Though heralded throughout the city that Pastor E. P. Taliaferro, the alleged advocate of Pastor Russell, would speak at St. Mark's hall last night at 7:30 o'clock, the meeting didn't materialize owing to restrictions placed over the appearance of the speaker. Following a day of diligent investigation of literature the man and his followers had in their possession, Mayor Gates ordered him to leave Medford on the 6:00 o'clock northbound train. At the time of the official order, Taliaferro was at his temporary residence in the southern part of the city, and George Maynard was detailed to bear the ruling to the preacher and hasten his departure. They failed to reach the train before it arrived and left the city, so Mayor Gates extended his order, and told authorities to see that he was clear of his domain before 7:30.
    With this order, Officer Timothy visited Taliaferro's residence, and after telling him of the mayor's order added that it might be wise to obey it explicitly, as Medford's patriots did not care to see him again.
    At 7:30 p.m. Officer Timothy again called on the parson, but this man, it was reported, boarded a car driven by Maynard and to all appearances were bound for Ashland. At a late hour last night no word had been received from that city regarding the refugees.
    Shortly after 6 o'clock an increasing mob gathered before St. Mark's hall, with Mayor Gates in its midst, and threats of violence emanated from the crowd. C. M. Kidd, the liberty loan worker, asked the opinion of several recruits to his growing party as to the length of rope required, and as to the best place to "pull the trick." With the absence of the pastor, however, the excitement and crowd soon subsided, and no violence was reported.
    Elbowing their way through the crowd of determined citizens, some 12 women trudged upstairs to the hall with the expectation of hearing the lecture. After this small congregation had become seated, Officer Timothy read the following statement distributed by Taliaferro, which had its effect of clearing the hall:
    "April 12, 1918: Since the mayor and chief of police, the highest authority to which I have access today, have forbidden me to speak here tonight, and since I desire to be, always have been, and always shall be law-abiding, I will postpone this meeting until such time as I can get legal action. (Signed) E. P. Taliaferro."
    This note was pinned to the office door of the Medford Sun.
    Mayor Gates and Officer Timothy also received a like note. Who distributed the epistles, and the reason for their publicity is not known. The mayor said he was pleased with its tone, however.
    When Pastor Taliaferro entered the Gates store with his delegation yesterday morning and announced who he was, Mr. Gates didn't waste any time in preliminaries. "I have been looking for you," he said, "and want to know what you want to hold a meeting in Medford for."
    "We are working for Christ," was the answer.
    "Well, why don't you work for him in a uniform?" replied the mayor. "A good many of you are of draft age; why don't you get busy working for righteousness where it will count--on the western front with a million other good Americans instead of buzzing around this country stirring up trouble and making it harder for us to win this war?"
    "We are against war," observed the leader.
    "Well, then why don't you fight against it?" returned Pop with a vehement smash of his fist. "I've got my only son on the western front. Don't you think I am going to let a lot of sanctimonious sneaks speak in the city and make it harder for him over there. Not on your life. If you hold a meeting here tonight I will do the talking, you won't, and what I shall say won't please you any too much either. But you aren't going to speak."
    "It's our constitutional right," observed the pastor.
    "I am no lawyer," was the reply, "but as long as I am mayor of this town and as long as this country is in this war, no one is going to speak in public encouraging slackers and making it easier for the kaiser to murder our boys. Not on your life. You aren't going to speak if I know it."
    There was some more to the conversation, but that gives the general idea. Finally the delegation walked out, and Pop Gates promptly called Chief of Police Hittson and instructed him to corral the bunch, find where their transportation read [sic] and send them on their way.
    The chief hunted all afternoon but it was near train time when one of the delegation was finally picked up and taken to prosecuting attorney Roberts' office, where he was questioned. The prosecuting attorney strongly advised the Russellite to get out of town and avoid trouble. This man was George Maynard, manager of a vulcanizing shop and local leader of the International Bible Students. He repeatedly stated his innocence of any attempt to incite Germanism in this city or any other place, but added that God would soon come to earth and establish a government under which all others would be without authority.
    Meanwhile Mayor Gates was out on the streets, a self-adopted sleuth, seeking alleged members of the association. He soon appeared at the office with a man alleged to have sold books throughout the county relating to the matter at hand. Officer Timothy followed with another, and a general conference at the prosecuting attorney's office ensued.
    Apparently bored with the alibis proffered by the men, Mayor Gates declared:
    "You (speaking to Maynard) tell that Taliaferro fellow to get his junk together and catch the 6:06 going north, and if he doesn't he'll be subject to violence!"
    Maynard meekly assented and hurried to his car, and as hurriedly made his way to South Peach Street, where Taliaferro was staying.
    Mayor Gates, with Chief of Police Hittson and Officer Timothy, waited at the depot for their arrival. 6:06 came and went. Mayor Gates fumed. It was here that he voiced his desire to "punch" the pastor's face, and adding that he never had seen a better face to strike. They waited several minutes longer, when Mayor Gates announced that the pastor would leave Medford by 7:30 or take his choice of convincing the gathering mob, or spend the time being in the city jail.
Medford Sun, April 13, 1918, page 1

    That the patriotic vigilante organization which last Friday night inked George Maynard and warned him to get out of Medford and the county by this morning, under penalty of more serious treatment, means business and has started out to clean up the city and vicinity of persons of any taint of disloyalty, became known today.
    Last Saturday the vigilantes mailed out letters to several other men who are known to be connected with the International Bible School religious cult, to publicly answer through the local newspapers just where they stood on Liberty Bonds, Red Cross, army Y.M.C.A. and general attitude on the war and patriotism, by Tuesday morning, else they would receive a visit from the vigilantes.
    It could not be learned today whether Mr. and Mrs. Maynard were still in the county, but it was generally understood that they were not in Medford. Neither was it known whether Pastor Taliaferro, the Russellite leader, was still in the county, but it was supposed that he might still be hiding in Ashland.
    Relative to the inking episode of last Friday night, County Prosecutor Roberts said today that he would make no effort to prosecute members of the vigilantes. He said he had informed several persons who inquired that he would resign his office before he would prosecute them for kidnapping and inking Maynard with German iron crosses.
    Mr. Roberts, however, declared that he deplored mob violence of any kind, and relative to the vigilantes' notices to members of the International Bible Students residing in Medford to make known their stand on the war under threat of a visit from the vigilantes, he intimated that if any harm was done to any man or woman member of the cult for failure to answer, he would prosecute anyone interfering with them to the limit. In fact, Prosecutor Roberts said that if any such person was interfered with he would start one of the biggest rows in local history. He requested that persons addressed by the vigilantes bring him the warnings and not answer them through the papers, and promises prosecution for any future overt acts.
    At the service flag dedication exercises at the Presbyterian Church last night, Captain R. W. Clancy in his address called attention to the fact that the vigilantes had sent a threatening letter to a man he had known for eight or nine years, who, he said, was inoffensive, but misguided in his religion. The captain declared that if this man was harmed at all, he would see that the perpetrators were brought to justice.
    Mayor C. E. Gates in an address following that of Dr. Clancy spoke in defense of the acts of the vigilantes of last Friday night and of sending threatening letters to members of the cult. The mayor also said that the man Dr. Clancy was upholding was connected with the International Bible Students.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 15, 1918, page 2

MAYOR ORDERS QUARANTINE OF FLU SUFFERERS

Medford Mail Tribune, October 23, 1918, page 6


    While funeral services were being held in the I.O.O.F. cemetery this afternoon at the grave over the late William H. Barnum, who died of influenza in the Sacred Heart Hospital Wednesday morning, his wife and baby son lay ill with the same disease at the hospital only a few hundred feet away from the cemetery. Mrs. Barnum's condition was improved today, she having recovered somewhat from the shock of her husband's death, and the baby continues to improve.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, October 24, 1918, page 2

MEDFORD PEOPLE SORRY THAT THEY FETED "HERO"

    A little ray of sunshine and some hot knocks against the tobacco smokers and chewers of Medford has been thrown into the flu epidemic mask situation by the receipt of the following unsigned letter, no doubt written by a woman, to Mayor Gates:
"Dear Pop Gates:
    "Allow me to congratulate you on the nice crowd appearing on the streets. They all look so neat. The mask improves their looks. Their eyes smile over the top and all go along and tend to their knitting. They all look so alike--just like a bunch of white peas out of the same pod.
    "No one standing on the corners filling the gutters with tobacco juice. Even the old pipes, cigar stubs and cigarette stubs are gone. The air is pure and wholesome. The flu will soon be gone. Dear Pop Gates, just take a walk uptown and see the difference. So, Pop, keep them muzzled for their own good and good looks until all danger of flu is past."
    The mayor was so impressed with the letter that in order to relieve his agitation he at once drove to his home, entered the woodshed thereof, and proceeded to smoke his weekday pipe, which is much stronger than the Sunday one.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 17, 1918, page 6


    Opponents of the flu mask ordinance, including a small representation of business men and and a goodly representation of Christian Scientists, invaded the city council meeting last night in a vain endeavor to stampede the council into repealing the ordinance. The meeting was a stormy one--in fact it resulted in a monkey and parrot time, with much heated sputtering through flu masks.
    Heated remarks, made by some of the combatants of both sides, burned holes through their masks and killed a lot of flu germs lurking thereabouts, notably in the cases of John C. Mann and Dr. James Madison Keene, anti-mask opponents, and Mayor Gates and Councilman John Carkin, pro-maskers. The latter especially became so incensed when the crowd at one time hooted the majority of the council for retaining the masks, that he spoiled all his chances of going to a certain place of splendid reputation. John gave an eloquent representation of an injured city official filled with righteous indignation clear up to the top of his mask.
    The protest and cheesecloth row was all useless. as the council voted to leave the matter of abolishing masks to the judgment of the board of health, whose membership is composed of Mayor Gates, Health Officer Pickel and Doctors Hargrave and Emmens, who are also councilmen, all mask adherents. In fact it was this announcement that caused the anti-mask opponents to hoot and sneer, thus causing John Carkin to go over the top with verbal machine guns and vocal hand grenades.
    After the meeting Mr. Carkin was so disgusted at the actions of the mask opponent crowd that he talked of resigning from the council. Dr. Keene also uttered through his cheesecloth a threat to resign from the council, which he denounced as a Bolsheviki body, which drew hurriedly from Dr. Hargrave the comment that he hoped he would do so at once and that the council would be better off. Just like that Doc. Hargrave spoke up to Doc. Keene, which so excited
Chief Timothy that his mask fell off and he forgot to replace it.
    But to begin at the beginning of the pieces conference, the council had no inkling whatever of the coming invasion of the anti-flu mask crowd until just before the meeting began and the crowd showed up. Among the few business men in it were John C. Mann, W. F. Isaacs, prominent anti-leaders: H. U. Lumsden, Dr. F. C. Page, E. M. McKeany, Bert Thierolf and G. L. Treichler. The anti-mask crowd numbered about 40 men. They were represented by attorneys Gus
Newbury and Porter J. Neff, but Mr. Neff uttered not a word during the meeting.
    When the majority of the council saw what it was they were up against they hurriedly passed word to each other that they would listen respectfully to all arguments and then refer the matter to the board of health. A conspicuous feature of the meeting was that every person in the room, pro and anti, wore a flu mask.
    The cheesecloth battle began peacefully enough and gradually worked up to a climax. When the time was reached for hearing the protest Gus Newbury, suave and earnest, smoothed his front hair, gave his trousers a hitch and then began his 20 minutes' argument.
    The burden of his remarks was that the wearing of masks was unsanitary and filthy, did no good at all, injured business irreparably and unnecessarily. He cited medical and legal authorities, and stated that no other city and town in the country wore flu masks except Medford. His argument was long and thorough. The only condition that he missed was pointing out that Adam and Eve never wore masks--on their faces.
    His address finished, the meeting warmed up with a more or less general discussion, during which John C. Mann stated that several of his clerks were home sick with sore throats from wearing masks. Mayor Gates at once disputed this statement and called upon Mr. Mann to be fair in his opposition.
    While the turmoil was at its height Councilman Emmens made a nice, conciliatory talk in which he appealed to the mask opponents to suspend judgment until the masks had a fair trial. Then if it was found that they were not efficacious in preventing the spread of the flu the council would abandon them,
    Dr. Keene was prominent in the opposition to the masks and several times reiterated his well-known Bolsheviki arguments and classed the council's ordinance as a high-handed outrage.
    Mayor Gates insisted that the flu epidemic had steadily decreased since the wearing of masks in the city, until only one case was reported for Tuesday up to 4 p.m. that day. The mayor declared that only two classes of persons were opposing the masks—those who were too dignified to wear them and those who placed the almighty dollar above the saving of human lives.
    When the mayor announced that the council had decided to refer the protest to the board of health a chorus of sneers and mild hoots arose from the anti-mask crowd. Then it was that Councilman Carkin went over the top, calling the crowd a set of "bullheads" who were in the minority of the citizenship and were trying to force and stampede the council, which was doing its best to save human lives. He pointed out that the council's task at a time like this was a difficult one and that its
efforts were worthy of commendation and called for cooperation instead of "senseless" opposition.
    Councilman Keene, at the conclusion of the mayor's announcement, tried to introduce a motion that the mask ordinance be repealed, but Mayor Gates refused to entertain his motion. Dr. Keene then demanded the board of health be required to report its decision back to the council for action, but the mayor and majority of councilmen declared that this was an unnecessary action and the board would lift the flu mask ordinance whenever the epidemic situation would warrant it.

    The Highway Department expended in Jackson County during 1917 and 1918 the sum of $86,619.88. The work accomplished with this amount consists of six and five-tenths miles of 16-foot crushed rock macadam in the Siskiyou Mountains, an undergrade crossing with the Southern Pacific Railway just north of Ashland, and 4,200 lineal feet of grading and paving north of Ashland. A survey has also been started on the Ashland-Klamath Falls Road, about fifteen miles of which was completed before weather conditions made it necessary to discontinue field work until spring.
    On account of a contemplated undergrade crossing with the Southern Pacific Railway, a stretch of 4,200 feet on the Pacific Highway just north of Ashland was left unpaved between Ashland and Medford when the balance of the distance between those points was paved in 1914. In 1917 arrangement was made between the County and railway company for the construction of this undercrossing, and the State Highway Commission set aside funds to cover the cost of the 4,200 feet of grading in connection therewith.
    The installation of the undercrossing structure was handled by the Southern Pacific Railway Company. The grading was handled by the County grading forces under the supervision of the Highway Department. Mr. F. H. Walker acted as resident engineer. The grading was commenced on January 7, 1918, and completed August 1, 1918. The total cost of the grading was $9,768.88, and was paid entirely from State funds.
    Bids were called for on August 6, 1918, for the paving of the Ashland Hill section, but as no satisfactory bids were received the work was undertaken by the Highway Department with State forces. This section of paving is 4,200 feet in length, and the type of pavement laid is a 16-foot concrete, 5½ inches thick at the sides and 6½ inches thick at the center. The mixture was a 1:2:3½, and a ratio of 5.6 gallons of water per sack of cement was used.
    The average haul on material was 1.2 miles, and hauling was done by means of trucks. The cement was shipped to the job prior to the beginning of construction and stored at convenient locations near the work.
    A sixteen-cubic-foot Koehring mixer equipped with boom and bucket was used for mixing the aggregate. The pavement, after being struck off, was finished by the roller and belt method, the pavement first being rolled from two to four times depending on the condition of the concrete and later belted with eight- and ten-inch belts, the eight- inch belt being used first. A very satisfactory surface was obtained in this manner.
    Continuous forms were used on this work and ¼x4 inch elastite joints were placed at 30-foot intervals, leaving approximately two inches of concrete above the elastite and giving the pavement the appearance of monolithic construction. It was found that a better riding pavement could be produced in this way as the inequalities at joints were eliminated, and we believe that the use of this pavement will justify the adoption of this type on future work.
    Gravel and crushed rock shoulders two feet wide were built on this section, and the pavement was not covered while curing as the weather was cool and damp. However, the pavement was kept wet by sprinkling when necessary.
    The crusher and roller on this work were furnished by Jackson County free of charge.
    Mr. J. M. Baker was superintendent of construction on this work.
    During the 1917 season, 6½ miles of broken stone macadam was constructed on the Pacific Highway in the Siskiyou Mountains. This macadam is sixteen feet in width, and extends from the California state line to Siskiyou. It was constructed with State forces under the supervision of L. L. Clarke, construction superintendent. A total of 17,780 cubic yards of rock were crushed and placed on the road. The cost of the work complete was $56,252.98.
    On August 25, 1918, a location survey was started between Ashland and Klamath Falls. After a careful reconnaissance of the low passes, the route via Green Springs Mountain was chosen, as against the Dead Indian Summit, 500 feet higher.
    Surveys were continued until November 30, when they were discontinued for the winter months. The present road is in such poor condition that maintaining a locating party at work during the winter would be very expensive.
    During the short time the party was in the field, 15.6 miles of location were staked, a six percent grade from the summit of Green Springs Mountain toward Ashland being obtained, whereas the present road has many stretches over 20 percent. Also, over a section between the Green Springs Summit and Jenny Creek, 9 miles to the south, a location has been obtained that will give, for the greater distance, very cheap construction and the lightest of grades. This will be appreciated by all who have traveled the present rocky road with its series of bad grades.
    This road is a very vital one to the Rogue River and Klamath valleys. At present it is only passable during summer months for auto traffic, while a road built on standard line and grades would soon make it an all-year highway.
    There will be an enormous exchange of commodities between the two valleys when the road is constructed. It will make a three-hour auto trip between Ashland and Klamath Falls, which now takes 8½ hours by train via Weed, California.
    The location will be resumed in the spring, and continued to Klamath Falls. Surveys have been in charge of Mr. J. H. Scott, locating engineer.
Third Biennial Report of the Oregon State Highway Commission, 1919, page 112+; transcription by The Gutenbert Project