River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1924-05-22
THE DIETZ MYTH
(From The Spring Valley SUM

John Dietz, Defender of Cameron
DAM" is dead, and another myth has
spread itself on the pages of Wiscon-
sin history.
Dietz, the heroic but simple back
woodsman, enslaved by the predatory
power Of wealth, rising to defend
his rights and his home against or
ganized greed and murder-that is
the myth.
At the time of the final struggle
one good, hard-headed Spring Val
ley business man offered to raise a
company of fifty men and come to
the defense of "Dietz and liberty"
with a machine gun, if wanted. We
were all going along that line more
or less. But Ira c. Edwards, at that
time living here, who was himself a
Dietz worshipper, went to the scene
and lived with the Dietz family a
couple of weeks just before the wind
up, and what he found out cooled our
ardor.
At Winter he could hire no man to
drive him to the Dietz home, so
great was the terror; he was put off
a mile from the clearing and walked
there, receiving a royal welcome.
Both Edwards and Dietz were
Masons. At the request of Mr.. Ed
wards Dietz told his story, and from
it, as told by himself, Mr.. Edwards
concluded that Dietz was entirely to
blame, and was, to use his words,
"crazy as a bedbug." Dietz told Ed
wards that he was a second Christ,
sent into the world to be crucified
for the right, but that his death at
the hands of tyranny would free the
people.
AS matter of cold fact, Dietz was
bully, a CRATER, and such a nuis-
ance to the community that jury
convicted him of murder though it
was matter of common knowledge
that the bullet that killed Harp
wouldn't fit a gun on the Dietz
place. Harp was accidently shot by
one of his companions.
John Dietz, in his prime, chad them
all buffaloed,' as one of his friends
expressed it. He was big man, a
rough and tumble fighter, who always
carried a gun and used it if he
couldn't win out in other ways. In
those days Hayward county was run
on graft, everybody living off the
lumber companies by fair means or
otherwise; Dietz got into the game
early. AS he lived long way from
the school house he invoked the law
providing for local teacher for his
children; the county hired his oldest
girl as teacher, paying her a good
salary, and also paid Dietz a good
sum for the rent of a schoolhouse
Zone room of his shack though it
continued to be used for all house
hold purposes. The split came when
Dietz demanded large sum for act
ing as cantor" at the School
house," this bill was refused, and
Dietz shot and nearly killed man
in the quarrel over it.
AS for Cameron Dam. When he
acquired Mrs. Cameron's rights to
the land on which the dam stands he
asked the lumber company to pay
toll for letting their logs through,
not only for all the logs sent through
from then on, but for all they had
ever sent through in the years before
he got the land. The company agreed
to pay toll in the future but refused
the back dues-and the war was on
AS result of the fight the Djetz
family were brought out Of theic
backwoods shanty, given good eda-
cations, put in a position . earn good
livings, and were made comfortable
and happy not the less 50 because
the father was away, for all of them
feared him when he was at home.
And the Dietz myth was created
and engrossed on our states history