San Andreas independent., 1858-02-06
LETTER FROM CAMPO sEco.


M. Edior:-In taking up the guantlet in
defence of my friend I" Fair Play" it may be
we'll enough, upon this, my first appearance,
to say few words concerning myself.
was born not hundred miles from Ply
mouth, and can trace my ancestors back to
the Pilgrim Fathers. do not tell you this to
boast of it, but that the Collectors may be
sure that they have found u /" focman worthy of
their steel" have always been opposed to
Know Nothingism in every shape, and believe
one man just as good another, so long as
he behaves himself. Ny own business here
requires so little attention that l devote the
principal part of my time to noting the affairs
of others; and, (par parenthesis,) the Water
Company and Ditch concerns have come in for
particular share of my observation. | con-
slider myself, (this without vanity.) the best
! informed person in town, in regard to all ma
kers of gossip, scandal and Lokalitems; y
| and, to conclude, the species of warfare which
" Fair Play dfsdains, g as approaching too
near the personal" is exactly into my hand.
Now, then, for the card and its writers. The
| first thing worthy of observation, is that the
statements of ;.Fair Play" if uncontradcted
might be thought true, BY those unacquainted
with the facts. do not know how far the
card of the hired men of the Company may go
to change the opinion of the nacquainted,
but this do know, that those who are
acquainted with the facts, are not likely to
discredt their own actual observation in Or
der to believe the statements of interested
persons. That there are many things well
known but difficult to be proven, is obvious
to all and such is the case respecting the
partiahties exhibited in selling water. But as
| happen to- know even more about the matter
to WHICH & Fair Play" alludes, than he does
himself. can assure you that it is no "crea-
ton Of his Brain" although he made a great
mistake in calculating how much ten inches of
water would cOsme to in week, at fifty cents
an inch. Instead of counting it six days at
| FIVE dollars per day, he, in the hurry of wri-
ting, presume, reckoned six days at ten dol
lars per day. The mistake is an excusable
one, and carries with it its own evidence that
it is nothing more than mistake. But drown
ing men, yon know grasp at straws, and that
| happened TO be the only cast in their way.
As for the general charge of partiality prefer
red by :" Fair Play" ne is well sustained by
public opinion here.
Let US now examine their instructions
They all agree that they are ordered to sell
water at fifty cents per inch. In making this
declaration, one of the gentlemen has thrnst
himself into an unenvEible position; for he
must either admit that he has wlfnllv prevar-
lcatedy or he is acting in betrayal of his trust
| mean Mr. Harrington, who sells the water in
his beat-Poverty Bar-at twenty-five cents
per inch. This may appear singular But
there is an Opposition ditch there now, from
which water is sold at thirty-three cents per
inch, with four-inch pressure, and which is
equal to about twenty-five cents per inch of
this Company's measurement. This inequal-
ity of price, you may imagine creates some
Al
Company endcavor to allay, by representing
that it is second head water which is thus
sold This, take .'Vidocq'S" word, is only par
TALLY true, for the water is most confoundedly
! miyed>
Having disposed of this genteman's testi-
| monv shall next consider that of Mr. L. NJ.
Drake, who is no more collector than you or
] /, but simply an appendage to Russworm's
/ beat-a kind of supernumerary, kept to stop
up gopher holes, &c. To be sure, he once
was a collector, during the american admins
trarion of Bob Wheeler, Esq.-alas he has
fallen from his high estate" and is now con-
| tent to fill a less exalted position. SIC transit
/ &c, you know the rest.
From this you may infer how much their
testimony is worth and perhaps when we
consider the motives that prompted the issue
of the card we may find that the assertions
of the other two parties arc equally trust
worthy.
Before entering into that however have a |
few remarks to make on the pithy conclusion,
i'd est: g that American miners are capable of
protecting all their interests without the assis-
tance of foreigners" This is an avowal that
no one will attempt to deny. Still, methinks, /
were policy consulted, it would bave been bet
ter to have permitted the American miners to I
assert their own independence of foreigners
did they choose to do so, without the inter-
vention of the water collector; but perhaps
the gentlemen smarted too keenly under the
foreign yoke themselves, and wished to convey
hint to the water company, that an Ameri-
can might as well protect their interests as an T
lrishman. OH how must the heart of the
noble Russworn glor, with patriotic indig-
nation, as he hands in his accounts at each
weeks end, to his foreign master; or how the
necessarily smothered fires of independence
must burn in the breast OF the gallant Drake, /
as he received his orders from his FOREIGN /
master, on cold, frosty morning. to repair
breach effected during the night by some en-
terprislng gopher; or how the light-footed
Messenger--but hold, he at least is an inde- /
pendent man; not one of your bowne. cring-
ing, palm-rubbng sycophants but one who |
demeans himself highly, and sports his kids |
and patent-lcather, as though he owed no al
leg1ance to foreign potcntate, prince or paladin.
As to their motives, can only account in
two ways for the cards being published by /
those gentlemen First, from the ioudoJie de-
sire TO ingratiate themselves with their en-
ployer and secondly, from an insane wish to
see their names in print. inclined to
believe, however, that the former reason is the /
most likely for how Mr.. Harrington could {
make such declaration, without being order
ed, Il beg his pardon, mean requested or |
how Mr.. Drake should style himself water
collector, without permission, or why. in short,
these gentlemen should interfere with the mat
ter at all, unless for some such reason, | can't
imagine, The miners do not blame them for
the high price of water, nor look to them for
its reduction. No one accuses them of bring
ing Cinnamon here-at least they were not all
suspected of that when gang of Cinnamon
left here and went to - but this must be
scandal, and I'll none of it. The gentlemen
have mistaken their position The man is CEN
sured or praised for the work he performs
not the tool with which he operates.
In conclusion, there is still an idea which
does not appear to have entered the heads of
these gentlemen, i.e.: that foreigners. whites.
who buy water and pay for it, have Just as
good right, and may be as capable of pro-
tecting their interests as Americans, and have
n