The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1921-11-10
TESTIMONY OFFERED
IN IRRIGATION CASE
One OF the Numerous Cases Growing
Out Of John Day Irrigation District
Proceedings Opened Before Judge
Pheips.-After -Four Days of Taking
Testimony. Postponment Taken TIL
January 3rd at PendIeton.

After four days of presentation of
testimony in the equity case of the land
owners of the John Day Irrigation Dis
trlct against the directors and officials
Of the district to annul the SO cents per
acre assessment, an adjournment was
taken until January 3rd, 1922. at which
time the case will come on for further
hearing before Judge Phelps at Pende-
ton.
The plaintiffs in this case are the
Northern Pacific Railway Company,
Dan T.. Smythe, A. X. Smythe. James
Carly, John Kilkenny. Jack Hynd, A.
Henriksen and Henry Gorger, the de-
PENDANTS being the John Day Irrigation
District. NJ, d. Clark. C. c. Clark, Ed
ward Rietmann. f. A. McMenamin, f.
r. Brown, Lewis & Clark. John II. Lew
is George Clark and Morrow, Gillian
and Umatilla Counties
Fraud and mismanagement on the
part OF the, directors and officials of the
organization are alleged in the com
plant, and the burden Of testimony pre-
sented by the plaintiffs at the heraing
so far has been to establish this allie
gatiton. Numerous witnesses have been
examined. and we understand that the
plaintiffs still have more testimony to
offer.
Attorneys here and representing both
sides of the case were, for the plain
tins: Woodson & Sweek. Heppner. l..
p. DePonte Of Tacoma Carter & Smythe
of Pendleton; for the defendants, Nc
Menamin & Fritz OF Heppner and C. II.
Finn Of LaGrande.
With the exception of some expert
testimony that Is to be taken by deposl-
tion at Portland. there will be no fur
ther proceedings in this case until the
time set on January 3rd. at which time
1t is expected all testimony will b.
completed and the case left with Judge
Phelps for his decision.
At a former hearing before Judge
Phelps the matter of the election of
new directors was threshed out, and
the court decided that c. A. Minor and
A. w. Wheelhouse had been duly elect
ed directors of the District. The newly
elected directors did not proceed to
qualify at once after their election but
this week they did so by filing their
bonds and oath of Office and Judge
Phelps declared they had authority to
go ahead and act They therefore pro-
ceeded to organize at n meeting held
on Tuesday afternoon, and appointed
G. l.. Sweek secretary and Sam f. Van
Vactor attorney removing from these
Offices F. II. Brown and F, A. McMena-
min. The newly organized board of di-
rectors Is now c. A. Minor. A. w.
Wheelhouse and NJ d. Clark and these
officials will continue to act until the
decision OF the supreme court has been
handed down on the appeal Of the cleo
tion case which Is now In their hands,
The Tuesday meeting passed resolu
tion dispensing with the services Of
Judge Finn as attorney for the district
in pending litigation and further ex-
pressed themselves as being in sympa-
thy with the tax payers of the distrlc,
in the present litigation.
lust what further complications will
grow out of this John Day muddle re-
mains to be seen, but there seems to be
pretty long string of litigation yet to
be wound up and just what the end will
be no man would dare predict