The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-09-24
GUN PLAY
 AT TAFT
 MEETING President Has Exciting Time in Opening of Tun- nel that Diverts River Sheriff Engages in Fist Fight and Revolver is Flourished Over Heads of : Crowd.
Especial from United Press. )

Provo, Utah, Sept. 24.-President Taft is here to-day in search of new adventures after witnessing a fist fight which ended in gun play, an inn
 promptu feature of the program at
 the mouth of the Gunnison Tunnel late yesterday. A fight which start
 mouth where MT. Taft turned on the
 waters has split the town of Mon trose into two bitter factions. Sher- if Duguelle, who came into town with the President, took occasion to soak H. L. Daniels, the superintendent of
 Daniels fell as though struck by 8
 blackjack and half a dozen of his
 friends jumped in to wipe up the
 boards with the sheriff.. Duguelle
 a few bullets whizzing about the ears
 of the crowd and incidentally in the
 direction of MT. Taft, had not the hor-
 rtfed spectators overpowered him.
 What's San this about?" demanded
 MT. Taft, his beaming smile changing
 little row. MT. President" explained
 the local committeeman and they
 thereupon began explaining details of
 the engineering work to distract his
 attention from the unpleasantness. As
 soon as the crowd returned from the
 tunnel to the town the partisans of
 the combat proceeded to 'liquor up'
 from private stores. Strenuous eff forts to keep peace managed to pre-
 vent any serious outbreak until the after he got safely away it was pro- posed that the trouble lid be lifted.
 The ancient Gentle Mormon fight that has been going on for so many years in Salt Lake will break out afresh as soon as the President gets h rr-OIl oh AnonrdiTO r.. arrangements, Senator Smoot will be the whole thing" while MT. Taft is in the city.
 The Senator will have the President as his guest during his stay and wher- ever he goes the Mormon apostle statesman will act as his guide. This plan is not at all to the liking of the Gentiles of Salt Lake and they have made strenuous efforts to / have the program so changed that /Smoot will This effort has failed up to date for the President has high personal regard for Shoot and asserts that the arrangement which favorS the Senator is personally satisfactory as far as he is concerned. The west is warming up to Mr. Taft. Just as soon as he began promising his good offices to advance the irrigation cause, all chilliness toward him changed to sunny warmth and he is to-day ad- CTOWdS oI ShOOIAhS AAiOAioS 1e every stop.,
 Back in Nebraska and Minnesota where he discussed the tariff and railroads and at Denver where he talked on the income tax and corpo- rations, the people went to see him out of curiosity alone and nearly | froze his ears with the coldness of their greetings. He will probably continue to discuss irrigation until after his speech at Spokane, where he is to make his principal address on 
 The interest the President feels in the trip may be gauged by the fact | that up to last night he had made fif- | ty speeches to as many different au- diences in the eight days he has been |! on his journey.
 The several thousand homesteaders l who hope to benefit from the water | turned through the new Gunnison | Tunnel that the President formally | opened to-day are doomed to meet | with an ugly shock when they pay | for the land. Instead of paying $35, | an acre for the new irrigated land the\ Interior Department has decided to | charge them $50. Boomers in the | real estate business out here and the | agencies which have been boosting Uncompah Gree Valley prop erty have been advertising the land b15 cheaper. The difference between b55 and $50 on 5O,00O acres, the area
 involved, will amount up to $2,100O00. Secretary Ballinger is authority for the statement that $50 will be the oria