The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1906-12-27
Getting Brothers Company Files
Suit in United States Court
on Account Of Ditch Fight
SEEK TO CONTROL FIELDS
~ ssJAAaN kIEN-&g&Ss
Getting Brothers Claim That Knicker.
booker Company is Behind the
Famous Camp Lake Ditch and
Unfair Tactics Are Used
& 3

The Camp Lake ditch case which is
now pending in the Circuit Court for
Kenosha county, has been taken into
the United States court, as telegram
from Milwaukee states that on Satur.
day afternoon the Getting Brothers
Ice company of Kenosha county filed
suit in the United States court in
which the Knickerbocker Ice com
pany of Chicago is named as defend
ant.
In the suit it is charged that the de-
fendant company sought to gain con-
troll of the ice fields in Kenosha
country by methods other than those
usually used. 1t is alleged in the
complaint that by it's agents and rep
resentatives the Kuicker booker Ice
coming, during the summer just
passed, obtained from farmers in the
neighborhood of Camp Lake the priv
ilege of draining the lake. It is al
legged that representations we're made
to the people that by draining the
lake as suggested great quantity of
swamp land would be reclaimed and
made valuableyfor ti11age. After the
consent had been gained the ditch
was dug, and few days ago the
water was turned into the ditch aud
the lake drained to such an extent
that property owned by the Getting
company was rendered worthless for
ice. The officials of the Getting
company assert that this action was
little less than a conspiracy to ruin
the business of the Getting company,
and to make the property owned by
the company, on which large sums of
money had been spent, practically
worthless. The suit will be heard In
the United States court early in the
new year.
In the meantime the district attor-
ney is seeking to secure the arrest of
some of the men who are alleged to
have blown up the dam at the ditch
on Friday night. The Circuit Court
has issued temporary injunction to
protect the dam, and the matter of
making the injunction permanent is
now being considered by the court.
If the men can be found they will be
brought into court to answer con-
tempt charges. Every possible effort
is being made to locate these parties.
simultaneously with the announce
ment that the suit against che Knick-
erbocker Company has been filed in
the United States Court, comes the
report that the deal for the sale of the
Knickerbocker Ice company to the
Western Ice company has been con-
cluded aud the transfer of the prop
erty will probably be made at the
next meeting Of the directors of the
knickerb booker company. The new
holding company will control all of
the leading ice companies west of the
Indiana line. It will be capitalized
for large sum and the present own
ers of the stock in the Knickerbocker
company will get stock in the new
concern. The new company will of
course take over all of the ice com
panies managed by the Knicker booker
in this section of the country. There
will probably be no changes in the
conditions in Kenosha, the only diff
ference being that the distribution of
ice in this part of the country will be
in the hands of New York instead of
Chicago parties.