Arizona weekly citizen., 1889-06-29
AN ITEM OF INTEREST.
The Gazette Refuses to Publish. Brewster Cameron's Opinion of that Wonderful Combine.

Dunbar, the editor of the Phenix Ga zette, who has recently been playing th role of public enemy to the Salt Rive Valley, has refused to publish the CT closed letter, which explains itself.
 Twill thank you to give it a place i the columns of the CITIZEN as an act c justice to me.
 Very truly yours,
 BREWSTER CAMERON.
 TUcsoN, ArIz., June +, 1887.
 John Dunbar Esq, Editor Phenix Ga Zette;
 DEAR SIR-My attention has beer called to the following paragraph in the Gazette of the 18th instant, which ii maliciously false:
 Brewster Cameron says that his. bro ther Colin is blank fool and don't know what he is talking about in reference to the feeding of alfalfa in this valley"
 erroneously supposed that you had too high an appreciation Of the obliga- tions which prevail among gentlemen to have publicly attributed any such vul- gar remark to me, under any circum- stances whatever, but more especially after told you personally, the last time I was in Phenix, that our losses in the valley last winter from feeding alfalfa were ruinous. You also knew that l thought it injudicious to discuss the subject in the press, because l was coli vinced that this controversy could not fail to work irreparable injury to many good friends of mine in Maricopa county.
 I fail to see how you expect to benefit the patrons of the Gazette or what ad- vantage you can gain personally, from your effort to compel me, as matter Of defense against absurd misrepresenta tions, to recite in the newspapers Of the country the particulars of the disaster which befell us in the feeding of our cattle on alfalfa in your valley iast win ter. It is not pleasant to remain silent under a misrepre&ntation as cruel as that of which l complain, but so many close personal friends of mine have interests in your city and vicinity that prefer to be maligned by you, rather than become party to the merits of controversy which can only result in infinite harm to the Salt River Valley.
 If you have any desire to do the peo- pie of the valley a real service, your energy might be utilized to some pur- pose in conducting rational lnvestlga- ton into the causes which made 1t i'm possible last winter to fatten the cattle which were fed there on alfalfa, instead of pursuing che ill-advised policy of of slandering the men who lost small fortunes there, in a vain effort to feed range cattle successfully on alfalfa hay. If your inquiries resulted in obtaining satisfactory evidence of the fact that the failures were due to conditions which can be overcome such for ln- stance as that the alfalfa has been cut heretofore before it matured, you may induce many cattlemen to make further experiments. but your reckless abuse of the men who lost heavily last winter, charging them with ignorance of busi- ness which they have made the study of a life time, has naturally created the impression that the valley was given a fair test and that alfalfa feeding in Maricopa county Is failure. A num- Der of range cattlemen were disposed to make further experiments the coming winter. in feeding alfalfa there on a smaller scale not withstanding last winter losses, but is is needless to say that they have been discouraged by the Gazette, which has been so indiscreet as to con- vey tke impression to the public that 1t requires consumate skill as feeder to make success of fattening caGtie on alfalfa hay.
 All that the cattlemen have written about their failure to feed alfalfa success fully, upon the first experiment made, has not done the valley one tenth as much harm as 1t has suffered from the rash policy of the Gazette, which has used blazing headlines day after day to magnify the only misfortune which has ever befallen the beautiful and fertile valley in which our capital city is situa ted.
 Although my brother and lost over s7.OOO in feeding 4O5 head of cattle at Phenix last winter, yet l never wrote a line in disparagement Of the valley. but the Gazette has nevertheless gone out of its way to wantonly and cruelty misrep- resent me, as if the object of your paper was to turn every mans hand against the community which supports it. The files of the newspapers of Pima county bear witness to the fact that have been the steadfsst friend of your valley ever since first saw ii, in 1885. No temporary misfortune to it has shaken my conf dence in the ultimate value of its lands and products, but it seems to me that its greatest prosperity cannot be realiZ- ed until the newspaper, which you con rol ceases to malign its best friends, as the Gazette has done in this instance, for you know, as the editor of that paper, that have never written line concern ing the Salt River Valley, save in its praise.
 Very respectfully
 BREWSTER CAMERON.