The daily sentinel., 1914-07-17
BECKER Wins
IN LILYLANDS
STOCK SUITS
Judge GaYGHdGr Orders Wood
Off Stand, RapS P. 0. InSpGG-
tor and Threatens TO Take
Charge Of GOmpany'S Meet
ing.

ing.
C. A. Wood and his wife. who have
been attacking James A. Becker and
/ the Lilylands Canal company in
courts Tor the past three years. were
refused any damages by Judge Cav
euder in Montrose today and he was
I ordered TO pay assessments equal
to about $4,000 on the shares he
holds. The result is that the Woods
/ Will be forced to lose the stock.
The trial was featured by some of
+ the most remarkable episodes in the
history OF Western slope court pro-
| |cedure. Judge Cayender hotly repri-
manded q pOstOffice Inspector who
was witness for Wood for meddle-
some interference, refused to let a
government desert land inspector tes-
/ tity ordered Wood himself oil the
/ stand, and finally warned Wood that
If ha sturted any trouble at the an
nual meetinS of the company. which
is held this afternoon in Montrose,
the court would personally take
charges OF the Meeting.
The Woods protested against pay
ing assessments on the 10000 shares
of stock they hold, but the court held.
that the $4,000 worth OF assess
ments must be paid by them, and he
fixed the amounts they must raise
, within the next year at stated inter-
walls. 1t is said that this will force
them to relinquish their shares. They
were permitted to use the stock
this afternoon when the annual meet
ing is held, but were warned not to
make the sort of trouble TO which
they had been used.
IF you can't conduct that meet
ing peaceably,'' declared Judge
Cayender, in rendering his decision,
: I'm take charge of the meeting and
= conduct it myself"
Wood also charged that the in
: crease in the capital st5ck from
y 100000 to Sl50.O00 was illegal.
This transaction involved the con-
struction of the big canal OF the
Meyer Bros. Construction company,
but Judge Cavender held that the
2 increase was valid.
The costs of the suit. as we'll as
other litigation was started by Wood
and his wife against Mr.. Becker and
2 the company were assessed to the
. plaintiff.
Yesterday afternoon one of the
! most sensational incidents of the
hotly fought case occurred when
: leave the witness stand and ordered
the sheriff to enforce the order
Wood was testifying and had de-
clared that the stock had deprecated
in value from ; a share to practi-
cally nothing because of Becker's
conduct of the company. Asked by
his attorney. c. 4 Ballreich of
Pueblo, how he knew it had no pres
ent value, he said that some of it
was sold at a sheriffs sale recently
and 1t brought about 10 cents a
share. This was sample statement
from a series made by Wood. and
Judge Cavender srmmarily dismissed
the witness without further ado
"A man of any intelligence at all
knows that stock sold at forced
sale is hammered down to its last
cent and the witness certainly knows
better than to make such statement
as that
Turning to Ballreieh, the Judge
went on
IF that is the kind of evidence
you have to offer this case is
closed. won't permit the time of
the court to be taken mp with such
Itommy-rot."
Day before yesterday Judge Caven-
/ der administered a warm reprimand
/ TO Ralph smith, postottice in
spector. for meddling in the affairs
iof the Lilylands company, and
stopped his testimony. A govern
ment inspector of desert lands from
the land office was refused the right
to testify by the court upon the OBJ
jections of the Lilylands counsel.
James A. Becker spent much of
| Wednesday on the stand and made an
excellent witness.
Friends in this city of Mr.. Becker
and many people who have stock in
the Lilylands company will be
pleased to hear Judge Cavender's de-
cision on this important case.
Judge Cavender will arrive here
this evening and will bold court for
an hour or so and receive the guilty
pleas of William Donovan, charged
with burglary and John Hardy.
charged with forgery.
James A. Becker. in a statement
made in Montrose this afternoon. de-
clared that the decision was a great
er victory even than they had expect
ed and that it completely. Gusts the
Wood family from their interference
with the develnnmept of the tilyland
I project in which many local people
are interested