Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-07-14
Special Committee to investigate
Idaho Irrigation Co. Dispute
Enters Recommendations.
AFFAIRS NOT DISC0URAGING.
One of Strongest Drawbacks of Enter
prise Is Persistent Personal En-
counter and Fault-Finding.

Henry H. Rolapp, A. c. Smith. Thomas
Preston, Harrison u. Maughan and
Isaac Jorgensen. has submitted re-
port on matters pertaining to the Onei-
da irrigation district Considerable
space has been taken in two OF tho
morning dailies Of salt Lake in an eff
fort TO involve the names of several
well known people in scandal in coli
nection with the project
The report OF the special COMMITTEES
made public today. is herewith repro
duced without comment:
To the oneida Irrigation District
on May 2S, 1905 mass meeting was
held of the taxpayers Of the Oneida
irrigation district in Weston, Idaho, at
which time and place the undersigned
were appointed special committee
with authority to inspect the report
submitted by Auditor Orson p. Rumei,
and said committee was also delegated
TO inquire into the objections made 70
any part of said report by the former
officers OF this district, with view of
making suitable recommendation for
the adjustment of the accounts in said
district. We have carefully performed
the labor assigned 10 us and have been
in session for many weeks, at whicn
meetings the interested parties have
been present and given full opportunity
to present their claims I'm their own
way. and so far as we know, TO their
entire satisfaction. and we have since
such hearings, considered each of the
claims with absolute fairness and Inn
partality
In making the necessary inVestiga-
ton in connection with these hearings,
your committee has acted upon the as
sumption that the taxpayers of this
district desire a statement of the ulti-
mate facts in each case without going
into details, and whether such facts
are contained I'm the books of the dis
trict, or can be obtained from any
other source We have also assumed
that the taxpayers are more Interested
in the financial and physical success
of the canal than they are In the crit
icism of any person, whoever he may
be- or Of any methods that are past
and gone except that such methods
must not be repeated in the future.
BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIo
For these reasons we have proceeded
with our investigation and have made
our recommendations upon the follow
Ing basic principles and none others
(a) Every person having in his pos
ulSlFlCt,
or any debts owing to the district must
Immediately return such money TO the
treasurer and pay such debts And
in the event Of failure TO do either Of
these things, steps should Immediately
be taken to compel such action.
OBJ Money or proceeds received by
any person from district funds obtain
ed contrary to statutory provision,
whereby losses have been caused to
No ri ha 40 Inv ne,
person.
(c) While the district should not
take advantage of mere technical vo-
lations of the law, such as the issu-
ance of warrants beyond the debt linz
1t, or the issuance of them not In
strict conformity to law. Nor that adj
vantage should be taken OF the mere
lack of judgment, want of incompe-
tency, mistaken Interpretation of law:
yet, wherever such action has been
financially detrimental to the district.
or whore the district has not received
actual value for the amount of such
warrants or obligations incurred or
where such violations have resulted TO
the advantage of the individual, then
we think the guilty person should
recOmpose the district
FACTS ENCOUNTERED
with these basic principles as our
guide, we find the following facts and
make the following recommendations:
]. We find that the correctness of
the figures contained in the auditors
report has not been disputed by any
person.
2. We flnd that the taxpayers had
explicit confidence I'm the officers OF
the district, and that In turn the Of
ficers confided most of their business
to their secretary and to their deputy
q. a .
the official duties OF such officers,
there have been many IRREGULARI-
TIES OF METHODS EXHIBITIONS
OF ANARICE. and In some Instances
SHARP PRACTlSES. and even DIS
REGARD OF STATUTORY LAW, but
no evidence has been submitted to us
demonstrating that the funds of this
district have been stolen by such for
MGR officers.
8. We find that no well aukhent-
Gated case has been presented 10 us
demonstrating that any of the officers.
while holding offices I'm the district.
have trahioed In warrants in the dis
trict.
4. We find that during the CON
struction OF the canal the affairs of
this district were Of such magnitude
that great loss was sustained I'm the
financial engineering and obstruction
departments of the district, by rea-
son OF NEGLECT OF DUTY. WANT
OF SYSTEM, and INSUFFICIENT
SUPERVISION.
3. We hnd that early IN the opera
ton Of the company, the board of d.
roctors committed two fatal errors
The first error consisted In permitting
one of their own number 10 be ap-
pointed secretary. attorney and acting
treasurer ~ the district; while NJ tbs
same time they had n nominal treas
ursr. George g. Parkinson who was
not able 10 give his personal time or
attention 10 the affairs of the district,
and Of which condition the district
were fully cognizant, because they paid
salaries 10 both the nominal treasurer
and tho deputy treasurer employed in
tho secretary's office The second err
ror consisted In allowing the oonstruc-
tion Of the canal 10 be proceeded with
before they had disposed OF the bonds
according 20 law
BOTH WRONG.
g. We md that Socy Hart and
Treas. Parkinson we're both wrong An
assuming that they had right q
treat money of the district as their
personal funds, FOR which assumption
they had no other justification then
their own financial standing. the fa,t
that they had given official bonds and
the further fact that Other public Of
hoinls had treated public funds In
similar manner.
T. we hnd that each day from Feo
1, 1904. 10 Dec. 81. 1907. seey. Hart had