The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-12
CRY FRAUD
IOWANS BRING SUIT AGAINST
DENNIS j. M'MAHON
Perry Land and Investment Company
Says 1t Was Guided to Wrong Tract
in North Dakota and Wants Its S22,
600 Back-Defendant's Bank Ac-
counts Are Attached.

Sensational charges of misrepresen-
tation and fraud are made against
Dennis ]. Mcmahon, manager of the
Interstate Land company, 206 Cham
Der of Commerce building, in the ac-
ton begun against him in the district
court yesterday by the Perry Land
and Investment company, of Perry,
Iowa. The charges were denied in de-
tail last night by Mr.. Mcmahon.
The complaint alleges that the
plaintiff company was organized in Au-
gust last for the purpose of acquiring
certain lands owned by the defendant
in Mercer county, North Dakota, and
amounting to 1851 acres. This tract,
it is claimed, was represented to the
Iowa men composing the company as
excellent farming land, we'll situated,
with black loan soil free from stones,
and worth Sc per acre.
In accordance with an agreement be-
tween the parties, committee of the
Iowa promoters visited North Dakota,
in company with an agent of the de-
PENDANT, for the purpose of examining
the property. This committee, consist
ing of w. B. Brown, A. M. McColl and
James WINNER, of Perry, were taken
to land which they found of satisfae-
tory character, and, according to the
complaint, McMahon's agent represent
same property that was offered them.
Approve of Land.
They reported, on their return, in
favor of the purchase, which was
thereupon completed, the contract price
being fixed at 81 per acre, and the
plaintiff paying $22,702 in cash, giving
a promissory note for $2,922.19, and as
Stunning a payment due on the land to
the Northwestern Improvement COM
pany, from which Mcmahon had pur-
chased 1T.
Shortly after the completion of the
purchase the complaint continues, the
company accidentally discovered that 1T
had been trapped into buying other
land than that which the committee
had viewed and reported upon-land
which is in fact, rough and stony, with
little or no loan, unfit for farming and
not worth 50 an acre.
Plaintiffs attorneys are Morphy,
Ewing & Bradford, who yesterday gar
nisheed the defendants accounts in the
First National, Merchants National,
northumberland and other local
banks.
Denies the Allegations.
Mr.. Mcmahon, when seen last even
ing-by a G o b e reporter. said:
II have never seen the lands myself,
ana never mace any representations
upon my own authority.
"The three men from Perry went out
to Taylor, N. D., in company with my
agent, I. M. Shannon; and at Taylor,
which Is thirty miles from the tract in
suit, they hired a well known land eX-
pert, Roy Taylor, and together all five
of them drove to the tract which they
wanted to see.
"There is no question In my mind
that they did see exactly the tract
which was sold to them, but I have
was very hasty and imperfect, for they
returned to Taylor in about twenty-six
hours, after a drive Of 125 miles,"
Expert Upholds Defendant.
Mr.. McMahon's statement gains
strength from the assertions of Arthur
Christofferson, formerly land agent Of
the Northern Pacific Railway company,
who said last night:
ct is better land in every respect
than the adjoining tract which the
Iowa complainant declares was fraud
ulently shown to it's committee"
r. L. Seaton, of Adele, Iowa, and
R. K. Purviance, of Perry, Iowa, were
in st. Paul yesterday, having just re-
ia lands of the Perry company, and
they were much surprised to learn that
the company had brought suit to cancel
it's contract.
They had gone out to look at the
property with a view of purchasing
farms within the tract sold by Mr..
Mcmahon, and, while they did not re-
gard ii as good wheat land, they united
in declaring it magnificent land for
stock raising and diversified farming"
They also said that they regarded 1t
as far superior to the adjoining town
ship. which, it is claimed, was fraudu-
lently shown to the company's agents.