The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-08
TO ABOLISH THE DISTRICT.
FRESNO AND KINGS COUNTY LAND
OWNERS IN A GREAT LAW
SUIT.
The SUNSET IRRIGATION DISTRICT
ALLEGED TO BE F'RAUDU-
LENT,

The Sunset irrigation district of Fresno
and Kings counties, which was organized
February 5, 1891, is to be wiped out of ex
istence if strong array of legal talent car
prevail in the courts. A suit at law fol-
that purpose will be filed in the Superior
Court of Fresno County at the instigation
OF the owners of the property composing
the district and by the sanction of the At
torney-General as against corporation.
The irrigation district in question en-
braces 294, ia acres of land situated in
Fresno and Kings counties. At the time
the district was organized Kings County
was a portion of Tulare but the subsequent
division of the latter county threw a por-
ton of the irrigation districts lands into
Kings.
Shortly after the district was organized
an election by the property owners was
held and it was decided by large major
ity vote to issue 100000 of bonds. Oh
this amount 1884 900 has been disposed OF
at face value in payment for water rights,
surveys, rights of way and incidental ex-
penses, but not one foot of ditch has been
ficially placed on the land. OF the bonds
fioated $3.50, 900 was paid over to the own
ers OF the Laguna de Tache Rancho for
water rights in Kings River.
The remainder of the 1884 900 is held by
individuals in this State. None of the
bonds have been sold for cash, nor can
they be advantageously disposed of There
was organized cannot be carried out. That
is one reason why the property-owners de-
sire an order of court to abolish and vacate
the district and all the legal proceedings
that have been gone through thus far.
The largest portion of the land involved
is owned by the Southern Pacific Company
and the Bank Of California. But there are
many individual owners as well, and most
of them are anxious to have the district set
aside and the bond issue nullitied. There
are 800 property-ownerS in all. At the
present time the bonds already floated and
the accrued interest places an immediate
tax OF 81 45 on each acre of ground in the
district, and as an offset to this tax the
property have received nothing.
The petition to the court for the setting
aside of the organization alleges among
other things that the district was fraudu-
lently organized.
Assessments have been levied against
the property owners in the district, and G.
o. James, Tax Collector of Fresno County,
has published notice of delinquent sales,
to take place on the 18th inst. This list
sh0Wo t4dt oil VI titC plcPCItN -OWASIS Ill
delinquent, and the pending assessment
and threatened sale of the property have
precipitated the suit in question.
The attorneys who have prepared the
petition and will participate in the court
proceedings are: John w. Bourdette and
Allen & McAllister, of San Francisco, and
Frank II. Short of Fresno. The petition
particularizes the points of complaint SUBJ
stantially as follows.
First, that there was fraud practiced in
the presentment of the petition. The law
governing the organization of irrigation
districts requires that the petition therefor
shall be signed by not less than fifty bona
fide residents and property-owners in the
territory proposed to be embraced. In this
case, there were only twenty-seven names
attached to the petition. Milton Nc
Whorter, who subsequently, became a
director in the concern, devised and carried
out plan which is now set up as one of
the reasons for abolishing the district. He