San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-29
THE GOVERNMENTS WORD

Tacoma, Wash, and Pierce County,
of which that city is the county seat and
metropolis. has a grievance against the
United States government in which
Americans generally may be expected to
manifest moral interest when it is laid
before them. To lay it before them is
a task recently undertaken by the Ia
coma Rotary Club, which is distributing
throughout the country a pamphlet en-
titled, "For Value Received ! Promise
to Pay
As set forth in this form, the griev-
ance is not only just from business
standpoint. but puts upon the United
States government the burden of redeem
ing its own reputation for integrity.
Briefly, the government is charged with
having gone back on" its pledged word,
with the result that taxpayers of Ia
coma and Pierce county are left hold
ing the bag. Now they are demanding
that the government either do what it
promised to do or else reimburse them
for the losses they have suffered and
are still suffering in consequence OF its
delinquency.
The story goes back to the year 1916.
Before this country entered the World
War the government was using tract
OF land south of Tacoma for military
purposes. Army officers OF high rank
had vainly tried to get Congress to buy
the land for permanent post, as they
regarded it as important strategically
and climatically. Then the Secretary of
War, presumably despairing of acquir-
ing the property for military use through
action, made to the people
Of Tacoma and Pierce county this propos-
ition: II they would present the land
to the government, the government
would maintain upon it a military es-
adjustment with a minimum of $1,000
men.
The proposition was put tip to the
They voted eyes" and in
so doing they authorized the issuance of
20-year bonds in the sum of S2,000,000.
That amount, the purchase price of the
land, was the consideration for the bene-
fits which would accrue to them by rea-
son OF the maintenance of minimum
of $1,000 soldiers at Camp Lewis.
The government trained $4,000 men
there during the war. But since then
the camp has been well-nigh abandoned.
On the $1,000 acres comprising the
tract bought by the taxpayers of Pierce
county, only about 1000 men are now
stationed. and the wartime buildings
are described as almost uninhabitable.
In the meantime, the people OF Pierce
are paying interest on the bonds
at the rate of S187000 year-and get
ting nothing for their money except sad
experience.
OF course it would be fatuous to ex-
pect an efficient government to main
tain any kind of establishment merely
for the pride and profit of any county
in the land; government that would
do such thing would not deserve the
respect of the people.
On the other hand, the government
will not be respected unless it keeps its
pledges and fulfills its contracts. 1t
oughtnt to make promises unless it in
tends to abide by them. II it makes a
bad bargain. it should ego through Just
the same as though it had made a good
bargain. And if in the particular case
which the Tacoma Rotary Club is pre-
senting to American citizens it could be
shown that maintenance Of the promised
establishment at Camp Lewis
would be adverse to the military interest
of the government, then the least the
government could honorablv do would be
to save the taxpayers of Pierce county
from the losses they are suffering on its
account.
MATCHING A FISH HATCHERY