The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1915-01-29
A CONDITION OF DEPRESSION THAT IS FELT EVERYWHERE
SPOKANITES COMPLAIN OF CASH SHORTAGE OBSERVED
MAVERICK FROM THE BUNCH GRASS THE TOWN DOES NOT
SEEN TO SUFFERING STRNGENCY
While Could BE Looking
Outside Every
Residents Of Orovie Upon the Future

every line that contributes to human
wants.
AS they all say so it must be un-
usually dull, yet there may be more
imagination in this ely of hard times"
than concrete reality, judging from
the amount of cash daily spent in friv-
ilOus amusements. The average man
has no desire to curtail the pleasures
OF a population, to force life of as
trrity upon his fellowmen, to cut out
entirely recreation of a harmless ma
u.re, and yet if times are really as
hard as the people in IA position to
know represents it would seem no
more than common sense to at least
temporarily forget many of the pleas
ures that people now indulge in. If
not to wholly forget at least to hedge
on daily repetition until such time that
incomes are more certain and these
expenditures are not INDUCED in at
the expense of necessities. or course
pleasures are about the last thing that
most people will resign in order to
retrench. Money may be a minus
quantity in the pockets of large per
cent of the citizens of this place, if
we are to take the word of those one
meets, yet hundreds, aye thousands,
find the means to indulge their weak
ness for public amusements, and thea
ters and play houses appear to thrive
and flourish amazingly. There are
nearly score of places of amuse
ment in Spokane, ranging from the
5-cent movies to the more pretentious
and higher priced play houses open
every day and night, some of them
giving continuous performances for
twelve hours at stretch, and one can
hardly drop into any one of them, at
any time, without finding the place
crowded. Why, in one of the moving
picture shows last week $4,000 paid
admissions were registered. The
price of admission IL as a rule small,
which is the chief attraction, but take
t. week in and week out the man or
woman, boy or girl, who has the movie
or show habit spends very ma
terial sum feeding that habit. That
proprietors of these places are max
ing money, far more money than any
other line of business, is evidenced
i'll the fact that two more new theaters
are about to open their doors to the
public. The theaters are only one of
numerous attractions in the way of
pleasure that are always present in
a city, and all manner of amusements
seem to find ample patronage. This
condition is simply mentioned to
show that outwardly and visibly there
is very little indication OF the hard
times of which there is so much COM
plant, and the stranger would be
led to believe from seeing the well
dressed crowds and the throngs crowd
ing in and out of the doors of the show
places, the refreshment joints and
places of public entertainment, that
lack of cash was not bothering a
vast majority of the populace.
This reference to the situation here
as to financial conditions is to show
that the quiet condition prevailing at
Oroville is not local, and that our for
tunately situated little city is no worse
oft than larger places, or for that mat
ter all other towns and cities in the
state. The people of Oroville are more
fortunate than those of the larger
cities. The chances are more fav-
orable for more speedy return to
activity in Oroville than in the more
populous places. Oroville has not out
grown the surrounding and tributary
country. Its nearby resouces are vel
to be developed, and the process Of
development will be great contribu-
tery factor in the steady growth oi
the town. The people have no ground
for complaint. There is a future fol
the town and country, and bright
future. From the activities that are t.
bring the valley under high state o.
productiveness, which is certain
achievement of the future, Oroville i:
to naturally benefit largely. The pres
ent paralysis of business is but TEN
porary We older people have seen
and lived through, much harded time
than the present. A change for tn,
better is near at hand. There is ;
more optimistic feeling prevailing
here. 1t is human nature, as a rule, t
Hook upon the darker side, to borrow