Mr. J. L. Campbell to the Secretary of the Interior. The Hon. JAMES R. GARFIELD, EL PASO, March 27, 1908. Secretary Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: I have your letter of the 20th instant. This correspondence was opened for the express purpose of separating Doctor Boyd's charges of official corruption from the question which we are considering. We see no reason why certain legal phases which do or may exist between the Reclamation Service and the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. should not be considered. The Reclamation Service has taken possession of the territory, and is engaged in the construction of the system of irrigation covered by the franchise rights of the company without, as yet, due process of law, and while litigation involving the rights of the company are pending. If the court renders its final decision in favor of the company the resulting status will not detract from the strength and value of the company's position, but rather the reverse. Again, whatever the final decision of the court may be it will not, can not, change the moral status of the case because the court is considering and will pass upon a technicality, not the merits of the case. Any proper decision on the merits would necessarily be in favor of the company. Permit me very briefly to recall why. The Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. became a legal corporation under the irrigation laws of New Mexico and the United States, and by the specific acts and approval of the Department of the Interior (never revoked) acquired franchise rights to impound water at Elephant Butte and construct irrigation works in the valley below. After the company had begun the construction of said works it was enjoined and stopped by the United States on the specific allegation that the Rio Grande was navigable in New Mexico, and that the proposed works of the company would obstruct the navigable capacity of said river in New Mexico. The United States signally failed to sustain its contention and its petition was amended to an allegation that the proposed irrigation works of the company would diminish the navigable capacity of the Rio Grande near the Gulf of Mexico, 1,200 miles below. Again, and for the same reason, the United States failed. Thereupon, the five years in which the works of the company were required to be built having expired, the United States abandoned its original contentions and again amended its petition, this time introducing the entirely foreign feature that the company had not completed its works in five years, and prayed that the franchise rights of the company be declared forfeited. This is the question now pending in the Supreme Court. In thus abandoning its original contentions, the United States tacitly admitted that it could not sustain its allegations. In the effort, however, the company was prevented from completing its works. It is, therefore, purely a technicality on which the Government is now seeking to eliminate the company. Do you want the matter disposed of on that basis, and should the decree of the Supreme Court afford the opportunity, would you be willing to withhold justice from us on such a technicality? We think not. We are looking to every official of the Government, and those of the Interior Department in particular, as men who will to the extent of their power deal even-handed justice to all. In the meantime the Reclamation Service had taken possession of all that portion of the Rio Grande valley covered by the franchise rights of the company and is engaged in building the proposed irrigation works. We do not believe that the Reclamation Service should prefer a settlement with your petitioners until the final decree of the court is rendered if such procrastination should be the result of an anticipation that said decree would afford an opportunity for the Government to evade responsibility for the results of its own acts. If we believed that the decision of the court yet to be rendered related to and would determine the merits of the case, we could not, with propriety, ask you to take final action in the meantime. However, as the legal question pending has nothing to do with and will not affect the merits and equity of our cause, and, in view of the fact that, whatever the nature of the decree, the claims of your petitioners will still be fair, reasonable, and just and morally binding, we ask you to accept conditions as they are, conditions which are the result of the action of the Reclamation Service in appropriating the existing rights of the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., and make proper settlement with your petitioners. What have we of value to sell to you? We have our share in the rights and property of which you have already taken possession. Rights and property which are undoubtedly of great value, else you would not have entered upon them and would not be proposing to expend $8,000,000 in developing them. We are offering you this for the small sum of $71,500 with interest-an amount representing a very moderate payment for the time, labor, and money which we have put into the enterprise. You say, "If there are any conditions which warrant me in considering the matter, apart from the legal phases, I shall be pleased to have you present them." Entirely apart from the legal phases, we have endeavored to make it clear to you that our position is sustained by all considerations of moral obligation, equity, and fair dealing; that the company has been guilty of no act of omission or commission which should deprive it of its rights; that it has been kept out of the enjoyment of its rights and privileges by the United States; and that its franchise rights are still valid. On these grounds we ask you to act with special reference to the fact that the Reclamation Service has entered into occupation of the rights and privileges belonging to the company, but from which the latter has been and is debarred, both by the Department of Justice and by the Reclamation Service. In the meantime there appears to be no present necessity for referring the matter to the President. Awaiting your pleasure and further advice, I have the honor to be, Yours very truly, J. L. CAMPBELL. Mr. W. C. Bradbury to the Director of the Reclamation Service. F. H. NEWELL, Esq., DENVER, COLO., March 30, 1908. Director, Reclamation Service, Interior Department, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Replying to yours of the 19th instant I find by reference to my files, first, that on the 21st day of October, 1896, I entered into a written contract with the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. for "Dam No. 4 and the First Section of Canal therefrom." Among other things specified was that the work should be completed on or 1 [In the "Petition of the Organizers and Original Shareholders (their successors and assigns) of the Rio Grande Dam and Irrigation Company in the matter of the Elephant Butte Dam," acknowledged by the various shareholders, including Dr. Boyd, on July 30, 1906, the following statement is made (p. 5): "Dr. Nathan Boyd, the President of the Company, be and is authorized to accept, in behalf of the said shareholders, from the Government, the following amounts, with compound interest accrued to date of such settlement: A. M. Loomis, $10,800; P. E. Kern, $10.800; E. C. Roberts, deceased, $7,500; J. L. Campbell, $10,800; E. V. Berrien, $11,800; Phoebus Freudenthal, $500; Sol. Schutz, deceased, $500; H. D. Bowman, $950; W. H. Tuttle, $1,600; Mrs. J. M. Yair, $5,000; Wm. Chetham Strode, $4,000; J. Findlay, $3,000; J. Muir, $2,000; J. Smith, $2,500. Total amount, $71,750." (Dr. Boyd's personal claim against the U. S. Government is not included in the above tabulated statement.)-Agent's note.] before April 1, 1897, with provisions for extension of time, if neces sary. Specifications provide for the "Construction of weir and head gates of Dam No. 4 (this was a concrete weir on a piling foundation) located on the Rio Grande River, Dona Ana County, in New Mexico, about three miles above the station of Selden on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway "; with head gates in the rock cut at the West end of the weir, at which head gates the canal proper commenced, the first section to extend down the river about 10 miles in length, including the crossing of the Rio Grande River by inverted siphon composed of a series of wooden stave pipes anchored to piling foundation. This work was continued and mostly completed up to April 11, 1897, when all work was suspended by written orders of the Company, who claimed they were short of funds and unable to meet their payments to me. This finally resulted in my filing a lien on the work for monies due me, on July 23, 1897, for approximately eighteen thousand dollars, being, as I remember it, a compromise agreement as to the amount due me. This lien I never foreclosed for the reason that I did not wish the property and had no time or money to carry it on to completion, together with its contemplated system of extensions, laterals, and organization for colonization that would have been necessary to have resulted in any returns to me, and was out of my line of business. Messrs. Geddes & Seerie, now contractors for your Pathfinder Dam, were interested with me in the masonry part of this contract. If there are any further details that you would like on this matter I will be pleased to have them dug up and forwarded to you. Very truly yours, W. C. BRADBURY. The Secretary of the Interior to Mr. J. L. Campbell. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Mr. J. L. CAMPBELL, El Paso, Tex. SIR: Your letter of March 27 has been received, calling attention to the action of the Reclamation Service in taking possession of areas which you claimed are covered by the franchise rights of the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., and stating in brief that you are offering these rights for the sum of $71,500, with interest (from a time not stated), this amount, as you state, representing a very moderate payment for the time, labor, and money put into the enterprise. In previous correspondence I have endeavored to show that it is not a part of my duty, nor have I the right, to enter into a discussion of the actions which may or may not have been taken by coordinate department of the Government. As the responsible head of the Reclamation Service I can, however, take up any matter of this claim in which you claim that the Reclamation Service has appropriated any rights of the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. This is a detail which, I assume, can be discussed without bringing in extraneous matters. I have asked what you have of value to sell, the intent being to bring out as concisely as possible your claim. In reply you state that you have your share in the rights and property of which the Reclamation Service has already taken possession. I wish to have from you a very brief category of such rights and property. Briefly summing these up, I assume that you include in this category (although you do not definitely state this) the following items, which I enumerate for the purpose of obtaining from you a mention of these: First. Right of way approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Second. Certain water rights which I assume have been entered by you under Territorial law. If so, I wish a statement of the date of filing and the character and amount of these rights. Third. Property, presumably real estate, located at or near the point of construction. A list of such property, or an indication of its area and location, is desired. Fourth. Other rights or franchises, briefly mentioning what these are. At the same time it might be well to include any statement of claims made against the property, as, for example, I have a memorandum to the effect that Mr. W. C. Bradbury has or had an unsettled claim under his contract of October 21, 1896. He states that the work under this contract was nearly completed on April 11, 1897, when work was suspended by written order of the company, who claimed that they were short of funds and were unable to meet their payments. This resulted in his filing a lien on the work on July 23, 1897, for approximately $88,000 [sic]. There may be possibly other claims of this character which should be considered at least in this connection. Very truly yours, (Signed) JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, |