The Labor enquirer., 1888-02-18

A FauIi-Finding Correspond
ent Charges that Things
Are Muddled.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Lack Of Strict Business Principles
Is the MATERIAL 81 Which Nay
be Remealed.

Editor Labor Enquirer. ,,s,s.-s:
Judging from papers and circu'
lars that are sent out from time tc
time by the oficersof the Kaweah
colony the prospect is not encour.
aging. It's now two years since
the scheme was started and every.
thing seems to be in aworse mud
die now than in the beginning
There are of course causes for
such a state of affairs.
The proposed Kaweah colony
was first thought of and engi-
neered by Mr.. c. F. Keller who
had discovered rich tracts of red
wood and pine forests on the Sierra
Nevadas in Tulare county, Cali
fornia, but almost inaccessible to
individual efforts or without large
capital to work with, so Mr.. Keller
interested number of friends
with kindred thoughts and ideas
to file on these lands and then
after obtaining their government
patents to merge their respective
claims into a cooperative colony
to exploit the timber. So one
day about forty applications or
filings were made in the Visalia
land office. So many applica-
tions, all made in one day, raised
either the cupidity or the suspi-
cions of some Visalia citizens that
there was land fraud going on
and they telegraphed to Commits
sioner Sparks to that effect. He
Immediately stopped 7all farther
filings and withheld the patents Of
the filings that were already
made. 1t is now two years since
and the title to the land is in the
same condition, Practically then
the Kaweahsscolony, as colony.
has absolutely nothing to show
where it rests on. 1t is no wonder
we get muddled in trying to make
constitutions and by laws for a
thing that does not exist.
Pending the settlement of these
land titles Mr.. Keller with four
or FIVE friends began to work to
open a road up to the timber a
distance of some sixteen or twenty
miles. The country being ex-
tremely rough and rugged it was
big undertaking, but Mr.. Keller
went at it with courage and heart.
Then Mr.. J. J. Martin who had been
appointed general secretary by
the, at that time, few interested
parties soon began to advertise
the existence of the Kaweah COL
ony, issued letters, pamphlets,
circulars and tracts, setting forth
its advantages and its wealth, the
full membership fee of which was
$500, payable in installments.
These fees were supposed to offset
claims of 100 acres to be decided
by their owners to the colony
when they would get their patents
from the government.
Under such representations
money soon began to flow into the
hands of the general secretary,
and Mr.. Keller, who was appoint
ed general superintendent and
who Immediately increased the
force on the road to some eighteen
I
or twenty men, the majority of
whom | believe were not members
of the colony, but who were will
ling to trust to the integrity of the
officers, to chance and to God for
their pay. In spite of all these
foggy arrangements, without con-
stitution, law or regulation, OF
property to base them on, money
flowed in from all parts, and work
on the road went on rapidly, and
a fine road was in year and a
half almost finished up to the tim.
Der.
Then sometime ago a little
scare was raised about there being
some danger of losing the road
so a few constituted themselves
stockholders and incorporated the
road into a toll road, so, for all
practical purposes, in SO far as the
laws of the country are concerned
1.-THE Kaweah colony cannot ever