River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-02-04


warranted in assuring our farmer
friends who haul their wood here that
the business men of River Falls gen.
orally do not endorse the covert insin- |
uation made by the Chief Executive |
officer of the city that they-the farm |
ers-as a class are dishonest and un- |
worthy Of confidence. We not only |
believe that there is no need of an
ordinance here regulating the
weighing of groceries and measuring
of cloth, but that the ordinance which
we already have regulating" the
measurement and sale of firewood
should be repealed as soon as possible.
There was no occasion for our cor
respondent denying that representa-
tive of any firm in this city had made
any statement to the City Council at
all resembling the one mentioned by
us last week, or that the firm TO which
we evidently referred had asked any
concessions, as it was not claimed by
us that any such statement had been
made to the Common Council, though
it has not been denied that the repre-
sentative in question did in effect as
sert, in general way, when speaking
of the wood ordinance, his purpose to
run his own business in his own way
which the Common Council graciously
permits him to do-and having decided
upon this course in the matter he had
no occasion to ask for any concessions.
In regard to the denial that any con-
cessions have been made to this firm,
diced mind the adoption of any
scheme or the passage of an ordinance
which has the effect to relieve any one
firm and not other firms or individu-
ais from the operations of certain
Objectionable law, looks very much
like a concession, the Mayor to the
contrary Notwithstanding. While the
reason given for the passage of Ordi-
nance No. "a may be deemed satisfac-
tory to the one assigning it for the
purpose of this discussion it more
clearly conveys the idea that the wood
inspector is unable to give bonds for
the faithful performance of all the
work pertaining to his office, an idea
which we do not believe is warranted
by the facts. We readily concede all
the virtues claimed for the special in
spectOr, but as he was already in the
employ of the firm the great stress laid
upon his appointment as ''disinter-
ested third party" will strike the av-
erage reader with less terrific force
than if he had been an outsider.
We are reliably inform 4 that our
correspondents statement that the
Junction Mills "can and do use class
of wood that would hardly find any
other market in the city, is not in &C
cordance with the fact.
1t has been said that confession is
good for the soul" and if this be true
what relief it must have been for
the Mayor to confess, in speaking of
the appointment of the special depu-
ty, that "the Council particularly
wished to avoid "a meddlesome inter
ference with their private business
affairs not warranted by any public
requirement In it's effort to avoid
a meddlesome interference with the
private business affairs of the gentle
men who are running the Junction
with signal success, and if it desires
now to place itself on record as wish
ing to avoid a meddlesome interfer-
ence with the private business affairs
of others not warranted by any public
requirement, let it repeal the obnOx-
ious wood ordinance and no longer
brand as dishonest any man who offers
load of wood for sale in this city at
any other point than the Junction
Mills.
The Mayor says, eff the mill firm
pays for the measuring so much the
better" 1t appears to us that if it is
$50 much the better" for the farmer
not to have TO pay for the measuring
of the wood he sells at the Junction
Mills it would be equally as good for
him to be relieved of the tax and the
stigma of dishonesty which accompa.
MES it when selling his wood at the
city market.
Though no small consumer can af-
ford to hire an expert at two dollars
and a-half day, by the season, to
measure the few loads that he uses, in
more instances than our correspondent
seems willing to concede he-the con-
sumer-can measure it himself and
thus save either buyer or seller hiring
it done. AS remedy in cases where
the buyer does not know how to meas
ure wood we would suggest that he
buy of the "middle men," of whom
the Mayor says, "Of course they al
ways give l28 feet"
We still maintain that the conces-
sions made to the Junction Mills firm
involves the principle of crOwding out
other buyers though in this particular
instance it might not have that effect,
and we 90 not regard this point as
having been successfully contrOverted.
Whenever our correspondent can es-
tablish the proposition to the satisfac-
ton of reasonable people that the OPP
| position of the farmers hauling wood
here who regard the ordinance as an
unjust imputation and oppression,
coupled with that of residents of the
| city who are not middle-men but who
are opposed thereto is less than the
opposition of the very few middle
men affected thereby, then, and not
| till then, viii his mere assertion that
most of the opposition comes from the
middle-men be generally accepted as a
| fact.
In reference to the petition for re-
80 4hG ppipinY, RI ~