Arizona silver belt., 1883-02-03
1t Has no Friends in Gila County.

aid in the construction of a railroad from Tucson to Apache. It has merits and demerits. The first are--the fact that it will come within thirty miles of Globe, and the sublime impudence of its projectors; and its demerits are 80 numerous and obvious that child could sec them. The bill calls for q narrow guage road. That makes the handling of freight at Tucson and the station nearest Globe necessary, and consequently would not reduce the cost of freighting to any extent. The bill calls (using the figures of Pima county as a basis) for guarantee of the interest on $S0O,OO0 worth of bonds. As. the whole value of the taxable property in this county is S1,O69, ,946, it only leaves $269,946 of which tbe>bona holders in this narrow guage, Toad would not be the virtual owrtrs. The tax in this county is about 3 ass1-and the amount. raised, Sutssy of the cost of collection is $Sl ,02S.+G; the additional amount necessary to be raised to pay the iu- terest on the $S0O,00O at 2 per ceht. would he s56O0O; or total of $s7,. 028.46, fraction over per cent. The bill provides that the railroad company shall give the county of Gila, bonds equal in amount to what they receive; while that is all right for the company, because they have actual value behind what they get, it is no good to the county, because the bonds of railroad running nearly three hundred miles without touching sin gle important point have no merit in themselves. The bill provides for the redemption of the bonds in twenty years. The impossibility of this coun- tvs doing so is apparent, and the result would be bankruptcy and com plete ruin. The bill provides. in a sort of after.thought, for a possible issuance of bonds to the amount of $l3,OO0 per mile. The BELT is satis- fled that such road could be con- structed for less than $1O.OOO a mile, and the Sl3,00O provision in the bill is to enable the projectors to pocket a cool S9O0,OOO. The bill provides for the punishment of supervisors or other officials who object to carrying out it's provisions.
 The bill is an unqualified outrage; its arbitrariness is satire upon free dom; 1t offers no benefit to Gila county or its capital at all commensurate with the burdens it would impose; it will be an absolute bar to immigration and the investment of money; it has already stopped building, and loans that were in process of negotiation are held in abeyance. This county has suffered more than any other in the territory. It has had indigent mining companies, pen and ink traitors, reckless conduct of enterprises that had all the elements of success in them, thieving of cattle, killing by Indians, isolation and high living to contend against, and has grown steadily and even rapidly; but all that is nothing compared with the new incubus which this bill puts upon us. It must not pass. The Board of Supervisors say so in the following telegrams which were sent to Pres colt, and the BELT endorses the posi- tion they take, as does every man who has any stake in this county:
 GLOBE, A. T., Jan. %, 1883.
 COURIER, MINER AND DEMOCRAT, Prescott The Board of Supervisors of Giila county protest against passage by legislative assembly of Arizona of the iniquitous bill for proposed con struction of railroad from Tucson through Gila to and into Apache coun- ty; should it become q law the present Board of Gila county pledges itself to. do what can be done in the premises to render said law imperative.
 ALEX GRAYDoN "oPoi'isois'
 GLOBE, A. T., Jan. go, 1888.
 WM. GRAVES: Oppose proposed steal for railroad from Tucson, through Gila into Apache county.