The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-09-28
ROAD MEETING SAT-
lJRDAY WAS RED HOT

II the county court. the members oi
which called a meeting for Saturday tC
determine the sentiment of citizens oi
the community on q proposal to change
the system of working county roads,
follow the recommendations of a reso.
luton adopted, q roadmaster. approved
by the Office of Roads Of the United
States Department of Agriculture. will
be appointed. Following meetings anC
deliberations of committee of "a citi.
zens representative Of all city anG
county interests, including the Pomons
grange, plans had been made to ask
the court to divide the county into only
two road districts, according to the
system in effect in Multnomah county
Opposition to this measure, however,
developed among the oranges. the
members of which declared that the II
road districts now in existence woulc
lose the right of having applied In theil
own boundaries 70 per cent of the tai
raised therein, and the resolution fin
ally ADOPTED. provides for the continue
tion of these Il districts. Supervisors,
however, of the II districts. under the
proposed plan. must be approved Of by
the proposed roadmaster before ap.
pointment by the county court.
The final action of the meeting came
late Saturday afternoon after a full
day devoted to much oratorical bonn.
bast and characterized probably by the
greatest amount of vituperative per.
sonalities ever INDUCED in by Hood
River county assemblage. The pro.
posal of an appointment of a roadmas.
ter had the opposition of practically
the entire corps of incumbent county
road supervisors, for whom Roy d.
Smith was spokesman. Mr.. Smith
characterized the actions of the com.
mittee of "a, at whose suggestion the
meeting was called, as the manipula.
tions of three would-be kings, whose
ambition was to usurp the power of
the county court. While he did not d.
rectly name bis kings. Mr.. Smith so
described them that three prominent
citizens we're recognized. He charsc-
terized the Hood River Commercial
club and the Pomona grange, despite
the fact that he himself is a granger,
as political organizations and workers
of iniquity in the community. This
reference to the grange brought Po-
mona Master Johannsen to his feet de-
manding that such language be re.
tracted.
"WelI." said Mr.. Smith, ~ will ex.
press myself by saying that you are
playing too much politics.
The resolution contemplates the ap.
pointment of roadmaster to begin
work next January.
The morning session of the meeting
was no elss exciting than that of the
afternoon. DR.. J. b. Cutlery, a mem
ber of subcommittee of the commit.
tee of "a, in addressing the gathering
stated that frequently since his two
years residence in Hood River county
he had heard the county court cussed
and abused because of playing road
politics. When he had finished Com
missioner Hawkes. emphatically char
acterized such statements as internal
lies. DR.. Cutlery explained that he
was not making the assertion directly,
but he repeated that he had frequently
heard such.
Another strong opposition to a
change in the road system came from
A. c. Staten, who declared that after
a journey of more than 1000 miles in
other parts of the state he found the
roads of Hood River county, except for
the stretch between the city and Cas-
cade Locks, better than in any other
county traveresed in his motor tour.
Roy D. Smith, in addressing the
meeting. also advanced this reason,
quoting from recently printed inter-
views of men who had travelled
throughout the state.