The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1909-11-11
CIVIC LEAGUE
USED AS TOOL
MEMBERS ARE DENIED RECORDS
Statement Circulated as Unanimous
OpiHi,n OF Leagues Officers
Disputed by Members.

seem TO Indicate tnAJ the tlNlC lm'
prOvement League has fallen from tie
high ideals, on which it was supposed
to have been founded, into the hands
of a group OF men who intended to
use its influence in building up their
own schemes and to make it the basis
OF local political organization
through which they would control
Hood River affairs,
A meeting was held without the
customary notice to members with
an attendance OF less than one
quarter of the mem bershlp, after
which the officers declared nothing
of Importance had been done, but
two days later a circular appeared, Z,
purporting to represent the unani-
nous sentiment of the league signed
by the president and secretary and
when these officers together with the
treasurer were approached 10y mem.
hers and directors OF the league ask
ing for access to the minutes and
me mbership Iolls of the organiza-
tlon, the information was fatty
denied.
Thus has the Civic Improvement
League, organized h few weeks ago
for the sole altruistio purpose OF
aiding the city in getting 'pnIe
water and plenty of it, be ONE tang
led in a wilderness of political trick
cry. The first intimatiou which the
public received, to suhstantiate the
suspicious aroused when the League
recommended without qualification or
investigation the scheme proposed
by the president of the water com
any to install pumping plant, came
when the following was printed in
the Portland journal Thursday, under
Hood River date line:
The Hood River Civic Improvement
League, composed OF about 100 mem
bers representing about 50 per cent
of the taxable property of the city,
met last night in the Commercial
club rooms. A committee was ap-
pointed to manage the campaign to
defeat the bond election calling for
.he issuance OF 500, 900 for he pur
pose of piping in the Tucker spring
into the city and installing competi.
tive water plant.
This information was news to most
OF the members Cf the league who did
not even know that a meeting had
teen held. President Charles A. Bell,
when told of the journal item, denied
that such action had been taken and
said that nothing of Importance bad
| happened at the meeting. lie sug-
gested that there might have been
10 present at the meeting and that
they had had discussion in which
the sentiment WAS that the council
had not given the LePgue's recon
mendations due consideration. SeCre-
tary g. p. Ross, also denied that the
League had taken any important act
ion at its meeting, and stated that ~
OF % memebrs were present. lie also
stated tnat the meeting had instruct.
ed the president to name II committee
The following day, who should cOnsi-
der the advisabillty of calling a meet
ing of the organization prior to the
bond election.
For the time being, ii was believed
that the journal correspondent had
been mistaken until on Saturday the
taxpayers received communication
from the Civic League signed by
President Bell and Secretary Ross
urging them to vote against the
bonds. This circular puTpOrted to
ne the result of the meeting at which
mo important action OF the sort had
been taken" This circular stated
that the league was unanimous in op-
posing the issuance of the bonds aud
then brought N all sorts of reasons
why the city should incur no indebt
edness, typical of which il the far
fetched statement that Hood River
would probably have TO raise large
bonus in order to secure the court
house tor this city.
The mem bers OF the League who had
Joined III sincere effort to aid in
the solution of the water question
realized that they had been trapped
into dennuuciug a proposition which
they heartily favored and Immediately
set out to find the reasons tor these
hiRhhanded methods. j. Ii. Gill and
DR.. }. i. Watt, both mem beTs OF the
board of directors of the League, and
H. b. LanRile and Joseph Wright
mem bers OF the League, were among
those who went to President Bell,
aud GecI etary Ross and Treasurer C..
h StranBhpn, OF tie League and
ana asked for the bership list IN
order that they might determine On
| tn ir own account the sentiment of
| the mem beIs who had not been re-
presented at the meeting OF the
League. President Bell insisted that
be did not have the authority to give
out the list and he told treasurer
| StTan8hHn owe" the phone not to give
ont the list OF mem hers except on the
order OF the president. Mem bers of
the League asked Secretary Ross to
see the minutes Of the meeting, which
is supposed to have taken an adverse
stand toward the bond issue, but he
refused to eDlIghten the members on
the action which their own oIganiza-
| tiOn bad taken.
| his action on the part ut the
Officers of the League IL regarded as
most high handed, by the mem bers of
| the League, and especially when the
organization WAS formed in semi
public way with the welfare Of the
city as its sole aim A group OF Is
II nemteIs of the League, who we're
| indignant at the manher III which
they had been misrepreseuted by the
officers yesterday Issued signed
statement in which they denied their
responsibility for the circular pur
porting to come from the Civic
League, and in which they denounced
In no uncertain terms the question
able methods which had been practic
ed by its officers. This statement
which represents the sentiment of 2,
per cent of the League mem bershir
over their own signatures, wOulC
doubtlessly have been signed by many
: other members OF the League had il
been possible to learn who they were
from the memb rsh!p lists. OF q
members who bad not attended thu
meeting aud who we're asked to sigr