White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1928-04-27
WREckING CREW IS
IN BAD WRECK

Attracted by sensational posters in
which it was announced that start
ling exposures bordering on a Grimm
al nature were to be made, a large
crowd turned out to the meeting in
Liberty hall on Thursday evening OF
last week, the lower part of the valley
as in the previous meeting a few
weeks ago, furnishing the bulk of the
crowd.
The posters were somewhat mis-
leading for the meeting developed into
a sort Of bombastic harangue, high
ly favored with insulting insinuations,
innuendo and half truths, and some
OF them hardly that, but, as at the
former meeting, there was nothing
offered Of construtive, progressive
CT forward looking nature All was
depression and apparently calculated
to foster destructive sentimeat.
c. F. Wooten took up most of the
time in trying to make out case
against "the power interests" and to
do this read numerous papers that he
said were certified copies of the re-
cords of the Consumers Ditch comp
any and the Black Rock Power &
Irrigation company and which he
interpreted to be of a shady, if not
criminal, nature. Some of. the crowd
liked this and applauded vigorously.
Wooten also attempted to cast as
persions on the editor OF this news
paper and w. ]. Kinca;d by making
statements frcm which he apparently
intended the audience to believe that
the editor was watering his orchard
tract from the Consumers Ditch COM
Pany without having paid any maislt-
enance since 1915 and that Mr.. Kin
caid was watering one piece of land
and paying only So per cent as much
as others taking water from the
Consumers Ditch company. He also
tried, by half truths and cunn;ngly
worded s,tatements, to clscredit the
committee representing the water
right owners and their attorney, Judge
Carroll B. Graves, in the suit brought
by the Black Rock company to quiet
title at Priest Rapids. This is the
suit, it will be remembered, that finally
terminated in the so-called Webster
decree, the greatest victory the water
right owners could possibly win.
After about an hour of this, T. "A.
Spratlen, in order probably to give
Wooten a chance to "catch his wind"
took the floor and made what those
who heard it said was first class
|. w. w. speech. 1t was little stout
for the honest-to- goodness socialists
but was great stuff Tor those with
1. w. w. leanings. During his talk
the crowd got to laughing and Mr..
Spratlen chided them for ridiculing
him. He had several peeves, the
principal che of which was, against
Receiver Marvin Chase in whom he
could see little, ii any good
Everyone here, however, kpows. Mr..
Spratlen now and no one takes ofense
at anything he might say. Mr.
Spratlen's closing salutation was,
''Thank you, fellow slaves"
After this breathing spell Wooten
then continued his harangue for some
little time. Just before the meeting
aejorned, James deVeuve of Seattle,
who was pres'aat, got up and said he
WAS "with tn. committee morally and
financially"
And that was all. Nothing was
eaid to appeal to ones reason and
Judgment, just cheap, sordid bid to
passion and prejudice.
One might wonder what all the
hullabaloo is about; just what is the
purpose and motive behind those
promoting and fostering the sent
iments expressed at the meeting. Why
are not all the truth ancl facts given
to the people so that they can draw
sensible and sane conclusions? What
is hidden behind the smoke screen of
half truths and misleading and sland-
ercus stateneots? Is it because ttos,,
who are making them are just dumb
Doras or is there something more
sinister in the whole scheme? There
are lot of people, just lot of them,
asking those and similar questions.
The two meetings did not "go over
The great majority of people do not
fall" for a lot of bonbast. They
want something tangible and real
that they can see and understand.
Lincoln said mcuthful when ne gave
expression to the truth, "You can fool
all of the people some Ct tho time and
scme of the people all of the time but
you can not fool all of the people all
of the time" The two meetings have
Qonc lot to clear up the situation.
Maybe another cne or two would
|. clear it all up.
This newspaper is holding no brief
for the companies. The ciitor served
too many years on the committee of
water right owners fighting the COM
panies in the courts, to have any
illusions about how desperately
hard they fought to separate the
power interest from the waeer OBJ
ligation. That fight finally eliminated
in the Circ,it Court of Appeals de-
cision, now evidenced by tho Webster
decree That was the g Gates! victory
the water righ, owners cruld win and
the worst possible defeat FOR the COM
panies. 1t was long, hard fight, and
the committee had to operate often,
quito cften, on short funds. There
were times when there were no funds
at all and the members of the COM
mite had to dig down in their own
pockets in order that certain ne:es-
sary things be done Every member of
this committee-Jav Smith. Alex Nc
Conn chic. Pohort N;cho1c u ROM