The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-15
West Cache Land Owners Con-
tinue in Possession of
Property.
SCHEME TO C0NFISCATE
THEIR LAND FAILS
Something About Law Providing
for Irrigation Districts, and
What 1t Means.

There were six bishops present a
the West Cache Canal company meet
ing held in Trenton Saturday The,
were Butler, Petersen, Ballard, Rigby
Miles and Anderson All of tn,m ar,
interested in the canal company ant
all but one, it is understood, were il
favor Of creating an irrigation dis
trict and including therein 25.00t
acres of land under the canal. All o.
the ecclesiasts, it is also stated, ar,
stockholders in the canal company
Their stock, had the scheme to create
an irrigation district been approved
would have brought them one hundred
cents on the dollar when the com
pany's affairs were wound up, had al
lrrlgation district been created. A
bishop presided over the meeting as he
mad over the two meetings preceding
Every effort possible has been made
during the past forty-five DAYS to in
duce the farmers whose lands are
under the forty miles of canal to sign
up their lands and create an irrigation
district. When the project was first
suggested this spring there were mur.
murs of discomfort among the farmers
under the canal 1t was pointed out
TO them thpt under law passed by
the last. legislature that the creation
OF an irrigation district would he
desirable and would be for their bene.
fit.
it was also pointed out that the
company he'd expended $2s5,000 In.
cluded IN this was bond issue of
500, 900, that $4,000 worth Of stock
had been issued to construct the canal
and that its present condition was
such that to put it in first class shape
sure of 100000 and that it was ad-
vlsabie TO create an irrigation district
which would enable the people to bond
the district, clean up everything and
make the canal what it was originally
intended.
There We're Several skeptics.
On its face the proposition looked
good. In view that the information
was impaired by high ecclesiasts
the scheme met with favor at the start
There were number. however, who
were skeptical and they began an in
vcstlgation, IN the course of which they
ascertained that the larger part Of the
stock of the company had been
gathered IN by high ecclesiasts at from
SIX cents to twenty-five cents Oh the
dollar; that it had cost $4,000 to
negotiate the sale of the 100000 of
bonds; that the directors of the com
pany were not under bond; that some
of the stockholders who had blocks of
stock were not land owners. They
likewise learned number Of other
things.
Wanted No Parkinson Deal.
A part Of the canal was in Oneida
county, Idaho. This county ioins
Cache on the north. The Parkinson
thefts in the Oneida ditch case had
become public and while there was no
indication of such q condition existing
in their own community. they conclud-
ed that halt In matters would not
lnjurc any one. Then several Of the
land owners held conference, and
knowing that The Tribune was always
falr; that 1T was against any and all
schemes to defraud the people; that it
had exposed the Parkinson steal, sent
letter to The Tribune. This letter
was dated june %, and is as follows:
There Is a move on foot I'm our midst
10 organize an irrigation district such as
the oneida one and we fear II may he
his kind and 1T Is Just being done TO get
the poor farmer under their control The
people have been working on their canal
for five or six years and The moneyed
men not being satisfied by controlling
the ditch mean to bond our district So
that they can get the land too The first
meeting Is July at tho Red Brick"
for representative of your paper to
be present?
The letter concluded by stating that
unless publicity was given to tho mat.
ter, the scheme TO create district
would go through because the church
leaders were insisting At was the thing
to do.
Complied With Request,
The Tribune sent q representative to
attend this meeting and he has attend.
ed the others since held and the pro-
ceedings of these meetings have been
detailed in these columns as have also
other facts in connection with the pro-
posed scheme TO create an irrigation
district. 1t was the publication of
these facts and the work Of the farmers
in the proposed district that caused the
rejection of the proposition to create
a district and which SO incensed the
ecclesiasts who were pushing it that
they put forward ono Willard Funk as
their mouthplece at the meeting Sat
urday to make an address filled with
misstatements regarding the reports
OF the meetings printed In The Tribune
and wanting the representative of The
Tribune excluded from tho meetings
unless he would report the proceedings
as the ecc]csiasts and schemers for the
proposed irrigation district desired, The
stories as printed in The Tribune arc
true There is nothing to take back.
The scheme to confiscate the lands of
the West Cache county farmers has
failed.
AS to Irrigation Law.
Now as to the law enacted by the
ate legislature which provided for the
creation of irrigation districts. 1t
should have had as its title "An act
providing for the confIscation Of the
lands Of the people in the creation of
irrigation districts. A lawyer who
has made careful study Of the
measure, who is thoroughly qualified to