Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-04-29
NEW MEXICO TO THE FRONT.
What New Mexico Is Asking for.

W nat New MEXICO Is Asking for.
There passed through the city yester-
/ day on the way to Washington a large
delegation of citizens of the territory Of
| New Mexico, headed by the governor, l..
Bradford Prince, and including in its
number other present and past territorial
officers, bankers, editors, railroad men,
etc. The object OF the visit to Washing
ton is, as stated by the delegates who
called at the Office of the Tribune, to
urge congress to adopt at the present ses-
sion some legislation which it is claimed
is absolutely necessary if the territory is
to progress and prosper.
First and foremost the delegates want
action taken for the immediate settlement
| Of all questions pertaining to land grants
and titles in the territory. 1t must be adj
mited that there has been great remiss-
ness on the part OF the general govern
ment on this subject, and few things have
| done so much to delay the settling I'D of
New Mexico. Although the territory be-
came an undisputed part of the United
states by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
which was signed forty-two years ago,
| there is an intolerable state of confusion
rs to the title of immense tracts of land
| growing out OF grants, generally fOrgeries
alleged to have been made by the Span
| lsh or Mexican authorities prior to the
| cession. Much trouble would have been
saved both in California and New Mexico
if the government had at an early day,
when the questions involved were fresh
in the minds of men, passed on and set
tied for al time these Mexican grants,
often vague and uncertain, bounded by
indefinite mountain peaks and indetermi-
nate streams. But it failed to do so and
the manufacture of bogus grants or the
simplifying of genuine ones has been
profitable industry ever since. 1t is q
matter of little consequence how these
claims are disposed Of The main thing
is to get rid Of them
Another request which the delegates
will make Will be that sections Is and 36
OF each township, the school lands, shall
he given to the territory at once, and
shall not be withheld till it is a state. as
has hitherto been the custom. There is
a question as to the wisdom of doing this
without qualification. At present the
lands are safe. These sections are re-
served from entry, so that no matter
never pass directly from the government
into private hands. But if the territory
we're to become the owner its legislature
might want to do little good in the pres
ent rather than much greater good in
the future. 1t might want to make a
scanty meal off its spring chickens and
be without the patience to wait till they
grew into hens and bore interest in shape
of other chickens. Had Chicago been in
less of a haste to dispose Of its school Sec
ton its rents from school lands would
have been enormous and it's taxes low.
Therefore if congress is moved to change
it, inmemorial custom and let the terri
tory have these lands it should couple
with the grant the condition that they
can not be sold for at least twenty years
Let them be rented, and whatever they
Dring in will be that much gained for the
schools, but let there be no parting with |
the fee, at least till the territory becomes
state. The delegates are also anxious
TO get lands for university purposes, for
their agricultural college and for school
Of mines. There can be no objection to set
ting apart portion of the public domain
for these purposes, but as with the school
lands it would probably be safer not to
allow the grants to be disposed of till they
are much more valuable than they now
are.
Another request which will be made Of
congress, which is not as unreasonable as
it may seem at the first blush is that a
portion OF the arid lands belonging to the |
government be given to the territory to
help it in the work Of building great irr.
eating canals and water reservoirs, and
thus adding largely to its area of cultivable |
land, of which proportionately it has so
little. The New MEXICAN says: "Con-
gress has given to many states the swamp
lands within their limits because they
were valueless till drained. 1t should, by
parity of reasoning, give us the arid lands,
which are valueless unless they are wet.
When such grant is made we can ex-
pend money IN the construction of canals
v hich will benefit the lands of private in.
iividuals and also these donated lands.
and the money thus derived from the sale
If the latter thus increased in value will
20 toward defraying the expenses of the
work."
1t Is now proposed to cut immense irr-
cation canals 200 miles long on each side