Mr. Smith Goes to Washington/Headscratchers

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • You know what bugs me? Nobody ever suggests building a camp somewhere else in the state. Or even considers the recreational possibilities of a lake. Even if we accept the contention that the Dam was unnecessary and inappropriate, is it that much of a stretch to sell the land for a camp instead?
    • Boy howdy, that's just scratching the surface. For one thing: Dams are for rivers; YOU DO NOT DAM A CREEK (unless of course you are a beaver). For another, why not move the camp farther up-stream? Also, you have to look closely at it, but in the process of trying to discredit him, Taylor transfers legal ownership of the land to Smith. How exactly are they supposed to build a dam on land that Jeff Smith now owns, and how could it possibly profit Taylor?
      • In the second case, by making him look like a selfish fool trying to save his own property. In the first, a little thing called "Eminent Domain."