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Show II L I, 1 1 j : J Tribune Correspondent Visits ' J. the Scene of the Monstrous I. j Outrage, i" V,'; j TRUSTING PEOPLE R0BBE1), j j- WITH NO RECOURSE j' Foul Attempt to Besmirch the ( ' j Fair Name of John E. ; Taylor. j-J ;l , BY C. E. ARNEY. 1,1 ' 6pccl.il to Tho Tribune. ', J BOISE. Ida.. Juno 7. I huvo visited i j that portion of the Onolcla irrigation dis- , ' " . I trlct lylns aboul Dayton, Clifton and ' j Garner. J 1 ( i! J When tho enrth was hammered Into ' i ' I j shape nature dealt kindly with that Jo- j. ' callty. It was given good soil, natural Ei' : grades, a nearby range, rock and natural . ,( j bntdns for Impounding the water not far . fj , distant. It Is a beautiful country. Snr- ( ' J I rounded by any other than tho present ,, unfortunate condition of affairs, It would , a avcrago Its owners today J100 for each i, f R i acre. This is lmscd on a knowledge of ' ' i like Innd In other parts of Idaho. M n 1 1 looked over the Initial (lies of one of I " B- ' tho stale departments today, and located i , It the application for this Irrigation district. 1 a Among others, It was signed by Arthur i.l f W. Hart, the present houd of the Young ' ', Men'a Mutual Improvement society of the 11(1 .' I Mormon church for the Oneida stake of If 4- ,) ZIon. In his estimate of the total cost I ' A i 1 of tho system, which was based on the I ' 31' r i report of a compolont engineer and was r'jt.J. ' correct, he placed the figures at $2S2.000. 1 1 ' $i This Is the amount tho ditch should I j .M have cost. It Is tho amount which the 11: settlers under the system would have pain . ' had their affairs been handled honestly. 1 i It is tho maximum figure of tho cost or Li tho entire completion of tho works In any ' a.. , other community In Idnhi save this, i i . Moreover, it is the only community in 4 Idaho where men could even llvo today I la 1 I who had done to their neighbors what P f jfl J Arthur W. Hart and Gcorgo C. Parkln- L : A "1 I son have done to their neighbors In the Y 1 handling of this Irrigation project, for ,to- ! I , 1 day the total bonded Indebtedness of this i , j ' project Is estimated at $800,000. and those posted insist that an additional $130,000 I will be reaulrod to complete this system. . Interesting Details. l There are numerous Interesting details I ' ,j attending tho perlldlous practices of these I ii , companions In crimo, a few only having I ( i,". been told In The Salt Lake Trlbuno dur- t I lug the past few months. I , . jjjl These oxposures, coupled with the 5 '! caustic but altogether conservative casil- b'j gatlon of these thlevps by Judge James '! I J 21. Richards of Boise In tho Malad trial. j' , aro tho agencies which have served to II ; , put a quietus to the further public trials ,fv 1, t of these causes, f. if, ! There may be faint glimmers of the , (fijj I, ' Ills visited on those poor people by these j -, tyrants In the hank case at Malad and , jjii .; ! later In the bond caso at Salt Lake, but ' ' 1 . i tho case against Parkinson has been sct- i lied. As 1 predicted many weeks ago, t ) Parkinson has settled. His slimy trail i7 of crime covered a range too extensive j L i for him to permit the public to obtain an- I j i other glance behind tho veil, at his poll- IJi S tlcal, commercial and ecclesiastical chl- j canery. . Xo other community anywhere In Idaho f m,i could be bullied to silence In the face of I, V such conditions as exist In the affairs of nit; the Oneida Irrigation district. For the kt, most part, however, the devotees of this 1 I jif ! faith have accepted the Inevitable, even ! I'fU'i though It Is thoroughly Inoculated with i ) frauu, plunder and wltn mystery. J. , Xo explanation has been made of the j' l j "! Ttckless expenditure of these funds and I ii i , until this is done a very respectable num- a, ber of the settlers under these works are O'jt'l refusing to o.w i,n nemands made on ' ' J them for exorbitant assessments. As near j . !' ' as 1 could learn, there are nlncty-slx land ' I j ti j owners who are In this class of lnsur- rf .gents. 1 ; ) j Here Is a letter which tends to explain i, V. ' the mystery which shrouds this affair: , i "Dayton. Idaho, April 25, 1910. ! L&j "John Murdock. I 11 "Dear Sir: In tho fall of 1006 you re- , 1 eclved a 'letter order' from the directors Mi J of the district and the same was pre- ' I sented to the treasurer of j-aid district j y 1 for the purpose of ndjusting an asccf r- i ( ment that would have become dellnjur.ii. . I ! J j also saving penalty that would have ben V ' I 1 added on all unsettled iccouulr- the fol- !i ii jj lowing January, j ( ' l "This account. SSI. Is sull unsettled. , i6 I and you are hereby invited to meet with 1 .1 ItRlj the directors and general manager at this ' - office on the first Tuesday in May and I -(!! no later than the drat Tuesday in June l a ' 1S1Q, to reconcile the acount. "If not settled by that time wo will bo , (MP under the nocessity of collecting the came. "I 'Mf, "Please give this due consideration. , ' that we can have it settled satisfactorily. , li "By doing so you will greatly oblige. I I , R "ONEIDA IRRIGATION DISTRICT. ,yf , "By Geo. H. Carver." r ' V Jrt ' No Explanation. ; i , (P The settler has no knowledge of tho , S J figures which go to make up thjs sum or . ' te any sum and hence Muitlock and the I ' li other poor people are on the road to I . L' 1 either one of two dllemas: pay up and ' Pi content yourselves In Ignorance or move !' ouL , m But this does not end the situation for " I r a spirit of destruction has set In against 'l , I i" those outspoken folks who murmur at l,, ' ( p this specie of autocracy. 'J ' Murdock has been arrested for helping y' himself to enough water to savo his al- Ut falfa crop from burning up. It? I A x .'"!na.t security has he or a fair, unbiased jj J trial since George C. Parkinson and Ar- I . J thur "V. Hart were relieved from rcpay- t , " ment to this Irrigation district the money 1 .i ;' they had stolen from it? j.t jjV John E. Taylor of Clifton Is -being pur- siiild because he yields ungracefully to the demands of the district without explanation explana-tion or knowledge of tho Justice of his assessments. as-sessments. Ho Is therefore the object of the "whisper" and IIiohc blind obodlonts to a syslom which permits thieves and rogues to go unwhlppod of Justice, have set about to nag and nlinoy him and tarnish tar-nish his good nnmc. In 100U the people of tho two Clifton school districts, cloven and thirteen, decided de-cided to consolidate and build a central Bohool whero the common as well ns tho high school branches could be taught. Oncnr Henderson. B. E. Bybco and John 12. Taylor were then members of the school board of district 11. the place whero a mass meeting of tho Clifton ward decided tho now structuro should be built. Owing to tho law at tho time tho first voto for a bond Ishuo. which carried, was Illegal and they wero rejected. Tho noxt session of the legislature so amended amend-ed tho law as to bring the Clifton consolidated con-solidated district up to the requisite standard stan-dard In a total valuation or assessable property to raise the sum required. $8500. But in the meantime, between the rejection re-jection of the first and the acceptance of tho second bond Issue by tho state, who took th6ao bonds, the money for tho construction of the building must bo provided pro-vided or tho plan full. Accordingly a public meeting of the ward was held on August IS, 100. entirely entire-ly harmonious In cha racier, presided over by Bishop G. E. Farmer, and addressed by Adelbon Henderson. Orson Hondor-son. Hondor-son. J. M. Larson. Mnrtln Henderson, Jr.. Thomas Sant and RHoy Davis. Tho consensus con-sensus of opinion of this mooting was that the three trustees should go to Malad and borrow sufficient money to tide them over until tho building, according accord-ing to plans and specifications prepared by a. D. Hendorson, should be tlnlshed nnd tho bonds legally voted to cover tho Indebtedness thus Incurred by tho trustees trus-tees of tho school district. Plan Accoptcd. Tho pcoplo at 'mass meeting accented the noneuorson plan for tho building, which ho assured them could be built for JSGOO, and tho trustees employed him as supervisor of tho construction at u dally salary of S'.o0. Although 'tho building cost some J3000 In excess of tho sujn specified, no report to the Clifton school district has yet been made by Supervisor Henderson. Frequent demand has been mndo on Henderson to give an account of his stewardship, but as yet ho has failed to respond. He Is tho samo Henderson used by Parkinson and Hart ns tho president presi-dent of tho Oneida Irrigation district during dur-ing the season of their distinguished thefts, which today remains securely hidden behind a cloak of eccleslastlclsm. During the closing days of Mr. Taylor's reign as a member of this Clifton school board, tho two other membore of the board. Thomas Sant and Jamos McCoy, set a now precedent In school affairs by making a loan of $500 of school money, against tho law of tho state with respect to tho 'handling of such trust funds. When the school building was to be located lo-cated In Clifton, a mass mooting was again hold, and by order of said meeting the board of trustees woro to sell tho two lots on which previously stood tho school-houses school-houses of the old districts, eleven nnd thirteen.. At the same meeting tho ward bishop offerod tho school district tho ton-acro ton-acro tract alongsldo tho ward meeting house, all of which was land to which tltlo had not been acquired from tho government. gov-ernment. In duo season the probate Judge, Samuel D. Davis, at the suggestion sugges-tion of such distinguished agents as Arthur Ar-thur V. Hart and A. D. Henderson, signed a deed In blank, which they later supplied with tho description of tho ground and presented It. not to the trustees, trus-tees, but to Bishop Farmer of tho Clifton ecclesiastical ward, who for llvo long yonrs held title to same, nnd finally he nnd George C. Parkinson presented a bill to tho district for ?50 for the delivery of this deed, and It was" paid by the board of trustees. Following tho suggestion of the mass meeting relating to the disposition of the abandoned lots, tho trustees sold to ono Mnrtln Henderson for three hundred dol-v' dol-v' .V10 lot 1,1 ,nc abandoned district, no. 13, one hundred dollars of which was to bo given In tho value of a share or water. The wntor was deeded, but tho two hundrod dolUrs still remains unpaid un-paid and owing to tho school district. At , ,Ilcnccrt'on agreed to furnish tho district with tho sum of this Indebtedness Indebt-edness In lumber, to build a stable for tho teams of tho pupils who drive to tho school, but no lumber has been furnished. Tho Henderson Default. trtJhi die,fau-ltof A- D Henderson' of Clif- ,nuh,1 r,lui:c 10 account to tho Ulf- on school district is respectfully submlt- Mls, hmh1Si,t!Bul8hcd consideration of tint I i'1, R,ale superintendent. rf LVmJ b0 kll0w" what. If anv. district dis-trict benefits were acquired for tho $3000 SET Aft b"'m"s Cl' ias''1"" aw n Henderson without legal security Is rT 2raVon of Governor James H. Brady. " ,a Capital News" Interview ; ft Pleased to state thnt he finds "the ties" oMdnh?." f the thor cu"' mlic .u11.0",1'0" ?f thc superior judicial w2? t5at ,s pald 10 fc'u'de aright ti e ogai phases of educational matters for Ihe commonwealth of nil of Idaho. r r McDougall. tho attorney general tarS inPeCbKn C?"Cdr,t0 ,,he docVSf Mtle made In blank by Oneida county's probate Judge and filled In by Hart and Henderson Hender-son and sold to the Clifton school district by Blnhop Farmer of tho Clifton occ esf-astlcal esf-astlcal ward and by President George J Parkinson of tho ecclesiastical Oneida stake of ZIon for thc sum of 50. unciua ihr ' f"j superior attention of these fMt ?C,alf d,rectcd. to tho debt ex-iit'."? ex-iit'."? todai 1,1 fav?r or the Clifton school district and against Mnrlon Hendorson for ofr.ema,nlVB ?,20,0 fIue on the purchase of tho abandoned lot which he has owned for a number of years. Tho Same Old Crowd. q,)!.! ihl? cnmmunltj- today this same Supervisor Henderson, this same Blshon """1 th,!s 8"io School Trusted blIHl,y . c'"eaged In pnasing Tav nrtl,,,MCOmm"V,,ty tho "whisper" that Uon w.nd,i,net,lne ,wronS ' connec-.!, connec-.!, ,h "otns Kiven the Bank of M.ilad for tho money to go abend with li . i"1?' w,,Icl notes woro regularly paid MyTnyl.or and hls asscJato -trustees with e first money received from n sale of the school bonds. Mr. Taylor has these cancelled notes to- iai?i. Ehow f0.r hls 8trlct compliance with the snggefit ons of the mass meeting meet-ing over which Bishop Farmer presided Thc first note was for 51000. dated Au-5ft Au-5ft 30. 1002 Tho second was for JIOOO. dated September L'0, 1902, The third I was for $1000. dated October ,1902. The (,urthjyas for S2000. dated Novcmbor "0 1902. The fifth was for $790.Sfl. dated December De-cember 20, 1902 The sixth was for $1B00. dated October 12. 1903. The seventh waa for $115, dated June 1. 190-1. The Notes Paid. The accounts of the Clifton school district dis-trict will show clearly thut, these notes were paid regularly Just as soon ns tho bond money came In to the hands of the trustees of the district, of which J. E. Taylor was clerk at this time It now becomes the sweet pleasure of these ecclesiastical claquers to attempt to besmirch tho character, annoy the peace of mind and nag n John E. Taylor, Tay-lor, and for no earthly reason except only that he was one of thc few original Individuals In-dividuals to constltuto a committee which went, to Salt Lake City and employed an auditor whose report gave to tho outside world the details of tho scurrilous defalcations defal-cations of President George C. Parkinson and Arthur W. Hart, and resulted In their being deposed as officers of the Oneida Irrigation Ir-rigation district together with the then culpable president of the district, A. D. Henderson of Clifton. It Is cruelly pitiful to see John E. raylor. John Murdock and othors of those Insurgents against tho Ilia visited on them by these thlovos of a public fund pursued and hounded and harassed by 1 these high churchmen, who navo behind them tho strength and tho power and tho conuivnnco of an organization which appears, ap-pears, from all outward signs, to stand solidly back of theso autocratic scoundrels scoun-drels in their accursed treatment of theso poor men. women nnd children, who aro out on this desert dependent on theso loaders for tho water with which to iiiIhu the food to sustain their hungry bodies. A Harrowed People. In his masterly address to a biased Jury at Malad Inst winter. In which theso poor people sought to recover n portion only of the thefts of these officials. Parkinson Parkin-son and Hart, Judge Richards drow a graphic picture of those wnltlng ycttlcrs over In the deep snow longing for tho water thoy had paid for to grow tho crops they desired to rnlse. When there tho other day. tho snow had yloldod to tho rays of a summer's sun and there wero tho settlors, in the dust, waiting, watching nnd longing for tho water. Whnt future Is In ntoro for them I cannot can-not suggest. The problem la n difficult ono to solve. Be It known that Judgo Richards did not overdraw tho picture when ho said that "the name of Gcorgo C. Parkinson will be a byword In tho mouths of little children for tho wrongs dono by him to that suffering community of neoplo over under the Oneida Irrigation district." Again tho attention of tho people of Idaho Is dlrectrd to tho system behind this gigantic fraud of which Mr. Parkinson Parkin-son Is tho dominant spirit. Again the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Is rightfully charged with sustaining sustain-ing In power tho guiding hand of this amh criminal who has sapped tho very life blood of tho noli of this people over whoso spiritual destinies he Is tho chosen guardian. What a sorry object lesson Is this for the Inspection of tho mon nnd women of Idaho who nre ambitious for Its growth and development as a creditable American commonwenlth. Whnt footprints Is tho Mormon church leaving on tho sands of time for the Inspection of a future generation gen-eration of peoplo who will take our places when we fall! |