The Governor Is Coming to Audit the Valley
Governor Roland H. Hartley prepares to inspect the state-sponsored land settlement project amidst rumors that the state might simply hand over land to veterans.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Governor Roland H. Hartley told D. S. Wilkinson in Olympia on Friday that he plans to visit the White Bluffs valley within the next three weeks to investigate the state land settlement project. The governor stated he has no preconceived plan for the project and would make no recommendations until after his investigation. When Wilkinson mentioned the local impression that the state might simply give the land to the settlers, the governor replied positively that the state of Washington is giving away nothing, and suggested that Wilkinson carry that message back to the settlers. Hartley plans to arrive in Yakima and drive over to the valley, intending to stay at least two days.
“The state of Washington is giving away nothing.”
The tension between state oversight and the self-sufficiency of local settlers remains a recurring theme in Washington politics. Much like the agricultural projects of the 1920s, current discussions about land development in the Columbia Basin still grapple with the legacy of state intervention and the reality of local water and soil sustainability.
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