The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1894-12-13
THEIR LAWYERS ACCUSED
Forgery in Connection With an lrrisa-
ton Scheme.
4 YAKIMA CANAL PROJECT SUFFERS
President simmons Causes the Ar.
rest-Notes Issued and Discounted
TO the Amount Of s8I ,OOO-History
of the Transaction.

A New York dispatch of Dec. 8 says ::
Lawyer Henry NJ. Hagh and d. L. KEEL
lam, who are charged by II. +. Simmons,
president of the Prosser Falls and Priest
Rapids Canal company Of Tscoms, Wn..
with conspiring to deiraud him of
100000, were brought to the Toombs
this morning. second charge was
made against them OF forgery, for alter
ing the dates OF the balance of the notes
The charge of grand larceny WAS with
drawn later and the charge Of forgery
substituted. On that both men were held
in default of s25 900 each for examination
next Monday.
Referring to the arrest of Haigh and
kellam, Mr.. Simmons said his company
had issued bonds to the amount of $780,
600 to be sold abroad by contract, but the
proceeds OF such sale had not been re-
ceived when he met the prisoner, kellam,
last summer. In Kellan's office Sim
mons met man calling himself President
Western OF the Honesdale Savings Bank
and Trust company Of Honesdale, Pa.
Kellam represented himself ss president
OF railroad then building in West Vir-
ginia, and the owner OF 10000 acres of
timber and coal lands in that state. KEEL
lam proposed that he and Simmons
should issue Joint paper to be discounted
for their mutual benefit. Simmons sign
Cd notes aggregating SCI 900, to DO dis
counted at the banks. An agreement
was drawn up whereby Simmons and
Kellam agreed to execute notes to an
amount not exceeding 800 900 for mutual
benefit. Kellam agreed to secure Sim
mons for the portion OF the cash used by
him by giving him amortgage on 1000
acres OF land in Lincoln county, w. Va.
The mortgage was to be for $4,000. 1t
was further agreed that when Simmons
received any money for his share of the
notes the amount was to be endorsed on
the mortgage as partial payment of the
same. When the endorsement amounted
to the share of procee as OF the notes dis
counted or sold, and in the case of all
notes being sold or taken up, the mort
gage was to be cancelled Simmons
signed notes aggregating 900, and
they were put in the hands of Simmons
broker, Charles Lowe, to be turned over
to Kellsm on his order
When in California Simmons learned
that Lawyer Haigh WAS peddling his
notes on the street. He hastened bac K
to this city, arriving here on December 5.
He found that Haigh was trying to to dis
pose of the notes for from % to 80 per
cent of their face value A plot was ar
ranged to trap Haigh. A clerk from
Broker loves was sent to make propo-
sition to Haigh to purchase some of Sim
mons paper. Hsigh agreed to sell some
for so per cent of their face value. He at
last agreed to dispose of $50, 900 worth of
the paper He was arrested and still had
notes in his possession. The dates had
been changed So far as is known only
one OF Simmons notes had been disposed
Of man named Morgan bought it on
tu6 OOJtOn ESACuduko ioi SiSOO. IL " 40
for $4,000. The remainder of the paper
has not yet been traced The missing
notes aggregate $4,000.
The Prosser Falls and Priest Rapids
Canal company has capital of $500, 0O0
The company has projected system OF
irrigating canals over hundred miles in
length, extending from Prosser Falls,
where it taps the Yakima river, past
Kiona and Kennewick, to point oppo-
site Wallula, with branch reaching
from point seven or eight miles east of
Kiona to Priest Rapids on the Columbia
river, distance of forty miles northward.
These canals and their branches, when
completed, will irrigate something like
$4,000 acres OF arid land. The main ca
nal has been built from Prosser Falls
nearly to Kennewick, distance of over
40 miles. but lacks certain fiuming and a
pipe line across the Yakima river. 1t is
said that over $50, 900 has been spent in
the work which was stopped pending the