The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1916-03-18

ditions at Writ, and to prove his posi-
tion he with fairness gives figures
which no doubt are correct, concern
ing schools and newspapers and grain
production.
Now as he in a little pleasantly gave
me a bump, | Will exchange by saying
| think he Is either the owner of a
large combative bump, or that he upon
this occasion got out of bed wrong
end to.
TO begin with, l was not writing of
oklahoma as a whole, | was writing
of Writ, this wick edest of wicked oil
towns, so admitted by men that have
lived in Oildom most of their lives.
Perhaps people viii remember about
ten years ago when Taft, Montana,
claimed the honor, If such it be- of
being the wick eldest place in the United
States and to prove 1t one paper stated
that there were seventeen men killed
in the camp, while the spur was being
laid around the grade on the Northern
Pacific in two years. Yet no one took
that as criterion by which to judge
Montana.
note that Mr.. Lesh sent the article
to a friend in Writ, so he says. Well,
| am here and again affirm all that l
said. / think / spoke of about eleven
tragedies, If | remember bein enacted
within two weeks. No one here ques-
tions that for 1t is only too fresh in
their minds. most of them being the
product of drunken men, as is always
the case. Then ] said. But some one
will say | thought oklahoma was
prohibition state" So it is, I contin-
ued so is horse stealing prohibited,
but public officials who wink at horse
stealing are not very effective men to
enforce law.
We are now at the point Of issue.
My critic did not question the crimes
committed as above mentioned, but
takes exception to the horse stealing
falsehood Well | did not say that
ony one stole horses in fact, among
the crimes committed about here /
have not heard of one stolen horse
and he is right about more of that In
Washington than here.
/ rather stated a principle instead
Of an occurrence, to get at the fact.
Supposing l had said to prove my point,
that so is gambling or counterfeltlng
or hold-ups prohibited by law. Would
Mr.. Lesh have reason to say that this
vender of truth was saying what was
not true? or even charging any one
with the above mentioned crimes?
am here and well known among
the oil men and especially among the
down and outs, who have the red noses
the product of fresh cold water l sup
pose, as they are the fellows that
come to sleep In the church every
night. Not less than six and not more
than forty men have slept in my church
every night for the last four months
at a cost Of over fifty dollars to repaper
and renew It. I also am aware that at
four different times the officials have
come here and closed the doors and the
gambling joints have been shut up
since | have been here, and that now
this minute they are in full blast and
drunk men are reeling everywhere.
am also sure that l am holding
street meetings among the worst class
of swearing, smoking, drinking and
gambling men that / have ever been
associated with, Alaska not excepted.
And | talk plain to this bunch and they
wouldn't listen to anything else
also talk plain to the beasts that
VIII take advantage Of poor mans
weakness and put him beneath the
beast level to get his money, be he
either druggist or straight whiskey
seller / have taken young boys on
the streets here that were drunk and
lying on the sidewalks, the sport of
the drunken rabble, and / would dis
miss my claim to manhood, entering
the ranks of the common robber and
hoIdup, taking the mans money and
leaving his character and honor, pref
erably to plunderlng him and running
him besides.
This may return to Writ as well as
the other article did, but I would as
soon have It In print as to say 1t on
the street as l do
CONTINUED on mage sikh