Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1912-12-21
TAKE CASE TO
FEDERAL COURT
Land Board Finally Decides to Shift
The Problem to Other
Shoulders

Suit will be instituted In the name
OF the state OF Idaho to have a re-
ceiver appointed in the federal courts
TO take charge OF the King Hill Irri
cation company's affairs and the
King Hill Extension company's at
fairs, according to the decision OF the
land board at the meeting yesterday
morning. The resolution adopted BY
the land board requesting the attor
ney general to at once proceed with
the action contemplates that the two
irrigation projects will be completed
under the direction Of the court and
that the rights Of the settlers, bond.
holders and the irrigation companies
will be established by the decree OF
the federal court.
The suit is to be brught in the
name of the state and all the other
interested parties to the action are
to come into court as intervenors.
In this way they will be made parties
to the suit and the rights of all will
be determined. The resolution adopt.
ed by the board was drawn by Ar
thur M. Bowen, attorney for the set
Tiers, and by e. M. Wolfe. The irri-
cation companies are alleged to have
certain assets which can be convert
into money by the receiver who is
to be appointed and in this way suf-
ficient capital will be secured to
complete the canal system and the
other work which, 1t is claimed, has
not been done by the irrigation COM
panies.
The case as 1t is at the present
time is the result Of fight made up
on the irrigation companies by the
settlers ON the tracts which the King
Hill companies secured from the
state under the Carey act. Bonds in
the sum of $358.000 were sold by the
original King Hill company and these
were guaranteed by the contracts
made by the settlers for water and
for land. The bondholders, who
mostly reside in the east, claim that
the work on the King Hill project
has been completed and that it
should be accepted by the land board
The settlers on the project claim
that the work has never been com
pleted and that the contract which
the King Hill companies have with
the state under the Carey act should
be cancelled for failure Of the COM
panies to comply with the contracts
entered into.
It is further claimed that both
companies are practically bankrupt
and are incapable Of complying with
the contract. II the land board had
sustained the contentious Of the set
tiers the projsG.s wOul! have becl
forfeited and t1s b,nls which were
sod to complete the work would have
been rendered void. ~ this way the
credit OF the securities upon other ir-
rigation projects OF the state might
have been seriously affected. The
rights Of the several disputants were
regarded by the members Of the land
board as proper matters to be decid-
ed by a court Of equity and when
the resolution was INTRODUCED which
asked that the state start an action
to determine the rights Of the set
tiers, the irrigation companies and the
bondholders, the board was quick to
assent to such an arrangement
The representative OF the bond
holders, who was present at the meet
ing, objected to the adoption of the
resolution by the land board and
asked that the work be declared COM
pleted so that the bondohlders would
not have to be a party to the suit.
The claim was also made that the
rights OF the bondholders would be
jeopardized by the taking Of the af-
fairs Of the companies into the courts