Show OGDENS WATER WORKS I I Counter Affidavits Filed In the Bear River Case I CHANGE VENUE PETITION iI I iI i I I TAN UNDER ADVISEMENT1 BY I JUDGE MARSHALL I The Mayor and the City Council Deny That They Created Prejudice Prejud-ice Against the Defendants or Subsidized the Ogden Standard The Plaintiffs Counsel They Say Have No Political Influence While Evans Rogers and Others For the Defense Are Great Political Powers Pow-ers I The petition of the defendants in the case of Ogden City against the Bear River Lake Irrigation company Ogden City Water Works asking that the case remain in the United States district court to where it was transferred trans-ferred from the state court was given a hearing last night before Judge Marshall The petition was asked for on the grounds of local prejudice against the company at Ogden and the claim that the Ogden Standard had been subsidized sub-sidized by the city council of Ogden to cartoon and attack the defendants Most of the evidence was in the form of affidavits from a large number of citizens but a few witnesses were allowed al-lowed by the court to testify in rebuttal re-buttal The witnesses examined were Mayor Spencer H H Spencer W H Rowe and William Glasmann Testimony was given by Mr Rowe to the effect that early last evening I L Clark of Ogden informed him that he had signed his affidavit without reading i carefully and on the supposition that it was to be used on behalf of the irrigation irri-gation company This statement was confirmed by the testimony of Mr Glasmann Attorneys C C Dey and C C Richards Rich-ards argued the case for the plaintiff and Attorney David Evans represented the Irrigation company At the conclusion con-clusion of the arguments the court took the matter under advisement until un-til today WARM AFFIDAVITS An affidavit subscribed to by Mayor H H Spencer and Councilmen H C Wardleigh E M Conroy I N Pierce G W Jones Richard Hill Miles L Jones T E Browning S P Ash and C H Greenwell denies the allegations made in an affidavit of W H Rowe and others in support of the defendants defend-ants motion that the case be tried in the federal court I is denied that the defendants cannot have a fair trial in the state court on acount of local prejudice denied that the mayor or city council subsidized the Ogden Standard or other papers to prejudice the defendants case and in fact every material allegation of the Rowe affidavit af-fidavit is denied I is particularly denied that the mayor and city council secured the servicesof Messrs C C Richards and J H MacMillan as counsel on account of their political influence in-fluence in the state or for any other reason than because it was deemed necessary for the city attorney to have some assistance on acount of the great political influence and standing of the firm of Evans Rogers of counsel for I the defendants ALLEGE POLITICAL INFLUENCE I In this connectiomthe affiants allege that David Evans otftlie above firm in ott frm 1891 was elected and served as councilor coun-cilor from Weber county in the legislative legis-lative assembly of Utah In 1894 Mr Evans was elected a delegate from Weber county to the constitutional convention of Utah In 1895 he was nominated by the Democratic party I for state senator In 1896 he was sent as a delegate from Utah to the Democratic Demo-cratic national convention In 1896 he was apoointed president of the state school for the deaf and blind Mr Hogers served a term as trustee of tne 1 state reform school is now a member of the Republican national committee and a leading candidate for United States attorney of Utah The firm of Evans Rogers are attorneys for the First National bank Eccles Dumber company Street Car company Bear River Irrigation Ogden Water Worls company Western Union Telegraph company Hooper Irrigation company Wilson Irrigation company Ogden Bench Canal company Jarvis Conk lin and many other influential corporations corpora-tions merchants farmers and businessmen business-men That C C Richards does not hold any political office whatever and I that J H MacMillan has never been j prominent in politics during his nine years residence in Utah I is denied that either of said attorneys at-torneys were hired for their political influence or for the purpose of engendering engen-dering a feeling of prejudice against I said defendants with the courts of the I state or with other people in any manner man-ner whatever or at all And in this connection the affiants allege that by I reason of defendants connection in tlis city they have strong and influential influen-tial friends that one of its trustees is David Eccles a very wealthy and inline in-line ntia man who is president of the First National bank of Ogden president presi-dent of the Eccles Lumber company president of the Oregon Lumber company com-pany of Ogden president of the Ogden Sugar company and of the Grand Opera House company of Ogden that John Watson is also a trustee of defendant de-fendant and is also a very influential man of Ogden City and is at present manager of Zions Cooperative Mercantile Mer-cantile Institution of Ogden a director of the Utah Loan Trust an company of Ogden and of the Eccles Lumber company com-pany of Ogden and N C Flygare is at present the superintendent of the Street Car company of Ogden and a director of the Utah Loan Trust company Eccles Lumber company of Ogden and a prominent churchman that W H Rowe who is the sunerin tendent of defendant at the present time is the exassistant superintendent superinten-dent of the Zions Cooperative Mercantile Mer-cantile Institution of Salt Lake City and for a long time has been and yetis yet-is a very prominent and smooth politician poli-tician all over thestate of Utah EVANS CONSENTED Mayor Hiram H Spencer deposed that about Dec 10 Hon David Evans of counsel for defendants stated that he would guarantee that the appearance appear-ance of Jarvis Conklin would be entered I en-tered in this action in person if the city would consent to a continuance I and would consent to the trial of the cause in the Second district court sometime some-time during January 1898 SATISFIED WITH ROLAPP Another affidavit of J H MacMillan Charles Richards Daniel Hamer and Francis Higirinbotham jr sets out that while Judge Rolapp was presiding in the Second district court on Dec 8 last statements were heard regarding the propriety of requesting some district dis-trict judge other than H H Rolapp to hear the case in question and that Hon David Evans of counsel for defendants I de-fendants stated to the court in a oud tone of voice that the defendants did not desire a change of judges or a delay de-lay of the trial but added that he was informed certain members of the city council desired a change of judges because be-cause of Mr Rolappa association with the defendants in another corporation that after City Attorney Henderson made a statement C C Richards also of counsel for plaintiffs stated that the attorneys for the city had received instructions in-structions from the mayor and city I l council to insist on a speedy trial and that they had no objection whatever to the case being tried before Judge Ro IDPDNO NO ILLFEELING CREATED The following citizens and taxpayers put in an affidavit setting forth that little if any illfeeling or prejudice toward to-ward the waterworks company was engendered gendered through the publications in the Ogden Standard and giving as their opinion that the defendants could secure a fair and impartial trial in the state court Fred J Kiesel Theo Schansenbach J F Marshall John Scowcroft D G McGinley John A Boyle H C Bige low A E Wetherby Thos G Burt A T Wright I L Clark David Eccles Thomas D Dee Joseph Clark J C Armstrong A McLaren Boyle Thos J Stevens J M Browning John S Lewis Ad Kuhn G L Becker T B Lewis DEFENDANTS ATTORNEY FAVORED FA-VORED ROLAPP Nathaniel Montgomery Dr E M Conroy and Joseph Hall deposed that they were delegates to the convention to nominate a judge for the Second judicial district and at such convention conven-tion A G Horn one of the attorneys for the defendant company made an eulogistic speech in which he nominated nomi-nated H H Rolapp for the office EVANS WAS FOR ROLAPP Nathaniel Montgomery deposed that during the fall o 1895 he attended a Democratic rally at North Ogden when Hon David Evans urged the electors to vote for H H Rolapp for district judge referring to him in the most complimentary terms Henry W Gwilliam deposed that in the fall of 1S95 he was the chairman of the Democratic campaign committee for Weber county and had immediate supervision of the Democratic campaign cam-paign for the election of a district judge that Hon David Evans of counsel coun-sel for defendants attended several meetings and urged the electors to vote for H H Rolapp for judge because of his honesty integrity and sobriety ROWE PARTICULARIZES Regarding the Standard publications I W H Rowe for the defendants put in an affidavit as follows That on the evening of the Pith of December I De-cember 1S07 In the mayors office in Og i den City in the presence of L R Rogers Charles Pulver a reporter for the Ogden Daily Standard and David Evans theo the-o H H Spencer said I in my presence pres-ence and in the presence of the others above named that he had paid money out i of the mayors contingent fund to secure I the publication of articles relating to the I waterworks company In the Ogden Daily I Standard Evening Press and XRays I newspapers published in Ogden City dur ing the campaign carried on for the purpose I pur-pose of carrying i50COO bonds by election for the purpose of putting in a compet itive system of waterworks In Ogden City and that money was likewise paid out of said mayors contingent funds to the Og den Dally Standard for the purpose of printing and circulating cartoons that ap peared In their paper I further state that in the issue of the Ogden Daily Standard dated Dec 21 1897 on the editorial page appears the follow nr nrIf If the city council has subsidized the Standard then W H Rowe has also subsidized sub-sidized the Standard the city council gave the Standard 15 cents per line for what was published and W H Rowe did the same thing He had his matter published in the same issue of the Standard as the city council and charged both 15 cents per line and stated if the City subsidized the Standard then Billy Rowe Is guilty of the same crime and he should have no cause tor complaint I Affiant further stated that the publication publica-tion thus Quoted had reference to the I matters and things set up In the affidavit of W H Rowe and Daniel Van Dam which is now on file in this court The newspaper from which the above publication appears is herewith appended and made a part of this affidavit Newton Farr clerk of the Second district dis-trict court enumerated causes In which the defendants had figured and which had been tried before Judge Rolapp and gave tne result of the litigation |