The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-28
From The Journal Bureau, Colorado Building,


washington; 4 Jan. 2S.+-@eA circular
has been Issued by the department. of
the interior regarding the ~ Verde
Water and Power, cOmpany; Of ArlzO-'
ma. This has BEEN called for by
flood of inquiries received from sub
scribers to stock Of the company.
| They want to know, the status of the
company, the truth of newspaper
stories regarding the peculiar: method
adopted to secure subscriptions, and
| the cloud which seems to hang over
the company's; claims to water rights
| and reservoir sites.
leading, prospectus has been printed
| in: a humber Of religious journals of
good repute. With d. nnuseating use
Of scriptural phrases and religious
terms it stateseS the scheme in Arizona
an effort to evangelize 5the whole
world. The. company's reservoir sites,
water rights, ETC., are describedin exact
terms, and it Is asserted that the in
vestment is not only safe, from bus
mess point of view, bat important as a,
! religious undertaking.
! That the money subscribed has been
f:deposAted with a TRUST Company in
New York, is not denied but newspa-
per articles have pointed :ollt that the
4 Verde. company was deceiving the
I public when It claimed to- have any
4 YFACef"i16HIS - " tessefSo1A n eileS ~
= 'l~' Charges were l1at = True: 49,.
The Rev. c. A. Sheldon of Mime
Eapolis, president of t1e Verde COM
Il pany, wrote me asking why y T h e
!, J Q u I'm a had attached a legitimate
. enterprise, and. demanding the names
of the. persons who furnished the in
formation upon which l,the articles
We're based. An examination of the
; records in the general land office and
, in the geological survey, made at the
81 cost of CONSIDERABLE time, showed
that the charges We're true. -.
: Government auth oEit1es hoped: the
Verde company, having had its at
tention called to the disparity between
+ it's prospectus ands.the facts, would
alter its course, but apparently it has
= From these Letters; received at the
9 departments it is believed there are a
: : tho usand subscribe z thHea COM
= <p5any's stock III and near Cincinnati
1,lis, asgtho usand j. in hieago;.:. lnapst- as
many more in st. Louis and many
: scattered over Missouri and the mid
? die; west 49, - a%Ef
: The official dieter from the govern
= ment giving the exact status of the
authority of the secretary II Of the
: interior and his commissioner Of thu
= general land office, and is signed by
= H. G. Rizer, chief clerk, Of the geo
= logical survey. Mr.. Rizer did no
: prepare the letter. The. work wa
:, done by Governor Richards, the com
= missioner sofs the general land office
> after consultation with Fl. H. Newell
= chief engineerezof the geological sur
vey:, The substance OF thel circula,
:, fohows:, 80 Ist.4a :Gs::l 1iziw :
a. a'5sEa n: ohclat tclsoulatsa # q. t;.g
Is The official records ST any tgsAefal lah,
4 office OF the ndeparh hent };of' the. :interie
i. show, concerning the Vefde Canal com
II pany, that right Of ,way4for a reservoir
! range east, Arizona, was approved. 3
the secretary Of the interior Aug. 3, 1885
: fright of way for a canal from section ]
y township 4 north, range west, to sectio
q 49,, township north, range 2 west, abou
y fifteen miles, was approved by the secre
d tary Of the interior Dec 5, 1898. There
IS no other application for. right of way Q
IS file in the general land OFFICE in this cit
= that involves the construction of canal
= and reservoirs In conformity with the de
- scriptions given in the circulars of tn
e Verde Water and Power company. s..-
II The approvals noted merely authorize
- the company to occupy the public land
wi DE che ma appreVedStzft
% q reservoir and a canal for irrigation pul
% poses. They fhyolve no indorsemfI
n whatever Of stlle company or its method
n 1.-The canal line approved is a section (
l.: Eabout fifteen miles near the western Ell
4 Of the. proposed system. At connects wit
nj no. water supply. and ~ 1t We're COZ
IA structed,, would be Of no use without tt
-, construction Of, about sixty miles Of can
10 to connect with the conpany's propose
source of water supply from Horsesht
reservoir ~ 80, :. ,,. ttr~t'r +
This office is informed that scarcely al
n work has been done by the company "
u the way of construction; and no wat
ryi has been actually stored aor! used by<it.
or1 The main source Of water supply f
I'LL the system proposed BY. the Verde Wat
and Power company issthee Horseshoe re
at ervoir. This company had an opportu1
re lity, in 1885, to se cuFes.a right to use tt
an same, but neglected to take any aeti'
nd before the, department of the interior
se. obtain. it. In Jtily,. 1908, the Horsesh
FL reservoir was reserved FOR use by t
government in connection with the re
he lamation project in tile valley Of the Sc
is rivers. ana Is not NOW available for Z
an use Of private parties v@,>s'f*sta
a. Neither the Verde Water and Pow
= company nor any other company involv
ia, with it in its projects has any come
r1d ton whatever with the Irrigation Wor
re proposed to be constructed in Arizo
by the government. Neither this col
pany, flor any Of it's related compani'
- has any control over the public Ian
< which are stated to be irrigable from
his proposed system. w: W. Jermane
.ys =. - - :, - - : go
he1rrHrGmnKr NnrES