The Great White River Bridge Feud

To the Taxpayers of King County: Last week, a protest titled 'A Proposed Outrage,' which was deemed of sufficient importance to call forth an editorial, appeared in the Post-Intelligencer. Being a constant reader of the P-I and aware of its disposition to do justice to all parties, I have taken it upon myself to correct some of the false impressions which that article is liable to leave on the minds of those not acquainted with the facts. To the people of White River Valley not directly interested in the scheme for a bridge at Alvord's, the protest is its own best refutation. The editor of the Post-Intelligencer was no doubt misinformed, but the authors of that protest have most willfully misinterpreted the facts of the case, simply for the sake of satisfying a petty jealousy utterly unworthy of the men who are doing so. The statement is made that the Commissioners ignored a petition signed by over one hundred and thirty taxpayers for a bridge at Alvord's and have decided to bridge the river at a point five miles distant. Now, what are the real facts? At the meeting of the Board in May, two petitions were presented: one for a bridge at Alvord's, and another for a bridge about five miles further down the river, signed by one hundred and seventy taxpayers. The Commissioners, far from ignoring the smaller petition, visited the river and looked carefully over the ground. Feeling that the county could afford to build but one bridge on White River this year, they decided to build where the larger petition asked for it, while promising to consider the other location later. It is a known fact that the ferry at Van Derveer's is totally inadequate. The people of Kent, who do not claim to need a bridge for themselves, are making a clatter about this matter because one of the nabobs of the Puyallup valley wants a bridge so he can drive to his farm, while another mighty man needs a bridge once a week to go to church. Failing to accomplish their object, they play the dog in the manger and set the note on. Fie! for shame! neighbors, we had hoped for better things from you.