The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1911-03-27
DEPUE EXPLAINS
WOODCOCK AFFAIR
vinita Real Estate Dealer Replies to
Questions as to Motive in Locat-
ing Woodeoek Plant.
Can Open Letter by W. B. Depue.)

Can Open Letter by w. B. Depue)
NV friends have suggested to me
the adyisability of enhghtening the
community through the press, as to
the facts connected with my part In
the locating of the Woodeock Maniac
turing company, and the purchase of
the Mcclellan tract, and since my mo-
tives have been questioned will do so.
never saw or heard of j. c. Wood
cock or his plan to locate in Vinita
until introduced to him by members
of the Commercial Club who were
showing him around town. The club
took up the matter of locating him and
giving him bonus and made him
tentative offer, which was afterward
agreed upon. This offer was make be-
fore l was appointed member OF the
committee to get up bonus and make
an agreement with him. The bonus
was raised in large part with the full
est expectation that the Woodcock
plant would be located at the brick
yard site where had no personal in
terests. 1t developed that it would
cost about $500 to put switch into the
plant at that site and the committee
abandoned the location on that ae-
count. This was several weeks after
Woodcock had gone home under
contract remve his plant. Time
rolled on and no further work was
done by the committee toward getting
the building in readiness, switch con-
structed, or ground bought, until a
week of the time his cars of equip
ment would arrive In behalf of the
Commercial Club and my own in main
tanning a reputation for keeping my
contracts | felt great responsibility
upon me as Woodcock would have been
fully justified in suing the club and
every member of the committee for
$4,000 or $4,000 damages for failure
to perform their contract. This calam-
ity stared us in the face. I went TO
the other members of the committee
and they were as worried as myself.
/ then proposed to them that il they
thought the present location of the
factory as desirable from the stand
point of the company's interests, and
as desirable for the city, as any other,
I would give the raising of bonus, etc.,
two weeks time in order to get the
club and committee out of bad mess,
and that felt I could afford to do it
if they adopted this lcation as it
might help the DePue City Lot COM
pany to more rapidly develope its
property the Mcclellan tract, now
known as South Park Addition. They
all agreed it to be a nearer in location
and better in every way than any 9th
ers they had considered and told me
to go ahead and they would stand by
me, and if it indirectly helped me any
they would be glad of it.
Instead of getting the bonus raised
and collected and the many other
things which came up requiring to be
done completed in two weeks. I put
in absolutely free and without com
pensation not only two weeks during
which I never did stroke of work
for myself in my Office, but l put in
more than half my time for two months
working not only days but nights tc
get favorable contract let for the con
struction of the building, raising
bonus, selling stock, collecting, keep
ing books, and all such details as
would arise in any new business being
started. For this / never received 9
penny. l suggested at the end, wher
l found, how my own interests had
suffered, small compensation, but il
was not paid. l actually lost severa
hundred dollars worth of work that
know of by being out of my Office sc
much. kept the books They are
an open record and l will take pleas
ure in showing them to any person
CONTINUED on Last Page.)