The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-03
NEW SCHEME To
CONF F|SCATE LAND
Would Take Away Homes of
Many Farmers in Cache
County.
HOW ACT LAST LEGISLATURE
WORKS AN INJUSTICE
Farmers in West Cache Canal
Company Are Now in
Open Revolt.

In the closing days Of the Legislature
Of 1909 there was enacted law which
provided for the creation of irrigation
districts. The act provided a method
OF fixing and altering the boundaries
thereof, defined the manner of organ
lzing and dissolving irrigation districts;
provided for the exercise of the right
OF eminent domain, provided for the
bonding OF districts and for the levy
and assessment of taxes and various
other provisions in connection with ir~
rigatlon 1t was known as tho Pope
bill. and was thought to be for the
benefit of settlers in the Uinrah coun-
try.
Up In Cache county there is COM
pany made up Of farmers who built
canal forty-two miles long, with the
necessary laterals- This company is
known as the West Cache Canal COM
pany: The water which was to be car
lied by the canal was expected TO irri-
gate $4,000 acres of land: that is, there
IS that much land good, bad and indif
ferent under the ditch. On this acre
age there are about 100 land owners
large number of these land own
'ers are of opinion that the irrigation
act cited above is not such an act as
the title would indicate, but that in its
stead 1t IS an act under which homes
can be confiscated, land owners com
PEELED to mortgage their property and
their absolute right TO own and control
the home winch they have bought and
paid for abrogated. In other words,
that the act, while apparently reading
all right. is in reality law by which
hlgh eceJesIasts or sharpers or both in
one may be able TO become rich through
st2ck IN a company purchased at fig
ure from 6 cents to 25 cents on the dol
lar.
Real Purpose of Act.
1t is alleged by number Of these
land owners that while the act in ques-
ton was ostensibly drawn up by par
ties Interested in Uintnh and Wasatch
counties, thai in reality it was pre-
pared III Cache county, aud that the
renl purpose and purport Of the act
was to give few ecclesiasts opportu-
nifty TO rake in large body of land in
the Cache valley for trifling sum, and
that had the measure when il came up
in the legislature been introduced by Il
member of the Cache county dclega-
tion thnt its purpose would quickly
hnve been seen, and that it could never
hnvc passed and become Il law. That
the real purport was to permit the
working of scheme in Utah similar
TO the Oneida ditch scheme IN Idaho,
by which stake officials profited and
profited greatly over the people, by
which they were enabled to gobble up
all in sight and leave the farmer to
hold the sack. And thereby hangs a
tale.
Irrigation Company Organized.
Several years ago farmers in the
western part of the Cache valley or
aanized the West Cache Canal com
pany II was a stock organization, The
original estimate of the cost of the
work was $4,000, Like all estimates
on irrigation work, it fell short and
finally when the fortytwo miles of ca
nal was completed. the cost had reached
the sum of $sS5, 900. In this is included
a bond issue Of 100000. the sale Of
which, it is alleged, gave the banks
that negotiated the loan ooodly sum
$4,000, it is said-wnile other debts
and stock make up the difference of
$ls5,000.
The shares of stock were of the par
value of $40, and this stock has been
marketed at various figures, the farm
er paying for his stock good, hard
earned dollars to the face value of the
stock, while spectators and those on
;he inside have been enabled TO gather
in The stock at from 6 cents TO 25 cents
on the dollar. the larger part of 1t
close to the first named figure.
Who Officers Are.
The present officers of the company
nre: President. Ephraim Bergensen;
secretary and treasurer, Tom Judy;
these, with Henry Ballard Joseph Jer-
genseu, George Pope and James Frue,
the board of directors. Bal
lard is the bishop of Benson ward.
The water for the canal, when there
is any wate' In it, is taken from Bear
river, and it is = gravity system There
is no diyertng dam and the land own
crs are endenvoring to keep small
flow through the canal BY temporary
work at tic intake. Had there been n
iivertlng dam pus IN there would have
been water in plenty, but as it is the
great flow comes when Bear river is
in flood Several assessments have
been made to keep the canal in tenn
porary repair, and one is now due, but
The land owners have rebelled and mis-
it is declared that large blocks of
stock are in the hands of those who
obtained it while they were officials IN
he company and in times past charges
we're preferred against former direc-
.ors, but nothing came of the inquiry
Work Done in Winter.
1t is also openly charged that work
IN the canal was largely done in the
winter time, when the days were short
md tho ground frozen and that the
work thus done has sloughed So as to
make the banks flat in places; that the
anal is full of debris. and that rats and
sophers have so perforated the canal
ue 10 the fact that wafer was not
un in it early ip the SnrIn@ 80 as To
make ii in places like II sciVc that the
york done Is not what il should have
Continued on Page Two.