GILLETTSSTRAIGHT TALK.CONCERNING VILLAGEBUSYBODIES

NO BORDER MONTE CARLO

ENGLAND'S POOR DUKES.There are indications that England's land problem is working

out its own solution. Large land-owners, such as the Dukes ofBedford, Rutland and Westminister, are findingit difficult to holdvast areas out of productive use and are offering estates for saleto the crown and to their tenants. Landlordism ruined agricul-ture in England, and now the unused land is ruining the land-lords. Several dukes are complaining of poverty, and all of themare amazedly indignant at the governments evident purpose tocompel them to pay" taxes like common people. When they ceaseholdingland out ofuse, England's producing people may come backinto their own and decay of the nation may be arrested.

Itis reported fromMexico that President Diaz willnot sanc-tion Tia Jauna's proposed race track because the act might be jconstrued as unfriendly to California as a state of a friendly na- 1tion.

The officials at Ensenada are in the habit of selling

sions" to gamblers and crooks, and recently they made a deal with;

the racetrack gang that has been outlawed in California, even go-ing so far as to sell to Poker Davis the exclusive privilege of run-ningbunco games along the border and robbing tourists. They are Ithe sort of grafters to license pickpockets and porchclimbers for a jshare of the plunder.

IfPresident Diaz has interfered with this conspiracy of graft- 1ers and thieves, the scheme for making a mockery of California's {anti-gambling law by building a racetrack at Calexico and estab- ilishing pool rooms over the line inMexicali gets a hard jolt. Theonly argument advocated by the promoters of tbat project hasbeen that unless a track shall be built on this side there willbeone at Mexicali,and that itis better to have the racing and betting junder their control than under the wide-open rule of Mexican of-ficials. President Diaz has spoiled that specious plea and no plaus-ible argument remains to those who would make Calexico the har- \bor of refuge for all the gamblers, crooks, pickpockets and graft- !ers on the Pacific Coast. ; ;

True, the air and sunshine of New York are but poor sub-stitutes for the ozone and livinglight of the desert, but a poormillionaire,chained to the wheel of his fortune, must do the besthe can and put up with conditions that are spurned by men thatare free. A railroad king cannot expect to be as comfortable andhealthy as a desert pioneer.

Although he was here but a day or two, Mr.Harriman learnedmuch in Imperial Valley. He saw, for one thing, that the peopleare healthy, and he noted that they live and sleep in the open air.When he returned to the East he set his architect at work buildingan Imperial Valley tent house upon the roof of his New York man-sion, and he proposes to live, transact business and sleep in thejpen air henceforth. He is doing the thing thoroughly and .theimprovement is to cost about $30,000.

A LESSON LEARNEDINTHE DESERT

The trustees have made a start inthe right direction, and theyshould be supported and aided in arriving at the best possible so-lution of the water problem.

Before bonds are issued, definite plans must be adopted, andit would be well to have them prepared by competent engineersfamiliar with water conditions and problems in this region. It

would seem to be advisable to determine first ifit is possible toobtain a supply of ground or artesian water. Opinions on thatquestion are of no value ;nothing but the drillcan answer it. Itis known already that some water can be obtained at moderatedepth, but no complete test of the ground supply has been made.A moderate sum would pay for the sinking of a test well, but itwillbe necessary to issue bonds even to raise such a sum.

The first step toward construction of an adequate water sys-

tem for ElCefjitip ha<? been taken by the CityTrustees in a resolu-tionof intention to call an election on the question of issuing waterbonds for $75,000. Itdoes not follow that the city willbe obliged

to spend that sum, but that is considered sufficient to cover thecost of any system that may be found suitable.

WATER FOR EL CENTRO.

(Thereis a small group of men

—and a group of small men at

that—

inEl Centro that is making reasonable people very weary Iand making it needlessly difficult to maintain a rational, practi-jcable standard of public morality and civic cleanliness. By thei?* \pettiness and their rancorous fanaticism they discredit the cause jthey profess to promote and arouse resentment in the minds of jcitizens otherwise disposed to support the policies they assumeto direct »

tj

"'t

These vociferous busybodies are 'few in number and insig-nificent in personal influence, Jtyiit like coyotes they create the im-;pression of numbers by the -rapidity of their yapping. They keep \u25a0

busy as tomcats scrapping on a tin roof, hunting mare's nests inipublic work and^proclaiming their discoveries ofofficial turpitude!and graft*—-Their impudence in constituting themselves keepers l

of the.^ivic conscience is excelled only by their ignorance of every-r--*tfimgthey meddle with.

Recently these foolish persons circulated rumors that the Icity was being swindled by the sewer contractors

—that the con- 1

struction was bad and not in accordance with specifications —andjthey tried to get before the City Trustees an anonymous communi- !cation demanding the resignation of two trustees, one of whom jis guilty of -not having been selected by them and the other ofihauling material for the sewer builders at so much a load, both ;therefore being "grafters."

Olmstead & Gillelan, the engineers who planned the sewer jsystem, report that the contractors are doing excellent' work and:that the one definite charge of violation of specifications, traceable ;*to the scandal mongers, is a sillyfalsehood. The engineers and the \contractors offer to give bonds for the satisfactory and successful \operation of the system for a period of years, and to the ordinary \u25a0

citizen and business man, the positive assurance of a reputable jfirmof engineers is more convincing than the irresponsible gos- j

. sipping of pinhead critics of things in general.Intelligent interest in public affairs and vigilance in watch-

ing public work and public servants are necessary to good gov- ;ernment, and itis proper that the acts of the city trustees be scru- !

Itinizedcarefully, butchronic suspicion of the motives and reckless i

misrepresentation of the acts of public servants are not the out- jward and visible signs of good citizenship. :

/Of course -resentment of the mischievous asininity of a few!~ busybodies is no more a reason for opposing the policiesthey pretend to champion than their personal animosity to a cityofficial is a justification of opposition to public improvements, but

'there is in fact danger that their ill-judged meddling may causedivision ina community that is normally harmonious. El Centro ;is going along the right line and laying the foundations of a cleancity, and ifthe average citizen keeps his head cool and his jud<?. ;ment free ofpersonal rancor there willbe no reaction.

So far the extremists have not attained the importance ofpublic pests; they are only minor nuisances.

The trouble with the policy of exclusion is that itis appliedon the wrong side of the continent and against the least objec-tionable race. When we swapped the Chinese for the scum ofSouthern Europe we played a poor trick upon ourselves.

The easiest way for Italy to secure the safety of her subjectsin the United States is to keep at home the criminals and barbar-ians that have made Italian immigration one of the most vexa-tious problems with which this country is confronted. No peace-

able Italian is in any danger from Americans. The problem ishow to protect the decent Italian from his black-hand country-men, and the lives and property of American citizens from thelawlessness of a horde of ignorant, vicious aliens.

Governor Gillett's replyto the Italian Consul-General, who hadthe gall to demand militaryprotection for a horde 6f Dagoes riot-ing at McCloud, was refreshingly,straight aTid undiplomatic. Thegovernor resented the implication that State troops could not betrusted to discriminate between rioters and peaceable persons, andsaid to the Italian Buttinsky: "Ifyou have any influence withsubjects of your country who are engaged in rioting and disturb-ing the peace inMcCloud,Iwish you would exercise itand requestthem to desist."

Ancient astronomers started the custom of identifying stars \by giving to them the names of gods and heroes invented by im-

*aginatiye poets. That seemed to them better than designating thestars bynumber? or letters, just as botanists givenames of personsto plants. Astrology, the supreme achievement in imbecility ofthe mind of man, was founded upon the fanciful nomenclatureadopted by astronomers. Because an astronomer tacked the nameof Mars to a planet, Mars being a mythical fighting god, the as-trologer attributed warlike qualities to the planet and martial in-fluence upon persons happening to be born when that star is ina certain apparent position in the heavens.

Astrology does not arise to the dignity of superstition; it isthe, quintessence of inanity, the final precipitate of coagulatedbosh. Yet there are human beings, outside of refuges for the feeble-minded, who think they believe the position of a star governs thedestiny of persons; that a lump of slag whirlingthrough space canaffect the lifeand character of an inhabitant of the earth.

To encourage or pander to that idiocy is to degrade human

PROSTITUTION OF JOURNALISM

Saturday, Juno 12, 1909.IMPERIALVALLEY PRESS

Imperial Valley PressOfficial Newspaper of Imperial County and City of El Centre

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAYM*n«oer .. C. F. HnydenEditor Allen KellyAssociate Editor Lewie Havermale'

„ "SUBSCRIPTION*One Year $1.00Six Months. , f 50Three Months , 25Single Copies 05

WATCH THE BUBBCIIIP~T^6~N~ ~D~aWThe number of our paid circulation and rates of advertising will be

furnished on application.

Allremittances and communications should be addressed to the Imperial» Valley Press.

Entered as second-class matter March 3, 1906, at the postofflce at ElCentro, California, under the act of Congress of March 3, 1879.

nature, and yet some of the great newspapers of the country give!space regularly to what they term "horoscopes," consisting of suchpitifulstuff as this:

v "Mercury is entering into position where he willbe inconjunc-tion withVenus, a happy augury of letters or messages and for lov-1ers, especially those of swift,forceful mind and impulse.

"Children born today are undera conjunction that promisesgood executive ability and power to do great work; but they areoften inclined to go at their tasks haphazard."

That is-the "educational work" of great newspapers that con-duct scholarship contests. They might as well propagate beliefin Voodooism or advocate the worship of wooden idols. Their onlyexcuse is that there are fools enough to make such prostitution oftheir mission profitable. Quack doctors and green goods operatorshave the same excuse.

4

Weather

Under- W^^^myy \ / /^^^*m*fflq

LET US SEND YOU HOME A SUIT OF OUR NICE

FEATHER WEIGHT UNDERWEAR. WE HAVE JUST

THE KIND YOU WANT. ASK FOR B. V. D. AND

FLEXIFORM, AND AS SOON AS YOU SEE AND EX-

AMINE IT,YOU WILL BE CONVINCED THAT YOU

NEVER SAW THEIR EQUAL.

Meserve'sClothing House

El Centro . California

That may help you in selecting your new buggy orspring wagon. Remember that strength and durabilityare often sacrificed in the making of a vehicle that looksgood but willnot stand up under the heat and tryingconditions of the valley.

Examine the top, fifth wheel, trimming and otherparts carefully and see that they are well made of goodmaterial.

'

The body that opens in the corners and joints is anexpensive thing to repair. -.

Remember that vehicles made by a well-known andreputable manufacturer can be guaranteed by tile dealer,and having a reputation to sustain, the manufacturerwill make good any defects in material or workmanship.

THOMPSON ANDSTUDEBAKER Spring Vehiclesare sold and so guaranteed by us.

ELCENTRO— — _____

HOLTVILLE

The El Centro National BankSTILL CONTINUES TO GROW ANDTHE PEOPLE OF EL CENTRO FUL-LY APPRECIATE THE UNEXCELLED BANKING FACILITIES THATTHIS INSTITUTION HAS RENDERED THE COMMUNITY WHILE THEBULK OF THE PEOPLE'S FUNDS WERE TIED UP IN THE VALLEYSTATE BANK; THEY ALSO FULLY REALIZE WHAT IT WOULD HAVEMEANT TO THIS TOWN AND THE VALLEYIN GENERAL HAD THEREBEEN NO BANK HERE AT THE TIME THE VALLEY STATE BANKWAS CLOSED. IT IS THE COMMON REMARK THAT WE ARE THERIGHT KIND OF JANKERS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND EXACTLYAT THE RIGHT TIME. WE BEG TO THANK THE PEOPLE FOR THEGENEROUS PATRONAGE AND ASSURE THEM THAT THEIR CONFI-DENCE WILL NEVER BE BETRAYED.

YOURS TRULY,F. B. FULLER, President.

Hormerly United States Commissionerat Imperial

Correction of entries and preparation of applications for filingswithin the newly surveyed townships. Allpapers carefullyprepared. Woik absolutely guaranteed. .)(),-'\u25a0City Clerk's Office -.: • . . El Centro, California.

IvlOUCy 10 JLOStII have been made... ?L^—:\u25a0

—~—— by which H. C.GRISWOLD will;loan money on improved ranches.Write or call at his office, Hotel Oregon Block,EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA. \IW.

"As a Man Thinketh, So is He"To the man who thinks clean thoughts and lives a clean life,.

morallyand physically, all things are possible.Just three moments in the morning for a massage and bath

with the

KNICKERBOCKER SPRAY BRUSHwill itart you on the day with a fullrealization of your latent pow-ers. Every farmer and every clerk should have one. For sale by

S. A. SHIELDS, El CentroAgei t for Imperial and;San Diego County. Drop me a card und4-' willwrite you or call.

Sewer Cotinecti< rs»HAVE YOUR BEWER CONNECTIONS MADE BY SKILLED

PLUMBERS IN A WORKMANLIKE MANNER.WE ARE FULLY PREPARED TO DO THIB WORK AND CAN

GUARANTEE A SATISFACTORY AND BANITARY JOB AT AVERY REASONABLE PRICE.

PLUMBING OF ALL KINDS. NOTHING TOO BIG FOR US j6HANDLE. \

BATH TUBS, LAVATORIEB, CLOSETB, WATER AND SEWERPIPE. ALL WORK GUARANTEED TO CONFORM TO PLUMBINGLAWS

Witrtien Plumfoittk Co.BROADWAY, BETWEEN FOURTH AND FIFTH STREETB.