Arizona state miner., 1925-06-06
LIBRARY RUCT|ON
At W|CKENBURG
FORCES BIG SUIT
DEVOUT GHOULS TRY TO
STEAL LIBRARY
Case Where A Tenant Gusts
the Owner After Getting A
Lease On A Lot, Building
and Furnishings.

Ninety per cent of the people Of
Wickenburg are good honest people,"
said Rev. T. S. Hunter, pastor of the
Wickenburg community church, to our
Miner editor recently. We will go
him some better and make it 95 per
cent. The population sums up about
$50 souls, of whom about half are
adults. Numerically considered, then,
you will say that there are about Is
people there who don't care a conti-
mental whether anybody else lives
there or not. But they are "big
fifteen" and strong minority that
control elections, hog the trade of
the town, and are able to coerce
and punish, by their political pull,
all objectors to their rule of dicta-
tion.
Years of this factional condition
has made of Wickenburg "hick
town" in everybody's mouth-when
in reality it has one of the best, most
docile and Industrious populations in
the universe. Because of their quiet
and domestic habits, the bulk Of the
industrious people of Wickenburg are
imposed on by few ghouls-who
disregard the living and desecrate
the dead. Because of this strong
minority, entrenched as they are, the
town cannot grow. Where harmony
might prevail, is discord. Regularly
every year the same political ring
rules the burg and it's innocent, un-
offending residents, who rather sub
nit to Odium and repression than
openly take defiant hand in resent
Ing it, are made to accept an auto
cratic dictum to submit or pack up
and leave-which many of them do
Because of this, property has little
appreciation, houses are empty, and
the population Is lacking in stability.
Some day we hope the great majority
CT the good people of Wickenburg,
gentle and easy to manage, will wake
up and run their own town. When
they do, thousands who have been
driven away from Wickenburg, will
flock back again to this little old
paradise on the Hassayampa river
and make a city of it.
Indicative of the foregoing, let us
tell you of another Of those small
town ructions which are ever recur-
ring in this and other little so-called
one-man-towns
4hdnJ years ago, LuO 1dUlOS Ol w ICh-
enburg formed library association
BY donations, charitable and fraternal
efforts, a lot then building, and fin
ally furniture with books for read
ing room and library, were acquired
to offset saloons, dance halls, and
ether wicked Wiles of the frontier
mining camps. Then the town was
incorporated for further reforms To
encourage the municipality, big heart
ed men and women beamed with sat
isfact1On on the proposal to allow this
public reading room and library build
ing to be used by the municipality
FREE for their periodical council
chamber meetings and a town hall
lease of the building. books and
contents for and in consideration of
81 was made to the Town of Wicken-
burg by the Library Association, for
an indeterminate period. so long as
the Town Council provided 500 worth
of books every year, and provided
for fuel and repairs to the reading
room building.
This free lease year after year was
violated. No books were provided.
Interest in the library waned. The
Council then rented a part of the
library building to the telephone peO-
pie, collecting more than enough each
month to make good their obligation
to replenish and keep up the little
library. Finally T. B. city clerk was
installed as librarian People moved
away, the library became a failure
end the present council, as cold and
calculating bunch of political roy
crofters as ever held public office,
planned to annex and appropriate
the proDertv which they had been
freely allowed to occupy as tenants.
A meeting was called, (sort of sub
rosa like, where only a few were
wanted) and the forming of a new
library association was attempted by
the Mayor, where a psuedo commit
tee was to deed over to the city the
entire proDerty-because "no taxes
had been paid thereon to the town"
The plot was foiled by few brave
hearts. among them, Mrs. F. x.
O'Rrien, Mrs. T. B. Woods, Mrs. A. J.
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~-
and the Grand Avenue Furniture Ex-
change, 92S Grand Avenue.
For Auto Troubles see Ned Cross,
TIT Grand Avenue, and the Five
Points Garage, 737 Grand Avenue.
For Rooms by the Day, Week or
Month try Williams Apartments.
Good Shave or Shine see H. A.
Robinson, next door to the Miner and
Star office.
Want Medicine or a Doctor rush
to the Five Points Drug Store
Too Much Money? Deposit it with
the Citizens State Bank at Five
Points