| Letters to the Editor Submit your letters to us at: spine_prick@yahoo.com |
Pauken did job "ineffectively" says his sucessor |
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"Do Nothing" submitted this letter on 6/25/06:
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Gentrification at point blank range.
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"Jeff Harris" submitted this letter on 5/24/06:
Title: Gentrification at point blank range. |
The law to gentrify Bisbee work session!
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"Bisbee on My Mind" submitted this letter on 7/30/06:
Title: The law to gentrify Bisbee work session!. |
| Crumbly or Crumbs from the tables of the privileged |
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This letter was submitted by Peter von Gundlach on 6/24/06:I am continually astounded by the glibness and arrogance of our city decision makers when it comes to the defense of their contradictory statements and policies regarding the obvious discrepancies concerning the allocations and distributions of Bisbee’s taxpayer’s re$ource$..
Example 2. When a petition was submitted to request that the City hire a professional Engineer to design, supervise and validate infrastructure rehabilitation, if nothing else, to demonstrate “due diligence” in the event of a catastrophic failure, the City’s response was to suggest a change in that “inconvenient” portion of the Municipal ordinance so that they would not be required to hire one. A few city council meetings ago, Russ McConnel requested and received some $56,000 of CDBG block grant funding to hire engineering services for the sewer project which apparently our highly-rewarded non Professional Engineer Jeff Smith was not qualified to perform. Yet, at the same time, they’re seeing no contradiction in hiring a fulltime attorney, (not mandated by code or charter). The thinking seems to be that by having a fulltime attorney on staff they will have someone who can defend their uninformed decisions, policies and choices should litigation result. Wouldn’t it be wiser to avoid these liability exposures from the get go by pro-actively having certified and licensed professionals on staff, particularly when mandated by law? The existing public perception could be that by avoiding this “inconvenience”, one can prevent being classified as having reached their nosebleed altitude levels of incompetence. to be continued…… (with dated photos and documentary support). |
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| James Brew and 1917 Deportation | |
This letter was submitted by Jacqueline O'Connor on 6/10/06:The recent thwarted efforts to place a monument to memorialize the 1917 Bisbee Deportation shows me how little times have really changed. On July 12, 1917, over a thousand men were rounded up in Bisbee by armed vigilantes, herded into boxcars and abandoned in Hermanas, New Mexico, without food, water or shelter. None of the vigilantes involved in the deportation had legitimate legal authority. They were thugs of the mining companies, including Phelps Dodge, organized to break the back of a newly formed union. Phelps Dodge continues to cast a shadow over Bisbee. What prompted this indiscriminate and illegal round-up of people? Arizona in the early 1900s was home to huge copper mining operations, much like today. During World War I the price of copper reached unprecedented heights and enormous profits were made for eastern shareholders. Five thousand miners worked around the clock in Bisbee; the town was booming and almost everyone was dependent upon the mines in one way or another. Prior to 1917, union activity had repeatedly been thwarted in Bisbee, but in 1916 a union was finally formed and enrolled 1,800 miners. On June 24, 1917, the union presented the mining companies with a list of demands including improvements to safety and working conditions, an end to discrimination against members of labor organizations and the unequal treatment of foreign and minority workers. Further, the union wanted a flat wage system to replace sliding scales tied to the market price of copper. The copper companies refused all demands and, as a result, a strike was called. By June 27 roughly half of the Bisbee work force was on strike. This set the scene for the deportations On July 12, 1917 beginning at about 6:30 in the morning 1,185 men were rounded up, some from bed, and placed aboard a train with a machine gun mounted on the top, and abandoned in New Mexico. The town itself was taken over by by mining company vigilantes. Guards were placed at the entrances to Bisbee to keep their activities secret. No one in, no one out who wasn't authorized by the mining companies. The Western Union telegraph office was commandeered to prevent any unauthorized communication with Bisbee. A kangaroo court was established to try people deemed disloyal to mining interests. Two men died during the roundup. James Brew shot one of the mining companies vigilantes, Orson McRae, after warning him he would shoot anyone who attempted to take him. Brew in turn was shot and killed by men accompanying McRae. Orson McRae was one of the miners loyal to the mining companies who was deputized for this deportation of union "agitators". He too became a victim of the mining companies' efforts to break the union. The vigilantes had been warned to avoid violence, however, reports of beatings, robberies and rapes later surfaced. Make no mistake. This was an important event in the labor movement in the United States. The miners in Bisbee were confronting the mining companies over safety and wages--money issues. To retaliate, and maintain their absolute control, the mining companies formed a vigilante force of over 2000 men to take over the town and "purge" it of dissenters (union members). In the process, these vigilantes killed James Brew when he resisted. He was murdered defending himself. Plain and simple, James Brew was a martyr and should be remembered and memorialized. Those who support "law enforcement" should get their history straight. President Wilson set up a Commission to investigate the Deportation but they referred the issue to the State of Arizona. The Commission did hold that the copper companies were at fault in the deportation, not the labor union. The State of Arizona took no action against the copper companies, however. So justice was never dealt. It is a shame that Bisbee continues to deny its history and protect the vigilantes of 1917 rather than honor those who were wronged--or killed. James Brew deserves to be remembered. He was a victim of vigilante violence. These events should be truthfully remembered. When will the town grow up and move out of the shadow of Phelps Dodge? |
Dog, cat, and mouse declared personas non gratas!
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"Not Getting Along" submitted this letter on 5/21/06:
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| She's still his sister! | |
"Peter von Gundlach" submitted this letter on 7/19/06:
Title: Meg is still Jack's sister! |
Don't just complain about City Hall -- Send us a letter so they know how you feel ... they need strokes too! |
