Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The lumber company makes its case against Deitz, 1906
Letter of T.J. Connor, Aug. 1906.
In this long letter to the Eau Claire Leader, Mississippi River Logging Co. attorney T.J. Connor lays out the company's case against John Deitz (whose response is given here). For background on the Cameron Dam controversy that prompted the exchange, see the Deitz entry in the Dictionary of Wisconsin History.
By the time this letter was written, Deitz was already lionized in the press as a common man fighting for his rights against a giant corporation. Connor tries to undermine that image by explaining point-by-point why the company believes that Deitz has no legal claim to the Cameron Dam, and portrays him as a scheming, violence-prone, and unstable misfit. Four years later the conflict culminated in a violent attack in which a deputy was killed; Deitz was convicted of murder, and the lumber company took over the Cameron Dam.
| Related Topics: |
Mining, Logging, and Agriculture The Progressive Era Logging and Forest Products Progressivism and the Wisconsin Idea |
| Creator: | Connor, Thomas J. (1856-1928) |
| Pub Data: | Digitized from the original manuscript in the Alfred Eugene Roese Correspondence, 1904-1909 (Northland SC 36) at the History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (29270 County Highway G, Ashland, WI 54806); the letter was published in the Eau Claire Leader on August 24, 1906, page 2. |
| Citation: | Connor, Thomas J. Letter, Aug. 1906. Digitized from the original manuscript in the Alfred Eugene Roese Correspondence, 1904-1909 (Northland SC 36) at the History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland, WI. Online facsimile at: http://wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1700; Visited on: 4/25/2024 |
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