The Arizona sentinel., 1907-07-10
WATER USERS ASSOCIATIONS
 WANTON EXTRAVAGANCE.

An absurd article in the Enter prise, owned and edited by the attorney Of the Water Users As sociatlon, charges the editor of the Sentinel with repudiation because we voted against the outrage of an additional assess .ment of ten cents on every acre of land under the association.
 They claim that the assocla- tion now owes $3, ,000 and that to vote against this assessment is repudiation. They did not ex- plain in the same article that this assessment raises a total of S8, ,274.30, nor did they tell how large a portion of this fortune the farmers must pay is abso- lutely uncalled for and amounts to nothing short of a holdup.
 In one respect the Enterprise ing attorney for the association is correct. We did vote no. We did so because there is no right or reason to the process of bleed ing the ranchers which Bondes- son and his crowd are carrying on and because the farmers had no chance to file a petition in protest to the outrage.
 Long ago, when the election first came up, we placed in nom ination for secretary a man who offered to furnish his services as secretary and attorney, who of fered to supply office room, light and telephone and to do all the work necessary to keep the as sociation running, for $50 a month. That man got one vote. They are paying instead of $50 a month 5000 a year for a sec retary, $500 year for an attor ney, and are allowing that attor ney perquisites that will approx innate S200 a year.
 
 On that same occasion we sug- gested that we could get good man who would volunteer his services as president of the as sociation absolutely free of charge. Instead they are paying S1000 a year salary to MT. Bon deSson. Here is a clear waste of $500 for men who sit with their heels on their desks study ing how to bleed the poor farm CT. And they find ways to doit They have gnne in for furniture and fixings- like a fancy bar or reclamation service headquar- ters. They have bills for $1 ,2l5 expense when at least three fourths of that is wholely unne- eessary. It is against such mis- management that we protest and against, we are proud to say, we voted and shall always vote.
 When they approached the question of a ten per cent assess ment there was quite a little op- position. There would have been far more had the meeting been advertised. It had not been. It was merely announced in the organ of the associations attor- ney. There was a petition in circulation asking that no such assessment be made, and we moved to delay action in the mater until this petition could be presented. Mir. Bondesson wanted the matter of protest in writing. We wanted time to get 1t in writing. But, advised by his wise and powerful associa- ton. attorney, MT. Bondesson ruled that the matter was set for the July meeting, could be at tended only at the July meeting, and that our motion was out of order. This was childish. The board of supervisors legally meets the first Monday of each month, yet it adjourns from day 50 day until it's business is con- pleted- Every parliamentary body on earth exercises the pre- rogative Of adjourned sessions. The whole matter was consist ently unfair and high handed.
 We voted NO, of course we did. The cheap attorney of the association calls it repudiation. We call it protest, and It is time that this protest were seconded