The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1882-08-04
THE wILLAEfETTE FARMER.
And Mr. R. c. Geer's Article Upon 1t

the Statesman of a recent date, an artlcl
Entitled ''The Farmer Unmasked;" in whicl
as the Willamette Farmer deyotes to itsel
long and continued amount of self praise
thereby claiming to be the great and goot
exponent Of the farmers interest all ovel
Oregon and in favor iii an unbiased and I'M
prejudiced manner of the general improve
ment and development of the State at large
and against the monopolies which are grad
ually undermining the general progress ane
development of the State. Mr.. Geer goe
for the editor of the willamette Farmer fo
opposing the developments of the Yaquin;
bay and the building of the o. P. r. r
In reply to Mr., Geers article the Farmer
and pretended friend of the horny handed
tillers of the soil, in several of. the last issues
of that paper attempts to E'go" for Mr.
Geer by heaping tyrade of abuse upor
him, the Oregon Pacific Railroad, and it,
managers. AS an attempted answer to Mr.
Geer the editor of the Farmer " says
''that when he (R. c. Geerl utters untruths
it is generally due to his egotism and igno
rance" At first glance this might seem as
serious accusation against Mr.. Geer, but
those who are acquainted with him know
full well that the accusation alluded to
applies with much aptness to the accuser
and not to Mr.. Geer.
The Editor of the Farmer in the same
issue of the 21st inst, in reply to some
criticism of the Sunday Welcome on the
<'Farmer's'' qualifications to advise the
farmers and run such journal says:
"If the Welcome man had as much money
as we have lost farming in Oregon, he
would be in big luck" Certainly pretty
experience with which to advise farmers
and pray upon their ttcreduality and make
money" But fortunately Mr.. Geer is not
such a farmer. Mr.. Geer is one of thase
farmers who came to this coast in pioneer
days, when railroads and locomotives were
hardly known upon this coast. When a
man thought himself fortunate in finding a
plain trail to follow. Mr. Geer in early
days settled on French Prairie in Marion
county, where he ever has and now bears
a most high reputationfor honesty, integrity,
and with all, ability in the affairs of this
life. Mr.. Geer is not one of those farmers
who, like his accuser, 'has lost money enough
farming in Oregon to make tie Welcome man
in big tuck:to hare so much" But on the
contrary MIR. Geer has made success in
farming, and his long experience. and OBJ
servation in Oregon and his good judgement
of men well qualities him to judge of the
actions of men and especially of Mr.. Ciark's
motives in opposing Yaquina bay and the
O. P. r. r. In speaking 'of Mr. Geer we
are not doing so at random. Fortunately
or unfortunately as it may be We have been
in Oregon long time nearly 30 years. A
little over % years ago we attended school
for a time in the neighborhcod near Mr.
Geers place of residence and know that his
reputation in that community was as above
stated and that it has so continued ever
since. Having said this much about the
qualifications OF these two men we leave
the public to Judge of the motive and pass
on to notice some of MIR. Clark's inconsis-
tencies which crop out through his different
articles while abusing these men and enter
prises; and by so doing ascertain if we can
its patrons. In his Farmer of the 2lst he
says: 'But that is no reason why rail
road should not be built to Yaquina when
ever the people of Oregon find they really
need it." Which assertion is equivalent
to saying with reasonable construction
land which Mr.. Clark certainly meant),
''that the people Of Oregon don't really need
such a railroad when they do, it will .be
built" In the same issue entitled "The
Yaquina Railroad" he says ''we neyer had
faith in Hogg aud Nash" But again he
says, ''for years past We have published
everything claimed for the Yaquina scheme,
copied many things written in its favor, and
have never allowed anything to be said
against it. All this he claims to have done
in the interest of the dear people, when at
the same time Hogg and Nash who were
the prominent workers in behalf Of Yaquina
bay and the railroad to it, and at the same
time he claims that she neuer had any con-
fdence in them and also 'tthat the people
did not need such railroad" Again the
editor of tie 'Farmer" says in speaking of
the Yaquina bay and the railroad, eve have
recordedall its progress and all the claims
of its partisans, we have repeated, often
speaking with .fauor of the project, because
it would afford the people of the Willamette
Valley another outlet in competing with
Portland; and again he says eve welcomed
the Oregon Pacific, because it promised
competing Observation-Disclosures, and be-
cause it promised to make this Valley inde-
pendent of Portland's pretensions as the
only seaport of Oregon" If the editor of
the Farmer all of this time ssneUer had
faith in Hogg and Nash," and ''the people
did not really need such railroad why
did he publish such things about this enter
prise as he states :? IF he 'taever had any
faith in Hogg and Nash" all the time he
was publishing these things he must have
been satisfied that the Oregon Pacific Rail
road and improvement of Yaauina bay
would eventually prove a failure, then
how could he expect it to "afford another
outlet for the Willamette Valley, compe-
ting with Portland or competing trans
continental route ~ Or if he 'saeUer had any
faith in Hogg and Nash" and thereby
thought the ultimate result of the whole |
thing would be a failure, as journalist who |
makes SO many high sounding pretentions |
stto state the facts and truth and give the