RECORD VALLEY CITY NORTH DAKOTA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1919. JAMESTOWN GETS NORMAL'S SCALP It was a stand-off on the yell propo- the business life of the city expects sition and the Jamestown bunch more the Normal school and showed how than found its match when it came 1 down to the yell proposition. There ually to the welfare of the community. was an indication at the start on the part of one or two of tte Jamestown players to be rough but that was squelched immediately and from that on the game was all right. The score the maintenance of "church morale' if was 34 to 25 in favor of the visitors. I such a term is permissible. Dr. Allen The star players for the home team responded earnestly expressing his were Cook and Sad, for Jamestown it! appreciation of the words of friend was hard to "say who were the stars, I ship and cooperation and gave as as all of them played a great game The Jamestown bunch brought a band along with them which helped to liven things up. STEADY GROWTH Is the best indication of a HEALTHY CONDITION OUR TOTAL RESOURCES ON— December 31st, 1914 were $282,702.42 December 31st, 1915 were 434,497.78 December 31st, 191G nvere 461,398.27 December 31st, 1917 were 491,428.59 December 31st, 1918 were 571,342.89 BANK Of fiLLEY CITY A RETAIL MERCHANT Secretary I. J. Moe is making a big drive for membership in the Commer cial club. A town with a live wire Commercial club is a live town be cause there is always something do ing and the club with the backing of the business men of the town, are oft enable to land good things in the way of new enterprises, conventions, etc., that could not be secured only through a livfe club 'and live city. Remember this and send in your check for mem bership and help support an institu tion that is of much benefit to the city. BROTHERHOOD PUTS ON GOOD TIME Monday night at 6:30 p. m. the members of the M. E. Brotherhood and their invited friends met in the basement of the Epworth church, for their regular monthly supper. About 35 men were there and partook heart ily of the good feed provided by the ladies of the Ideal Circle. Then fol lowed a short program which was directed by the president, Dr. S. A. Zimmerman. He expressed gratifica tion because the men present repre sented the country, the city in its bus iness life and the professions, educa tional and otherwise. Dr. C. E. Allen, president of the Normal school, was the honor guest. J. W. Rodewald. spoke briefly yet pointedly on what it contributes materially and spirit- Dr. J. S. Wilds showed what influ ence the Normal school exerts in the church life of the city as to attend ance and as to what may be called surance that the Normal school wish ed to do its part in the making of a bigger and a better Valley City. The Y. M. C. A. quartet sang several num bers which pleased the listeners very much. This meeting was a very suc cessful one. Born—To Mr. and Mrs. George B. Smith, Jan. 27, a girl. llllllliiliilllilill 1- —•••.] A LETTER FROM A. E. F. TO AMERICA The Rhineland, Christmas, 1918. Dear America: Your sons are coming home. The task you set before them is nearly done, and now, day by day, week by week, month by month, your ships are bringing us home. If we have done well, it was for love of you. Dimly we understood that we had been sent forth to slay something which, if it throve unchecked, would one day reach out across the seas and destroy you. Very clearly we under stood that by ourselves would you be judged among the free peoples that the' hour had struck for us to show mankind the mettle of our pasture. And believe this—there was not one of us who did not walk a little straighter, live a little cleaner, work a little better, fight a little harder on that account. "Mammy," a Stevedore wrote in his Mothers' Day Letter last spring, "I want folks to see your raising in me." America, it was so with every one of us. Wen wanted all the wolrd to see your raising in us. And this is written just to tell you that those ships will bring back more than 2,000,000 men, every one abetter citizen than when we sailed away. Better citizens, because we know each other better. Rich and poor, high and low, rough and polished, East and West, North and South— the war has mixed up all together. Alabama and Iowa have joined to form a single brigade, and what a bri gade! Oregon has fought shoulder to shoulder with New York and means more to New York than ever she' meant—than ever she could have meant—before. Better citizens because of us—al most a million of us—have, for a time dwelt in that community spirit which nowhere in this workaday world is quite so animate as it was in that strange, simple country which was called the front. Above all, better citizens because you, America, mean more to us than ever before. For one thing, we have had to learn what, it is to do without you. Some for a little while others for interminable months, we have been obliged to do without you. Of course, the whole A. E. F.—though we have tried to hide it in our letters —has been as abysmally homesick as the most jealous mother could have wished. But surely that was no'bad thing. Then, too, we have seen such shin ing things done in your name. We who were at Chateau-Th'erry and northwest of Verdun have seen men in olive drab and forest green beside rr^*, us showed themselves made of such stuff as taught us a new wonder for the land that could breed them. There were some of us who had oset fortfi from our own front gate and journey all the way to the Marne to discover America. We of this generation had come to take our country for granted. We had come to take our liberty as a mat ter of course, like the air we breathed and the unfailing sun. It was not so with the generation that wrung the first homesteads from the wilderness. It was not so with the generation that conceived the ationin liberty and dedicated it to the proposition that all men are created qual. It was not so with the generation that fought a civil war to prove whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedi cated could long endure. But we—we of the easy spring of 1917—were like the idle sons of some rich man, in heritors of a fortune which only he could value who had by toil and sac rifice amassed it. Now we have done more than inherit the treasure. We have earned it. We were children of a great state. We have added to it. And so, dear America, we write you from the Rhine. In the name of those who cannot return, in the name of the best of all, those who lie beside the Marne and the Oui'cq and the Vesle and the Aire and the Meuse, we wish ycu a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Amei-ican soldier sends you his love. A. E. F. HIGH SCHOOL WINS ANOTHER Valley City was again returned vic torious Saturday night defeating La Moure 34 to 12. The game was more evenly matched than the score indi cates. During the first half both sides played evenly and the session closed with the score 8 to 3 in-Valley City's favor. In the last half the local boys got down to work and piled up a large score with some fine team work. The game was rather rough from start to finish. Bowen played his usual star game and was rivaled only by "Spike" Thayer who is sure playing a good game of basket ball. Riley for LaMoure seemed to be the best man although the whole team was well balanced and played well. Following is the line up: Valley City LaMoure Thayer Riley Bowen Juberg Busdicker (capti). Cottam DeLancy Duden Willson Gallahu Field baskets. Bowen 7, Thayer 3, Busdicker 2, Wilson 3, Riley 3, Juberg 1, Cottam 1. Free throws: Bowen 2. Riley 2. Referee: Sad and McFar land. CIVIL SERVICE JOBS FOR THE BOYS Washington, Feb. 4.—The United States civil service commission is per fecting arrangements whereby men who are about to be discharged from the army and navy may receive first hand information concerning oppor tunities for the employment in the federal civil service. The commission has received authority from the sec retary of war and the secretary of the navy to appoint its representatives at all establishments where enlisted men are assembled in considerable num bers. These representatives are now being appointed. They will be prepar ed to inform the men fully concerning positions Which are open, to supply them with application blanks, to as sist them, if necessary, with the exe cution of their applications and to ad vise them relative to civil service mat ters generally. It is the plan of the civil service commission to entrust this work to educational directors of welfare organizations already operat ing at the camps, cantonments, etc. The representatives of the commission who are appointed from the personnel of these welfare organizations will have the benefit of the advice and as sistance of the commission's local boards of examiners at nearby cities, in addition to the instructions receiv ed from the commission. OTTO HEMP PASSESAWAY Another pioneer citizen of Barnes county, one who was born and raised in the county, has answered the final summons, this time it is Otto Hemp, who passed away in this city yester day afternoon, about two o'clock, after an extended sickness. He was affilict ed with cancer of the throat and during the past year had had two op erations and had also taken the ra dium cure, but all to no purpose, the dread disease getting such a hold on his system that he succumbed to its ravages and he passed away as stat ed. Mr. Hemp is the brother of Mrs. N. P. Hanson, of this city, and his home ,was at Wimbledon. He has been identified with the development of Barnes county all his life and was one of the pioneer citizens who had done his part not only in the develop ment of the county but of the state. He was much respected by those who knew him and his demise will be re gretted by .a large circle of friends and acquaintances. The funeral will be held from the. home of Mrs. Hemp, 815 Woodland avenue, this city, at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Andrew Wogsland, one of the pros perous farmers from near Walum, is in the city today, visiting his daugh ter and other friends. :&mkMSwmmm Our boys are coming home from the war and they will have new ideas the old home town will not be to them just what it was before they went away. We must face this great problem. "How to Conserve the Sol dier Boys for our Community." To expect them to be satisfied after having seen the lights and sights of the great cities is a most dangerous policy to follow. There will of course be a warm welcome but will that be sufficient The job on hand will be to hold them as permanent residents. To ac complish this we must meet them with large civic plans, plans of the rehabilitation of their home town, new buildings, e. g., office, factory, public, residential, a city landscape plan for a city twice our size and this must be explained to them by some influential body of -citizens. Who shall be this influential body of citi zens to lead the home coming soldiers boys to the top of the mountain to view Canaan land. The Greatest Com mercial Club Possible to Organize. It must be so powerful, so efficient there will be no doubt in the minds of the boys who have witnessed the power of army organization that it can and will be accomplished. The soldier has learned the lesson never to be for gotten that organization is the game to win with and he will want to go WHERE THE GAME IS PLAYED TO WIN. Are the people of Valley City going to lay down on the job and let the old town remain the old town and run a chance of losing our boys, or, are you willing to get into the game and make our old town THE GET THERE TOWN, something doing for all of the boys and aid them to stay with us satisfied and happy boys. Part of this work is your work, if the com- munity fails it will be because you and I have failed, we have failed to do our part. Are you willing to do your part, if so do it now. HOUSE BILL NO. 183 Introduced by Harris by request A BILL Kota: Section 1. This Act shall be known as the Military Compulsory Act of the State of North Dakota. Section 2. The governor by and with the advise and consent of the Senate and House of Representatives, proclaims that each and every return ing soldier shall be compelled to pay an unlimited amount of attention to each any every unmarried lady be tween the ages of seventeen to fory five inclusive. It is Further Provided, That the widow of former soldiers shall have the same status as single women, and shall enjoy the same rights and priv ileges. Section 3. Each discharged soldier shall fii*st be compelled by this act to give his financial standings, property holdings, amount of insurance if any, ang pension if any. Section 4. Whereas, It will be un lawful for any ordained minister,. Clerk of Court or Justice of the Peace to issue a passport to said discharged soldier for further inspection in tther fields. Providing, He can file affidavit showing that he has been honorably discharged from the U. S. Army, dis charged from quarantine and that he has sufficient money to pay auto hire, theatre bills, dinner bills and sach necessities of the present way of Iiv ihg. You Will Take Notice, That a man after attaining the age of sixty years, and not incumbered with a wife and family, shall have each and every privilege, and be on the same stand ing as the Honorably discharged sol dier, providing that he abides by Sec tion 3 of this Act. Section 5 Emergency. WheTeas, it is necessary for the preservation of the population, public peace and safe ty, that this Act become effective without delay, in that the efficiency of our public schools need encourage ment at this time. Therefore, This Act shall become effective immediately upon its pass age and approval by the Governor. Referred to Committee on Temper ance. HOLD THEIR ANNUAL MEETING The annual meeting of the stock holders of the Peoples Cooperative Trading Company was held yesterday. There were about two hundred farm ers in to the lunch at the store after which the meeting was adjourned to the city council chambers where it could be held more comfortably and the crowd taken care of. Three direc tors were elected as follows. Henry Henry BrUns, S. E. Harper and Peter Hanson. The directors then elected the following officers: President, George A. McFarland vice-president, John Mclntyre treasurer, S. E. Har per secretary and manager, Harvey Taylor. The reports of the various officers were read to the gathering and the year's business gone over. We understand that it was a very good meeting and the showing made of the business for the past year very satisfactory. mm&m For an Act making it Unlawful to. visit or be entertained outside the bailiwick of any soldier at the time of his induction into the Service. Be it Enacted by the Legislative As sembly of the State of North Da- sm. -4 JU v$# laWWk ESTABLISHED 1*79. 'W, PROBLEMS FOR OUR VALLEY CITY PEOPLE •IS