The herald., 1894-01-08
WHO RUINED THE BIG COMPANY?
Managerial Troubles OF the Bear
Valley Irrigation Company.
Various officials Trying to Fix the
Blame.
Ex-Presidont Brown Says His. Successor
Was Responsible for the OollRpse'
and President Greene Lays
1t Upon Brown.

The Bear Valley Irrigation company,
q corporation worth millions of dollars
and supplying the country for miles
around Redlsnds, San BerDardino
county, with water, has passed into the
hands of receiver. There are stories
floating around Southern California,
says the Examiner, to the effect
that gross mismsnagement has charac-
terized the conduct OF the enterprise,
and people are divided in opinion rs to
VIII ther Frank E. Brown, ex-president,
or Charles w. Greene, the present head
of the corporation, is responsible.
When the appointment of receiver
was announced, the Banning Herald
published an editorial embracing let
ter from Brown in which the entire
blame for the collapse of the company
wac laid upon Greene's shoulders. Said
the Herald:
'Mr. Brown had nothing to:do With
the Bear Valley company's present en-
barrassment and the cowardly assaults
made upon that honorable gentleman
by the brainless president and his ego
tistical satellites were inexcussble, in
decent and contemptuous, to cay the
least. Mr.. Brown did his best
to persuade the directors to abandon
Mr.. Greene'e suicidal Is per cent policy,
but, unfortunately for the Bear Valley
Irrigation company, without success.
He tried again last January and Fehru-
ary, but as Mr.. Greene was still more
obstinate than ever, Mr.. Brown with
drew from the company entirely, as he
deemed the policy was bound to lead to
failure"
Browns letter to the Herald said,
among other things:
ITO those who are familiar with the
part | had in the conception and up
building of the great enterprise which
gave birth to Redlands and it's surround
ing developments it is unnecessary for
me to express the deep regret | feel at
this event, but to those who know OF me
only through the gross misrepresenta-
tions which have been circulated by va
rious means during the past few months,
briefly but plainly. While l
regret very keenly the disaster which
has overtaken the company, / have no
occasion to be surprised. More than a
year ago | clearly saw the result to
which the policy of the management
would surely lead. My remonstrance
was unavailing, and an aggressive effort
made by me to induce foreign stock
holders to agree upon the only course to
prevent the ruin of tn, company was
defeated by Mr.. Greene, who. to further
| his own selfish purposes, has arraigned
me as the enemy of that great enter
prise which my faith and my industry
largely created, and of that community
which has been my home and is today
the seat OF my property interests.
81 have been assailed because I fore
saw and had the. courage to point out
what must be the inevitable conse-
quences of the policy pursued by a
short-sighted and wrong headed man
agement.
This publication called from Greene
note to the editor OF the Herald, in
which be stated that, in order to put the
paper in possession of the true facts, he
enclosed copy of letter that was sent
to the British shareholders by the di-
rectory of the company. Following is
the letter;
BEAR VALLEY IRRIGATIcN COMPANY
REDLANDs, Cal, July IS, 1898.
Matthew Robins ESQ. London, Eng:
DEAR SIR-Mr. Charles w. Greene has
read extracts to US from your letter of
June 30th, in which you state that Mr..
Frank E. Browne, formerly a director
and chief engineer OF the Bear Valley
| Irrigation company, is making a per-
sonal attack upon Mr.. Greene in rela-
tion to his management OF the affaits of
the Bear Valley Irrigation company.
| You also state that Brown has private
book, which he kept while director of
the company, in which were entered all
the arrangements with Mr.. Greene, etc.
That Brown states that Mr.. Greene has
been making a good thing at the ex-
pense of the shareholders of the compa-
ny, and that Brown and others protested
against the hign prices at which Mr..
Greene put the stock, and also against
the Is per cent dividend, and that in
respect to the dividend Mr.. Greene used
proxies which he had obtained for the
purpose of enabling him to get the ac-
counts put into the English form to
coerce the directors of the company into
paying the 10 per cent dividend, and
that Mr.. Greene shook the proxies in
the faces of the directors and threatened
that if they did not do as he wished he
would have receiver put in, etc.
Now in relation to the arrangements
made with Mr.. Greene for the financing
Of the affairs Of the company, we have
to say that the negotiation was solely
between Mr.. Brown and Mr.. Kitching,
! on behalf of the company, and Mr..
! Greene in the fret instance, and that
after the organization of the new COM
psny had been perfected a formal con-