The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume], July 20, 1944, Image 1

About The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
VOL. XXX
Federal Control
Crimps Counties
Increases Costs
Cuts Revenues
From Taxes
Congressmen hold hear
ing to work out local
problems of financing
Gradual strangling of;lo¢al gov
ernments by federal encroachment
'on property tax revenue sources
was graphically portrayed by wit
nesm appearing at a five-hour
hearing conducted by J. Hardin
Peterson, Florida congressman and
chairman of the public lands com
mittee of the house, in the Yak
ima county courthouse recently.
Peterson, who was assisted at
the hearing by two committee
members, Cong. Compton 1. White
of Idaho and Hal Holmes of Wash
ington, learned that federal ac
quisitions already have taken from
local tax rolls 34 percent 'of the
NEWS g
BEHINE
Hfie’fifi
Dewey Campaign May Surprise
Country ‘
This coming Dewey presidential
campaign is likely to surprise the
- country. .
Not unlike the earlier Mr. ROO
- selvelt he has novel ideas (though
not the same ideas). He does ‘not
Ework in political grooves, is” far,
om und‘ .. . J
_ ~3she-gfftré fiafitm‘samm
a little, because his ,methods are
J different, although his inside rec
‘ ord at the convention showed sur
prisingly few mistakes.
To give you the closeup picture,
. consider his designational of a
woman as his leader on the plat
form committee, Lawyers and
politicos haggle hours over words
in these platform meetings and
this time sat up all night at it as
usual.
A sharpster in words is usually
a candidate’s choim for that task.
Dewey chose small, pleasant, gray
haired. Miss Mary Donlin, a New
York attorney, to repnesent him.
She was last out of the meeting
at 5:30 am. - _ ,
_ ' But to go deeper than this
example. there ~were three fac
tions within that committee as
indeed within the whole conven
tion—not Deweyites, Bricker boys,
Stassen men, etc., but a group of
senators, a clan of governors and
a third crowd of just plain dele
gate political workers from back
home.
The governor clan, representing
26 states, consider themselves
more important politically ~ than
the senators, and got their gump
tion up to such an extent that
the senators listened to them.
However, governors are not up
on the national issues to the ex
tent that the senators are, who
handle them daily. In fact, the
governors seemed to have little
to complain about and appar
ently they just wanted recogni
tion for themselves rather than
any special viewpoint.
Veto Work by Dewey
In this conflict, Dewey seems to
to have largely let the senators
write the declaration of party
principles. Taft of Ohio, Danaher
of Connecticut and Millikin of
Colorado did most of it. Through
(Continuec on Page 8)
OUR BOYS IN THE SERVICE
LT. WAYNE L. SMALLEY
Son of Mrs. R. H. Smalley of the
Valley, serving in the Air Corps.
@ll2 iKmanirk Glnurivr- ifivnnrtvr
area of the state, representing a 1
valuation of $272. 197,077. i
Benton County Hard Hit .
“Benton county would have been
bankrupt if we had not obtained
an SBI,OOO grant from the state,”
said Jay Perry of Kennewick,
Benton county commissioner. “We
have no assurance of more emer
gency grants.” ‘
The record showed that the gov
ernment has taken over 149,944
acres of Benton county land, chief
ly for the Hanford-RiChland proj
ect and a large navy bombing
range.
“The loss of tax revenue on this
land is not as serious as the addi
tional expense the caunty must
meet in providing functions of gov
ernment for the enlarged popula
tion,” Perry testified. ..
Enforcement Costs Mount}
He pointed out that costs of
four divisions of law enforcement
had risen from $7739 in the first
six months of 1943 to $32,737 for
the corresponding period in 1944.
Superior court cost alone jumped
from $906 to $13,126.
Mrs. Frances Oliver of Pasco,
Franklin county assessor, testified
that Franklin county was con
fronted with a similar problem.
The county has had approximately
$55,000 of assessed valuations re
moved from its tax rolls. , '
Testimony from Ed (Deke) .
Davis of Olympia, state director ‘
of conservation and development, ‘
that state.officials are fearful of
the economic disruption which 1
would come with the proposed
Cascade monument brought a
statement from Cong. Holmes
that public lands committee mem
bers will strive to keep western
,lands open for multiple uses.
It was explained that the pro:
posed monument might place a
large acreage on the Cascade
range under restrictions which
would retard' lumbering, mining,
and livestock interests.
Detailed, Maps Studied
a....:sWeasa§s§,«-r~§muuubi. .the..;-,scenin
values of our state,” said Con:
gressrnan Holmes, “and we agree
with the policy of conservatibn of
these scenic wonders, but we hope
to impress upon easterners .the
necessity of keeping western areas
open for- orderly economic. devel
opment.” '
, Lew Selvidge of Olympia, sec
retary of the‘state association of
nnlln+ly nnmmiccinnnrc nlnr-nfl in
the record detailed maps showing
the 14,669,271 'Washington acres
which are under federal control
and consequently evade local taxa- ,
tion. . . ‘ ‘
These lands include national for
ests, national parks, Indian re;-
serves, military _and naval re
serves, .' power . and reclamation
areas, and incidental federal hold--
ings. '
Campbell Gives Testimony
E. G. Campbell, deputy Yakima
county assessor, testified that
Yakima county was‘ not greatly
hurt by military acquisition be
cause land taken for such proj
ects as the artillery range was
of low value and prOduced little
in tax revenue.
Campbell estimated that 75,000
acres of the agricultural land on
the Yakima Indian reservation is
tax free and explained that the
county is obligated to provide
roads, law enforcement and other
functions for persons living on
these lands. ‘ -
E ,L. Lindman of Olympia, sta
tistician in the state school super
intendent’s office, testified that
weakening of the real estate tax
foundation of school districts has
forced the state to come to the
aid of many rural districts, most
severly affected by federal ac
quisitions. '
Lester Stresses Problem
Joe Lester of Wenatchee, Chelan
county commissioner, pointed out
that the federal government owns
86 per cent of Skamania county,
and that many counties and school
districts are crippled by tax cur
tailment.
Several witnesses stressed that
increases in sales tax volume fail
to solve the problem because this
revenue goes to specified state
uses and does not find its way
into county treasuries.
Others testifying yesterday were
T. S. Hedges of Olympia, of the
state tax commission, John Pow
ers, Grant county assessor, James
Brain, Kittitas county commission—
er and G. L. Sterling, secretary of
Kittitas valley irrigation districts.
Congressmen Praise Record
Declaring that the record ob
tained in the Yakima hearing was
one of the best obtained in a na
tion-wide study of the public lands
problem. He and Congressmen
White and Holmes said that they
hoped to obtain congressional ap
proval of a bill which will equalize
the tax structure and safeguard
the local governments and private
interests involved—Yakima Her-
KENNEWICK; ,WASHEGTON, THURSDAY, JULY 20,1944
I t “ .Awoitingfhe‘Rider . } l
Haggard—WEEKS Buy Beghefl
To Dedicate Big Plane Sundayl
~Workers on the Hanford Construcunday 'as an outright donation.
tion Project have chosen “Day’s Here Miss Carol Roddam and G
Pay” as the name for the B-17 Feorge E. Gerlach, two of theeleven
lying Fortress which they willcontestants who submitted the nam ‘
present to the Army Air Forces Se, point proudly to their selection. 1
Big calehralién
Is Promised '
Speeches, band, sailors,
free ice cream, ‘etc.
A proposition to szage a big
community celebration here on
Labor Day was presented to the
chamber of commerce this noon
by “Ziggy” Kemper of the Ken
newick Hospital BoOsters club. As
a result of the big day between
$2500 and S3OOO is expected to be
gathered for the hospital fund.
Plan proposed is to have a noted
speaker as the main attraction
(Eric Johnston of Spokane or Gov.
ernor Langlie are proposed). The
services of the colored band and
a drill by enlisted men from the
base are expected to be secured. '
In addition there are all kinds of
races and games for young and
old proposed as well as an auction,
with free ice cream and other
treats for ’the kids and service
men. '
One of the stunts to gather in
the sheckels for the hospital fund
is a kiss sale, where pretty girls
of the community will sell kisses
at a dollar each. This is a sure
fire money-getter “Ziggy” "prom
ises and everyone has a lot of fun
out of it. ' '
The plan was presented to the
chamber and in turn handed over
to the advertising committee to
secure the cooperation of the
businessmen and women in the
community. -
T. R. Day who now, operates
‘a hardware store at The Dalles,.
was in Kennewick Tuesday “and
iWednesday on a short vacation.
*He came up to see the new devel
iopment in .the ' community of
which he was so .long a part. He
has adopted the new method of
taking a vacation of locking the
store up for a week or two, with
all hands gone at the same time.
The Weather
Fantastic reports as to the tem.
peratures this week are refuted
by the actual figures from the
government thermometer. The
thermometer is placed in a little
slat cage out in a bare spot (not
on grass or damp ground, but
out in the open) and the following
are the official""figures' for the
past week as compared with those
of the corresponding week a year
ago: v .
July 1943 1944
13 94 50 _ 88 52
14 87 60 94 53‘
15 84 53 97 ' 52
16 90 49 94 59
17 -. 92 60 99 '55
18 97 56 105 60
19' 104 57 . 97 69
Sid Brownell Receives
New Army Medal
'For exemplary conduct in com
bat, Pvt. Sidney R. Brownell of
Kennewick has been presented the
Army’s newest aWard for infant
rymen, the Combat Infantryman
Badge.
Awarded for exemplary conduct
in combat or for combat action
in a major operation, the new
medal is a silver rifle on a blue
field with a silver border, im
posed on an eliptical silver wreath.
Private Brownell is the brother
of Gordon Brownell of Kenne-1
wick. Since starting his tour of 1
overseas service on May 26, 1942,
he has been stationed on New
Zealand, Fiji Islands and Guadal—
canal. ‘
He is a veteran of the New{
Georgia campaign, and. is a memr
ber of the infantry regiment whichi
repelled the Japanese attack on‘
Hill 700 in four days of historically
intense fighting which saw the:
annihilation of more than 17001
of Japan’s 6th Imperial Divisiony‘
infamous for the 1938 rape of Nam‘
king. ‘ ‘
Workers and their families on
the Hanford government construc
tion project near here will gather
at Hanford airport on Sunday
morning to witness the formal
christening of. the B-17 Flying
Fortress whichyt'heyhave bought
to present to the‘Army Air Forces
as ‘an outright gift. . .
The name to be painted on the
silvery sides of the big bomber
is “Day’s Pay.” This was the name,
selected by the workers’ committee
because the campaign was con
ducted under the slogan: “Give a
Day’s Pay and Send a Bomber on
its Way.” Eleven workers sug
gested the name in the contest
that .was held. -
The bomber, which is being
bought outright and not with
bonds, will be presented to high
officers of the Army Air Forces
who will be on hand for thei
Ceremony. John C. Heidbrink,
chairman of the workers’ commit
tee, will make the presentation.
The plane will be christened prob
ably by a woman representative
of the workers yet to be named.
At the conclusion of the pro
gram, which will be high-lighted
by speeches of various important
officials, the big bomber will be
tuned up, taxied to the end of the
field, and then will take wing
over the crowd on its way to
combat duty.
The workers’ committee put on
an extra drive this week'in order
to‘ have the funds. collected and
the money in the bank by Sun
day morning when the plane will
be flown to the Hanford airport.
Despite the fact .that the workers
recently exceeded their plant
quota -in the Fifth War Loan
drive, they decided to go a step
farther and present a bomber of
their own. '
Prominent Speaker to be
At CofC Meet Thursday
commander Deauul'y y. mas
tick will be a special speaker at
the regular chamber of commerce
luncheon'next Thursday noon, and
all members are urged to be pres
ent. -A delegation from Pasco
is expected to be present also
to hear Commander Mastick.
Commander Mastick is chair
man of the Army-Navy depart
ment committee, National Council
YMCA and is coming here in the
interests of the USO. He is a
chemist and to his credit is the
invention of the star shell now so
widely used. In addition, he is a
banker and business man and has
been a senator from New York
1923-1934.
Brotfier‘ Serves 2 Years
In New Caledonia Area
A postal card from J. U. Lacour
to Mrs. Moret‘ on the Highlands
brought the first word she has had
for several years from her brother
Claude Verey. Lacour stated thal
he had run across Verey in New
Caledonia, where he has been
stationed ‘for two .years, serving
with naval units. He sent regards
to his sister and friends here.
82 c Lois Cash to 1
Work in Florida 4
Lois Gerard Cush, who left the}
first of the week for Pensacola.
Florida,after spending a week with
the home folks, will be assigned
as, a beauty operator with the
Waves when she gets back on
duty. She has completed her train
ing course in the service and will
be stationed at Pensacola.‘ She
is the only child of Mr. and Mrs.
Dan Giard of the River Road.
Bonneville Poma‘g
7'Proiiis" Claim is}
Misleading i
l
Head of PP&L-pomts 1
out errors in showmg j
of operation figures 1
“I am surprised to note a Spo- 3
kane statement attributed to Dr.
Jaul J. Raver to the effect that ‘
the Bonneville power administra- .
tion has made a net profit of .
$7,000,000 to date and will net .
$10,000,000 more this year alone,” .
declared Paul B. McKee, presi
dent of Pacific Power & Light Co.,
in a statement released here re
cently, ' \
“I have no quarrel with Dr.
Raver as an individual," said Mc-
Kee, “but he represents the bu
reaucrats and I represent a tax
paying business enterprise the hu
reaucrats would like. to destroy,
and I can’t let such claims go un
challenged. I don’t' think Mr.
Raver originated the statement be
cause with his education and back
ground he is a better mathema
tician. It must have come from
Mr. Ickes 'or his assistant, Abe
Fortas, who recently visited Port
land.”
The “profit” statement is mis
leading on two counts, McKee
charged.
“In the first place, the bureau
crats have been boasting that“ 85
percent of Bonneville’s sales are
going to war plants,” he said.
“This means that if Bonneville’s!
makes afprofit’ of $10,000,000 this
year, it is on war orders. All that‘
has happened js that Uncle Sam
has paid out an extra $10,000,000
to war producers from one pocket
and then taken the money back
into another pocket. It is pretty
hard for the government, or any
one else, to make a genuine profit
that way. ‘
“Fundamentally, of course, the
government is not supposed to be
in business for a profit, least of all
in the business of making a profit
out of the war.
“The second point is that if the
Bonneville administration had
charged to it anything like the
total actual investment in power
‘plants, lines and other facilities at
BonneVille and Grand Coulee, its
financial picture would be pretty
sad. - .
“Bonneville and Coulee are both
government subsidized ‘. ventures.
A large part of the investment at
Bonneville is charged to naviga
tion and fishways. Grand Coulee:
costs have not yet been allocated
finally. ~
“Bonneville pays no taxes to lo
cal, state or federal governments
on its tremendous accumulation of
tax-free property. By contrast, the
business-managed electric com
panies of Oregon and Washington
:now pay more than $10,000,000 a
year in taxes, an amount that
would wipe out completely Bon
neville’s war profits. And these
companies sell electricity at about
half the national average price.
“Bonneville and Grand Coulee
have brought enough real benefits
to the Pacific Northwest and justi
fy their existence without the bu
reaucrats having to invent reasons
of their own. I have never op
posed their construction, but I
am vigorously‘opposed to any and
all efforts to use these'projects
as sounding boards for misleading
political propaganda.”
Urge Oil Users to Get
All Fuel in Storage Now
C. E. Ridley, chairman of the
lOcal ration board, reports that
fuel oil consumers who have re
turned fuel oil renewal applica
tions, are now receiving 1944-45
heating season coupons and he
urges all consumers place an
order with their fuel oil supplier
for as much oil as their storage
can possibly handle, up to their
period .2 coupons. Period No. 1
coupons became valid July lst,
instead of September 30th, when
the 44-45 heating season begins,
in order that people may take ad
vantage of the summer fill-up and
will relieve the dealer storage
space, so that he may refill for
winter storage. All consumers
who have not filled out the re
newal applications. Mr. Ridley
urges to. do so at once, as this
areaisfacedwithaverycritical
fuel oil shortage this winter, due
to the large demands of the armed
forces.
City" to Exiend
Sewer Line in
Haspilal Site
Citizens back up more
to open Gum street 1:)
1n glm'ay connection
Appears like the everlasting
complaints about the untidiness oi
the main street are beginning to
get under the hides 'of the city
c.- nncil. At any rate, strict orders
have been given property holders
along the street to permit no more
paper piles and other junk to ac
cumulate in the ally and blow
around the corner with the first
breeze. Also the ordinance against
burning stuff outside of approved
containers is again to be enforced.
Cards bearing the orders have
been distributed and Fire Chief '
Pratt thinks the big source of com
plaint will thereby cease.
The council also listened to a
group of property owners in the
east end of town back A. W.
Campbell. chairman of the street
and alley. committee up with his
attempts to open Gum street from
Third Avenue East to the Bridge
intersection. This job will in
volve an underground crossing of
the NP. and will give residents
making a loop into town and
in the section of town quick con
nectiom. with ‘the highway without
running the risks 01' being held
up by a long freight train. A
considerable share of the right of
way for the new street has been
donated providing the road is
opened. ‘ ,
Petitions. have been received
from several property owners re
garding oiling their streets. Own
ers along Avenue C below the
curve. in the pavement .- appeared
Tuesday night asking that their
road be. gitren an oil coating.
Mayor Amon pointed out that no
oil was available for new con
struction and only maintenance
oil could be secured. - The city
is "making preparations for a
couple of cars of the latter type
and will apply it as soon as the
, county can spare the equipment
Imam: it.
- "'.‘,‘i‘hecity W toutend
the sewer mains to the new hos
‘ pital. site when and if the thing
is approved and construction is
begun. P. G. Richmond and Urban
Keolker of the hospital committee
were present to explain the ‘propo
sition. ' .
Joe Gerards. speaking for sev
eral .ot the property owners along
Third Avenue East declared that
the city Was using some fifteen
fleet of the front of their property
tor'stneet purposes and asked that
some arrangemen be made to re
imburse them for the property
01' give ’em a sidewalk Or some
thing. Mayor Amen promised to
' have an investigation made and
see what could be'. done—it any
thing. -
Mint—G:O—v:rers Vote
To Incorporate
j At a meeting of the mint grow
ers last Sunday it was voted to
incorporate. A board of directors,
consisting of W. T. Elliot, Harold
Mccamish, W. J. Preston, A. R.
Sperline and -V. O. Humphrey,
‘were elected to draw up the by
lawk and a growers contract.
The board of directors met Tues
day evening and have the papers
to present to a meeting of the
growers to be held at the Valley
Grange hall July 23 at 2:00 p.m.
At that time the organization is
to be completed and any growers
who want drums for the storage
of their oil are' requested to leave
their orders with the secretary.
This is a very important meeting
and it is hoped that we may again.
have a full attendance.
Mr. and Mrs. Clement Cejka
were in Walla Walla where their
little daughter Doris Ann's tonsils
were moved.
_._—__..—
OUB BOYS IN ' THE SERVICE
CM 2/c RAYMOND KUH
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Kuh of
the Valley. in training at Glen
view, Illinois.
21