Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1919-12-25
THOUGHTS OF READERS

I.lIII
To the Editor of The Democrat Re-
plying to an open letter from Mr.. R. q.
White of the County Road and Bridge
Committee allow me to say that the
people of iowa county have replied to
Mr.. White with voice that ought to
convince him that they FUSED their
heads" when they voted and were not
fooled by the confusing and misleading
food of propaganda scattered broad
cast
Mr.. White is evidently gentleman
of the old school who considers himself
inviolate from criticism Or reproach
from any of the younger generation. 1t
is not Mr.. White that we criticise but
the platform on which he stands. No
doubt he was sincere in his belief that
the people were we'll satisfied with the
county and state road work that had
been done and would welcome further
expenditure of public funds by the same
organization. Ostrich like, he hid his
head in the sands of self assurance,
needless of the ominous thunders of the
storm of public disapproval which was
eventually to crash out the most humil-
iating defeat ever given an issue in the
political history of Iowa county.
Confronted by tax statements, copied
from certified records on file in my Office
as town clerk, in his reply he endeav-
ored by mis- quotation, mis- interpre-
tation and mis- statement, to ridicule
my entire article. To apply his own pr
cess of reasoning, (I hesitate to use the
term, when the gentleman states that
''There was no assessment against the
town of Linden in 1919" He was $4,-
1865 90 out of the way. If he meant
that there was no charge against the
town of Linden for county and state
highway tax in 1919, he was 81, ,482 so
out Of the way. To use his own words
''In either case he couldn't expect me to
These statements are on file in my Office,
open to public inspection, and if Mr.
White denies them, he denies state
ments Ger d by our county clerk and
sealed w - official seal of the Board
OF Suprf}, nwa county, of whi"h
body should be better
IN. his figures indi-
- large figures, these, for such
authority to overlook, but the gentle.
man was no doubt aware that there
would be no chance to deny them in the
press before election
"Such is politics.
Mr.. White goes on to boastingly up
hold the past work of those now in
charge and tells the people to ask those
who travel the roads of Linden as to
their merits. Well. Mr. White, 236 men
OF the town of Linden came to the polls
on Dec. 10Th and of that number, 9
voted their approval. Down in Arena
there was but one lonely Robinson
Crusoe" who staid with you and over in
Eden his man Friday came along and
made two. Do you wish anything furth-
er, Mr.. White
Again, the gentleman from Waldwick
interprets my third question, (as to
what may happen in the future) as
being statement of what has happened
in the past. By such inversion of tense
he attempts to show that I have cast
false accusations against the honorable
County Board. Any man who will de-
liberately juggle words in such a man
ner and thereby change the meaning Of
the entire statement, convicts himself
without further remarks, of being
mighty hard up for facts on which to
base his arguments. Taking my question
as originally printed, there is absolutely
nothing therein for which to apologize
to Mr.. White or to any other gentleman
who has ''hollered before he was hurt. ,,
Mr.. White offers to meet me at any time
or place and he will defend the eficien-
cy of past road work. An admirable
place for such debate would be the
deep mudhole on the Miffiin road, bare
ly a mile from the city limits of Mineral
Point, the same having existed all fall
on one of his boasted patrolled high
ways or one of the series in which cars
have been getting mired all summer on
the same road but nearer Harker Sta
tion; Time.-during the spring breakup
or any other time after heavy dew.
Mr.. White will then have ample oppor-
tunity to observe the predominance of
fact over theory; of mud over "magic
lantern light"
l certainly apologize for not having
mentioned the full nilooro oe a.