Show Way Opened for Clearing Irrigation Land Titles BOUNTIFUL The BOUNTIFUL The way has been cleared for lor landowners within th the e Bonneville irrigation district to perfect titles to their property Preston Thatcher Bountiful attorney said Tuesday Carrying out the conditions of ot a decree issued in 1931 by Judge Tillman Tillman Till Till- man D. D Johnson Mr Thatcher and Homer Holmgren Salt SnIt Lake City attorney have perfected a n new ne neset setup setup setup set set- up that will aid landowners of the district In freeing themselves of the burden Durden under which they have struggled for tor the past 12 years Since 1929 man many landowners in inan inan inan an attempt to clear their lands have bought out their individual proportion of the bonded indebtedness indebted indebted- ness by the purchase of bonds and interest coupons from the bond bond- holders hoWers It It was later found that insufficient these outs buy were to offset then proportion of the total bonded indebtedness making it necessary for tor them to purchase more bonds and coupons coupon for complete complete complete com com- clearance of their lands from this debt Six Conditions Mr Thatcher said that in order to make malte these second payments It was necessary to determine 1 th the c total final water allotment within n the district 2 the definite trac tracts is of ot land to which water was originally orIs- orIs allotted regardless of sub sub- divisions ions thereof 3 the present presen t owners of of tho the land within the district district district dis dis- 4 which tracts had been subdivided 5 exactly what bonds I and coupons had been surrendered I in making pay outs 6 what credits the landowners were entitled entitled entitled en en- titled to for district taxes paid by such landowners and to work out and have approved by the district and county officials and H. H O. O L. L C. C attorneys s 's a different form of ot re receipt receipt receipt re- re from the one used theretofore and tho the exact method of calculating calculating calculating ing such credits Now complete this work has been done In conformance with Judge Johnsons Johnson's decree The Bonneville irrigation district was organized in 1920 and issued bonds totaling to the construction of canals and a pumping plant It supplies water to approximately acres of ot fertile and valuable land Work Vork was done by a California construction concern concern concern con con- cern on a plus cost-plus basis As a result of defaults by landowners landowners landowners land land- owners tle d district has been unable to pay more than a vel very small proportion proportion pro pro- and principal principal principal portion m of the tho interest pal of the bonds and also became in default in payment of warrants issued for maintenance and opera opera- tion Prices Drop The default arose not from an unwillingness to pa pay but rather to the drop in the price of farm products products products prod prod- the rapid development of truck hauling from other states and the high cost of pumping water due to the large acreage under the can canal l not being 0 cultivated as had been contemplated From the inception of the district controversies existed as to which lands were allotted water and the correctness of the amount allotted to each tract man many errors having been made in the original allotment Numerous suits suils were brought by bythe bythe the he landowners against the district to o clarify these points the A case arose in 1922 when district attempted to carry the delinquencies dc- dc in tax payments of the previous year over into the budget of the next year A landowner protested protested protested pro pro- tested against this procedure and the court brought suit in supreme In this case Nelson versus the board of oC directors the supreme court ourt held that each landowner could be taxed only to the extent of his proportion of ot the total debt of the district plus 15 per cent to cover over delinquencies as provided by law aw This meant that the lands of one owner could not be taxed more than han 15 per cent to pay the bill of another The bondholder also had difficulties difficulties ties ies along the same line In 1928 the bondholders applied to the federal court ourt for a writ of oC mandamus to compel the taxing officials to change hange the method of assessing and levying taxes within the district Inthis Inthis In this suit Judge Johnson followed the Nelson case and also ordered the correction of erroneous descriptions descriptions descriptions of lands and defined denned the exact procedure to be followed by the taxing taxing tax tax- ing officials In 1930 the situation had already become so intolerable to many of the landowners that they thoy formed a committee with the assistance of the directors of the district in an effort to work out a settlement This committee contacted the principal principal principal prin prin- cipal bondholders the bondholders the Paris Anglo London National Bank of San Francisco Fran Fran- cisco and cisco and early In 1932 agreed with it upon a plan of settlement which was felt to be fair and workable Agree on Plan Under this plan the bondholder agreed to sell all aU the bonds owned or controlled by him at per 1000 bond to a company to be formed within the district and to accept in pa payment ment for such bonds interest coupons and mortgages on the lands of the individual landowners landowners landowners land land- owners in an amount to be he agreed upon by the landowner and the company comp The total bonded indebtedness indebtedness indebtedness edness of ot the district amounting to could be purchased forthe for forthe forthe the sum of oC under this plan Pursuant to this agreement with the bondholders the South Davis Canal company was organized to carry out the plan agreed upon Early in 1933 the company purchased purchased pur pur- chased its first large block of bonds totaling at face taco value During 1933 and 1934 many landowners landowners landowners land land- owners applied to the H. H O. O L. L C. C for loans with which to pay off oft the mortgages they had given the South Davis Canal company A few such loans were granted but later the H. H O. O L. L C. C questioned the validity of the pay outs and no loans have been made since that time It has b been en Indicated by H. H 0 O. O L. L C C. officials officials cla s that loans made now be obtained ob- ob Thatcher t S ined i under tinder said the new setup Mr |