This embassy not having yet received the views of the United States Government on the above proposal I have now the honor to suggest as further alternatives which would have the approval of His Majesty's Government, that the matter should be referred to arbitration, either at The Hague under the general arbitration treaty recently concluded between Great Britain and the United States of America, as being a difference of a legal nature within the meaning of the treaty, or else to an international committee of enquiry under the general arbitration convention signed at The Hague in 1907. I shall be greatly obliged if you will let me know which of these various alternatives the United States Government would prefer so that I may inform His Majesty's Government accordingly. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, ESME HOWARD. Mr. J. L. Campbell to the Secretary of the Interior. EL PASO, TEX., September 4, 1908. The Hon. JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, Secretary, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Referring to the Acting Secretary's letter of June 27, 1908, in reply to mine of June 15, to you, the former does not appear to be a sufficient answer to the latter. I have deferred pressing the matter in the meantime, anticipating that, since your recent return from the Philippines, your time has been fully occupied by accumulated business that could not wait. I now wish to ask your attention to my letter above mentionedits closing paragraph, particularly. I have the honor to be Yours truly, J. L. CAMPBELL. The Acting Secretary of State to the British Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 11, 1908. MY DEAR MR. HOWARD: With reference to the embassy's note No. 168 of the 10th instant with regard to the claims of the British shareholders in the Rio Grande Irrigation & Land Co., the Secretary suggests that the discussion of this question be deferred until he and Mr. Bryce return to the capital. The Secretary is, however, of the opinion that in view of the fact that an oral agreement has been made under which Great Britain is quite at liberty to include this claim in the claims convention already drafted and practically determined upon, it seems to be unnecessary to discuss further the question of arbitration at present. Believe me to be, my dear Mr. Howard, Faithfully yours, ALVEY A. ADEE, Acting Secretary. The Acting Director of the Reclamation Service to Mr. J. L. Campbell. WASHINGTON, September 18, 1908. Mr. J. L. CAMPBELL, El Paso, Texas. DEAR SIR: Yours of the 4th instant concerning the claims of the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., addressed to the Secretary, has been received and will be brought to his attention as soon as he finds an opportunity to consider it. Very respectfully, MORRIS BIEN, Acting Director. Mr. J. L. Campbell to the Secrtary of the Interior. Hon. JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, EL PASO, December 18, 1908. Secretary of the Department of Interior, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Attached please note copy of my letter of September 41 and a copy of the reply thereto of the Acting Director of the Reclamation Service, dated September 18, 1908.2 It would appear that we have waited a reasonable time for a reply to my letter of June 15, 1908, especially if you can now find an opportunity to give this matter your attention. Yours truly, The Secretary of the Interior to Mr. J. L. Campbell. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, December 31, 1908. Mr. J. L. CAMPBELL, 702 Southwestern Building, El Paso, Tex. DEAR SIR: Since my return I have given careful consideration to the correspondence we have had relative to the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., but I am unable to find a basis for any claim made by the company which the Reclamation Service can recognize or purchase. Under these circumstances it would be useless to consider the agreement as suggested in the last paragraph of your letter. Very truly yours, JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, Secretary. Mr. J. L. Campbell to the Secretary of the Interior. EL PASO, January 8, 1909. Hon. JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: I have your brief note of December 31st, 1908, announcing that after careful consideration of the petition of the shareholders of the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., you are unable to find a basis for the recognition or liquidation of the claim of said shareholders by the Reclamation Service. When a judge renders a decision he usually puts it in the form of a somewhat explicit statement of his reasoning and conclusions based on the evidence. In view of the fifteen years which we have devoted to the Elephant Butte project your final note might well be more explicit in this respect. If you would kindly put your decision in this form it might help to clear up the situation. We have neither the time nor the disposition to persist in a cause if it is shown to have no merit. We have presented to you what appears to us to be a very clear record and to us it further appears that something more than your brief note above mentioned is necessary to answer it fairly and frankly with sufficient reason for your decision. Yours truly, J. L. CAMPBELL. The Secretary of the Interior to Mr. J. L. Campbell. Mr. J. L. CAMPBELL, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, January 15, 1909. 702 Southwestern Building, El Paso, Tex. DEAR SIR: I have your letter of January 8. I think that nothing of value can be added to the record of the claim of the Rio Grande Dam and Irrigation Company so far as this department is concerned, by any statement of reasons for my decision. I am not attempting to act as a judge of the various questions which have been raised in the litigation to which the Rio Grande Dam and Irrigation Company is a party. The only question which I, as Secretary of the Interior, considered was whether I could or should purchase out of the reclamation fund any rights or property owned by the Rio Grande Dam and Irrigation Company and as to this, as stated in my letter of the 31st, I determined that there is neither claim nor property which I can recognize or purchase. Very truly yours, JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, Secretary. Mr. A. W. Ellington to the Secretary of the Interior. 223-224 DOUGLAS BLOCK, Los Angeles, Calif., March 22, 1909. Hon. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: In strict confidence I wish you to read this, and if the Government wants to buy me out you can open the enclosed sealed document. If the Government does not wish to buy me out, I trust to your honor to return me, at once, the enclosed letter from Doctor Boyd and the sealed envelope unopened. The sealed envelope contains a copy of the deed signed by my cousin Dr. N. E. Boyd in 1902, when he sold me his company's Elephant Butte rights; that on May 30, 1896, the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. of New Mexico leased to the Rio Grande Irrigation & Land Co. (Ltd.) (an English Co.), its rights of way, franchise rights, privileges, and undertakings, and assigned to trustees for the English Co. all of its capital stock April 20, 1900. The English Co. was made bankrupt, and on May 9, 1900, in consideration of Boyd paying off various large debts of the company the shareholders assigned to him their equity of redemption and made him receiver. When Boyd was in Washington in 1902, his London bankers who had loaned him about $100,000 and held his private securities went out of business, and their successors stopped his remittances. His English friends refused to put up any money for him to go on with, and to raise money he sold and assigned to me all the said rights, titles, and property to and in the said Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co.'s undertakings, rights of way, franchise rights, and all other assets, of and belonging to the said English Co., and the rights and security of the holders of the English Co. debentures, including said capital stock, 49,650 shares of $100 each. A copy of the deed of sale was sent to England for registration and was declared binding and valid. I have just returned from Europe and while I was abroad Boyd wrote me "that the Government had been negotiating with parties in El Paso with the object of acquiring the rights of the old Elephant Butte Dam Co." and that he had quarrelled with them about the matter because he was opposed to anything which would prevent the English investors from getting their money back. He now wants me to let him have $10,000 more to be used in prosecuting the rights of the English Co. Now, I am willing to help him if the Government does not want to pay me this price. My cousin is a Bryanite crank and says his main object is to protect the English investors and expose the official dishonesty responsible for the ruin of his company. But I am a hard and fast Republican and business man and not a sentimentalist. I put my money into this business as a business speculation. I know enough about the Elephant Butte case to know that morally and legally Boyd is right, but business is business. Some of my real estate speculations here have not panned out as I had figured and if I can raise $125,000 at once I can straighten out my affairs here, make a good profit and go back to Europe to live for a while. If the Government will pay this I will sell and turn over the said stock and step down and out. I am making this offer in the strictest confidence and hope you will return to me the envelope unopened and Boyd's letter if you do not want to take it over for the Government at once. This will include all the stock and all my rights in this matter. In case the Government wants them please wire me and send some one here to close the deal. If they do not want to buy them please wire me that papers are being returned, as I do not wish to keep him waiting if you do not propose to buy them. While I can not let him have the $10,000 I can let him have some and assign the stock. Hoping you will appreciate that I wish to know one way or another immediately and that I get your wire, I remain, yours respectfully, ALLEN WOOD ELLINGTON. Mr. A. W. Ellington to the Secretary of the Interior. [Telegram.] LOS ANGELES, CALIF., March 29, 1909. Hon. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C. Boyd wires he has man to put up fund required and wants stock and power of attorney. Wire me if my offer is accepted. ALLEN WOOD ELLINGTON. |