Arizona sentinel., 1917-12-27

udu6 dDSOlutSly uO pEOI0SI IO SuCu procedure. I was present at the meeting and correctly reported exact ly what was said and done. Mir Davis letter to Congressman Hayden bears out what I have just said:
 MT. Fishbaugh made no further pro- tests and practically everybody else expressed themselves as being in ac- [ cord with my policy. see now he has stated in one of these clippings that I broke my word by not stopping the work on the drainage ditch This statement is wholly untrue The edi- tor of the Yuma Sentinel, who was present at the meeting have describ- ed, printed correct report of the meeting shortly afterwards on Novem- Der 22, summarizing it in the follow ing paragraph, which is substantially correct. '1.'"
 Director Davis very plainly
 said the present drainage canal
 WOOlO OO COAIAAuOQ uuLl IL IdpROQ
 all the lagoons in the valley and
 drained those lands that are now
 waterlogged. Further than that he
 said he would not go until the
 whole subject matter was careful
 ly investigated by a special board
 of engineers to be named later
 "This is substantially what I said and repeated in substance at least twice. It seems to have satisfied ev- eryone and think everyone present understood it substantially this way"
 Now as to the second absolute per vertion of truth in Uncle George" Fishbaugh's paragraph above quoted. That "90@o of the people were opposed to it. I have gone to the records, on file in the office of the Yuma County Water Users Association. and ob- tained the whole truth about this "pe-
 j. '---:-enly referred to- It is nothing more nor less than the dis reputable postcard stunt" pulled off by this same Uncle George" Fish baugh, wherein he did it in such a way as to make the people believe it was sent out officially by the Water Users Association. He went to a printing office here in Yuma and had stationary printed as nearly exactly like the official stationary of the asso- ciation as possible. He then had post cards printed to suit his own motion. On one side he printed the numerous questions he wanted the people to vote on. These questions were 30 adroitly asked that it would take the proverbial philadelphia lawyer" to make out exactly what was wanted. But it was the replies on these post ards that Uncle George" Fishbaugh relies on to bolster up his claim that "9O%eof the people, are opposed to drainage.
 The truth is that considerably less than 4O%t of the people paid any at- tention to the desreputable trick inn posed on them Of this number LESS than FIVE PER CENT actually voted AGAINST drainage. Nearly all who voted at all voted in favor of draining the lagoons, just as is being done. A good many of those who voted AGAINST drainage were non-resi- dents, people who have vacant lands, held for merely speculative purposes and naturally would not want to go to any expense whatever, if they can avoid it, thereby making ALL the prof its at the expense of those who culti- vate their lands. Nearly all the wide-awake, progressive farmers or the valley voted FOR drainage. Some of those who voted against drainage, and afterwards found out that the postcard stunt was a despicable trick" repudiated their act.
 So. to sum the whole thing up in a nutshell. the claims made by this self anDointed critic of the government, are nothing but IMAGINATION, or worse than that-spread broadcast for no good purpose to our country, but seemilgly the well laid act of the no- torious Count von Bernstorff, who while minister to this country from kaiserdom laid every trap imaginable +o burt the various industries of this country.
 Another point in Uncle George" Fishbaugh's tirade agamst drainage is found in his laughable statement that the water table in Yuma Valley has lowered itself from inches to