The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1913-10-30
FACTIONS IN
RECALL RANKS
RECALL EyPONENTS DECREASING
Sentiment Sways Toward Defeat of Agi.
tatOrs, as Citizens Become Ac-
quainted with Trivial Reasons


All efforts to appease those support
ing the recall OF Hood Rivers county
court and all efforts TO effect COM
promise have been futile, and on Mo-
vember 4, the first recall election in
the history of the county will be held.
A strong fight is being made against
the recall by the Taxpayers League,
an organization composed of represent
alive business men and orehardists. No
stone is being left unturned by the
exponents of the recall. who are maxi
ing a personal canvas of the county.
The candidates. f. +. Stanton, Ed
Hawkes. and J. o. Ilannum, who filed
their intentions with the county court
clerk last week, visited Cacsade Locks.
! The recallers held another meeting
there Monday night. The days between
now and next Tuesday bid fair to be
the busiest, from the viewpoint of
local politics ever spent in Hood River
county.
While many of the representative
citizens of the county are supporting
the recall, their action is being depre-
Gated with equal ardor by others. On
last Sunday in his sermon, the subject
of which was 'LopsidsA Folks" Rev.
f. A. Harris, pastor Of the Riverside
Congregational church, severely criti-
eised the action of the recallers. Rev.
Harris sermon touched on various
phases of politics of interest to local
people.
He made strong appeal for the ap-
preparations for the University of Ore
gon, characterizing the referendum as
one sided measure. He rebuked the
city council for granting the PRAYER Of
go petitioners that the pool rooms be
opened Sunday without even looking
over the names of l34 of the leading
citizens of the city who asked that the
present ordinance be not changed, and
called IL Top sided government that
reflected no credit on the council or the
citizens who elected them." Consider
ing the movement to recall the county
court he said:
1--WE are in the midst of fratricidal
strife in this county which is as re-
grettable as il is intense, and as serious
as il is extensive. IL is war that Is
setting brother against brother and
neighbor against neighbor, and turning
the milk of human kindness into the
gall of bitterness. The witch of repud-
iation is threatening to turn our fair
dreams of the future into veritable
nightmare. Why this confusion, this
strife? ls 1t simply because of diff
ference of opinion as TO the price that
ought TO be paid for oiling mile of
road; as to the choice of road mas
ter; as to whether a bridge is properly
braced and lined? No. There is a
deeper reason. Consciously or uncon-
sciously men are laying more emphasis
on the wheel within the wheels of gov
ernment than on the spirit of life
in the midst of the wheels; they are
making of sole Importance things which
are not of chief Importance; they are
mistaking the abuse of the law for the
use of it. They are wider-eyed for i'm
mediate results than for future good.
"The one sdedness of the law, which
is its weakness, makes this possible.
! am not here to defend any act or
acts of the county court. Barring any
favortism and all personalities. |
prophesy that in any county where the
recall is invoked against any court, for
no graver reasons than appear in the
accusations charge against our county
officials, after the smoke of battle shall
have cleared away and time has healed,
or at least Modified, the wounds in
ficted, it will be the verdict of history
| that such movement Is the result of
the lopsidedness of zeal without knowl-
edge, personal feeling without broth
erly love, encouraged by the servility
of indifference without patriotic devo-
| tion. | behave the citizens of this
county will not allow the stigma of the
success of such movement to be
passed upon us ct the polls. -
But as time passes factions are aris-
| ing in the camps of the recall support
ers, themselves. and 1t is the opinion
of those who are studying the situation
that should the election come a week
later the recall would completely fizzle
out.
II have made thorough investiga-
tion of the matter in the county and
have sounded public sentiment pretty
thoroughly, says W. e. King, "and |
believe it is not question of defeat
| ing the recall, but question of how
badly we will beat it, If all the anti
recallers simply turn out and vote. |
find that the good judgment and clear
headed commonsense OF the Hood River
valley citizens are being manifested.
and as the people are becoming in
formed of the recall and the motives of
the recallers, they are making deter
mined efforts to put an end to it.
Numbers Of the citizens who signed
the recall petition are recanting, after
they have learned the true situation.
A. j. Friedy said Tuesday that he
was one of the signers of the petition.
"But | do not care to cast my vote to
make our condition worse" says Mr..
Friedly. Mr.. Friedly was especially
aroused because the recallers had NOM
mated Z. f. Stanton on the ticket for
county judge.
Rev. J. G. Tate, through the use of
whose name, declaring that he would
head the recall ticket, the circulators
of the recall petitions secured many of
their signatures, is one of the strong
est opponents to the movement. ''lt
has behind it neither principle, integ-
rity nor ORDER" says Rev. Tate, who
never attended any of their meetings,
but who told those promoting the
movement that he would accept the
nomination were it to come as the
unanimous will of the people.
Judge CT stner says that he is grati-
fed at the action the citizens of the
county are taking in the matter and
that he feels that the recall will bo
defeated by heavy vote.
~ have interviewed more than so
people OH the matter during the past
few days." says R. Z. Scott. who is
secretary of the Taxpayers Associa-
tian, ''and ! must say that have
: found but six who do not believe the
] recall is a poor move and one that will
[ be detrimental to the county. Senti-
} ment seems to be all the time growing
! In favnr of snuelching the movement. "