The daily sentinel., 1910-03-19
SENSA T|ONAL
CHARGES
MADE

and making numerous startling
charges concerning the Riverside
Land and Irrigation company,
concerning which company there
has been much talk of late, the
Denver Post featured the article
published below under big red
headlines yesterday. The Sem
tinel is not in position to con-
firm the charges made in the
article and it should be said that
the officials of the company
stoutly deny that they are guilty
of any wrong doing and expect
10 carry out every contract. The
article follows:
Federal investigation has just eX-
posed what is said to be one of the
most unmitigated colonization" land
frauds of recent years in Colorado.
Proceedings now are under way to-
ward the institution of criminal pros
ecution against the promoters and
directors of the Riverside Land and
Irrigation company, a concern with
offices at 1886 Champa street, which
has been selling contracts" for fruit
lands in the Delta districts to which
the company had no claim.
1t is charged that hundreds of
homeseekers have been brought from
distant points, some from as far away
as Canada, and induced to pay
amounts ranging from $500 to S2,-
600 for contracts which they were
told represented their choice of im-
mensely valuable plots of fruit lands
anywhere between Delta and Palisade
on the western slope. None of this
land could be delivered because the
company had none of the land in its
| possession nor had any hope of ever
acquiring it
The Riverside Land and Irrigation
company, of which DR.. John Gould
of Denver is the chief promoter, has
advertised extensively that il offers
the largest and safest fruit-land en-
terprise in Colorado" Literature
describing growing orchards watered
by the largest storage reservoir in
the state, has been sent out in huge
bulk. One statement of the circulars
was that the Riverside Land company
owned all the flood waters of the
North Fork and its tributaries, in
addition to the regular flow of the
stream. canal fifty miles long also
is described as assuring plentiful wa
ter supply for all lands purchased
As none of these statements were
true in any respect, the Delta Busi-
ness Mems association held AN indig-
nation meeting, declaring that such
misinformation was harmful TO the
Delta district. and the federal inves-
| tigation thus was started
NJ. ID. McEniry, chief of the field
| division of the Colorado district of
| the federal land office took two
agents with him to the western slope
and thoroughly Investigated the bust
! ness methods OF the company
1t was found that the ostensible
purpose of the concern had been to
build a large reservoir in the North
Fork country in Delta county, and
| then carry :he water up to cover some
! land not now irrigated. This upper
land was to be the field of operation
of the land company. The home
steaders who were brought out were
asked to file on this upper land and
then take stock in the reservoir com
pany. The Delta business men saw
| that the scheme was not feasible rho
building of such a reservoir as was
proposed would necessitate flooding
most of the town OF Hotchkiss. The
productive fruit orchards advertis-
ed in the company's literature as the
ihit ipi llOultSltaItto lIOUl lHt East,
| In reality is the barren land for
which an irrigation process has not
yet been devised
Besides the money which has been
paid into the promoters OF the COM
pany by people who have been per-
suaded TO file on the government
land, large sums have been paid to
the company for fruit tree shipments.
which have not so far materialized.
Tracts of land in the Plateau valley
also have been sold, although the
company had not even made arrange
ments to purchase the land from the
present owners.
The federal authorities have learn
ed that virtually all the men CON
nected with the promotion of the
Riverside company are men who have
been mentioned in reference to shady
land transactions in the past. 1t was
at first intended to issue a fraud
order but the evidence in the hands
of the officials seems of character
demanding that more stringent prose
cution be begun Immediately.
An attempt was made in the in
fancy of the company to interest a
number of Denver men in the enter
prise. Among those who were taken
down to the district were George
Brooks of Smith Brooks Printing