Arizona republican., 1909-05-20
BRIDGE SENTIMENT
THE TEMPE COMMITTEE
ON CARPET BAGGERS
A General Denial of Statements by the
Center Street Committee.

To the Editor OF The Republican:
Strive have refrained from an
swering any of the continual mis-
statements of the Center street bridge
| committee. as nearly every taxpayer
in this county knows that there is no
truth in any of the remarks they are
making about Tempe and the citizens
of the south side. However. in this
mornings paper there are few things
that might better have been left I'M
said.
The statement that the construction
of the Center street bridge will add
| anything to the taxable value of this
county might be so IL there was to be
division OF the land down there that
is entitled to water the desert land
will not add any value. And assured
Is the Center street bridge iself not
only will not add anything to the tax
value. but il would be of little value
| to the majority of the taxpayers of
the south side Last Sunday over 100,
people visited the south side from
Phoenix and, the river being down.
they forded at the Tempe crossing;
not a single rig came by the poor. long,
dusty Center street extension.
The statement that the people of
Tempe voted against allowing an cleo
trio line to cross their new bridge
is on a par with the statement that
we called the few people residing
south of Phoenix poems" or that
other vaporing Of an expiring mind.
that we called the citizens of Phoenix
selfish. narrow gagged. unworthy cit
liens" We have never voted against
the construction of street railway.
and no matter how much the advo-
Gates of a street railway may talk
about one crossing through Mr.
Heard's ranch, it would be many years
before any capitalist would put up
money to build line through a coun-
try where there is no one to ride. The
only electric line that can pay at the
present time in this county must be
built through Tempe and Mesa,
through the centers of population, on
the most direct route, and across the
Tempe bridge.
The citizens of Tempe have offered
no bonus. All over the United States
the counties build bridges to accom-
modate the people who have to use
them and it is not customary for the
towns to give bonuses to have some
thing to which they are entitled How
ever. il some big real estate scheme
was on foot, or If some capitalist had
a big tract of land off the main trav
eled road. we suppose they might be
persuaded to give a bonus to change
the main Travelled road to suit them
selves or to have a bridge built to ac-
commodate themselves. That is what
has been done in Maricopa county. a
$4,000 bride mot paid up) held be-
fore the taxpayers as an inducement
to see the right" way.
If the gentleman who is paid to
write the ads for the Center street
bridge committee would confine him
self to the facts there would be so
little in the papers about the bridges
that he wouldn't earn his salary. Be
cause If he would write only facts he
would either have to write in favor of
the Tempe bridge or not at all, and in
that case there would be nothing for
the Tempe bridge committee to answer.
We want the taxpayers to know the
facts about this question, and al
though we are handicapped in every
way. we will get the facts to every
taxpayer in this county before this
election Is over.
The people of Arizona are an intel
ligent, wide awake people and many
of the taxpayers are men who have
spent years in this territory. we ven
ture the assertion that it will be a
colder day than we have experienced
for some time when a bunch of carpet
baggers will be able to rule the people
of Arizona as carpet baggers oncce
ruled the south.
TEMPE BRIDGE COMMITTEE.