Deming headlight., 1891-06-13

Territory gonerally to follow.
These recommendations are IA re.
ference 10 the taxation az land
grants and property Of corpora.
lions.
Fofinstance, the Bosque Apache
and the Afmendars grants,
IN that oouniy, both very valuable
tracts Of land, are assessed at sew.
enty-hve and thirty cents per acre,
respectively while the patentod
lands and water rights ofsottlerH
are assessed At ten dollars per
acre.
These are but samples Of
number Of illustrations Of tho
facility with which grant owners
and corporations ESCAPE their fair
share OF taxation and throw the
burden Of governmental expenses
upon the small property holders
of that county, and what Is thus
shown to be the case In Socorro
IL true Of q majority Of the coun.
ties Of the Territory. just so
much money has TO be raised BY
taxation, and II any one man or
corporntlon fails to pay according
TO the actual value Of his proper
". biz nelghbors, generally less
able TO pay than he, ere forced to
make coed the deficit.
This is grave Injustice to the
great mass Of taxpayers, for which
there can be no possible excuse
or Justification. II has always ca.
listed here since land was made a
source Of public revenue, and
will continue to exist TN men
shall be selected to make the a..
sessments who will have the nerve
TO report fair and equal valuations,
aud boards Of equalization who
will resist the opportunities Of
tho grant claimants for reductions
IN their tax rates.
One other thing should also be
done-make q tax law which viii
authorize the sale Of lands, abso.
lutely and without reoc1rse, foi
non payment Of taxes. The ab-
sufd theory seems to have pre-
vailed that II ls the owner Of the
land and not the land itself that Il
taxed. Large areas Of valuable
land have escaped taxation be
cahse the ownership was unknown
or because Of defective title,
That should not be pormittc,
to deprive the State Of It's reve
nncs. The claim of the state TO
its taxes should be declared b,
law, as Il Is logically, a first llcl
upon all the lands therein. lie
every acre OF land not exempt b,
law be taxed, and At lts fair valua
ton. II is the land that owes th'
state It's taxes,n0t any indivldualo
any number oflhdividnals claiming
II. Ifthe claimant or claimant
have not SUFFICIENT confidence Il
. their title 20 warrant them In pay
ing the taxes thereon, let ther
buy II In at tax sale and thu
get a good title. II they do no
choose To do that, then let III
, land 30 broken Into tracts an
sold TO others, In amounts sntilc
ent 20 pay the States clalle, r.
gardless Of ownership, whethe
I known or unknown---whether ii
4 title Is In litigation or not. Thu
/ should not prejudice the right
tho state TO collect iie revenues.
\ when some suUh system 40 thl
/ shall be adopted, there win b
1. practicail. an end to this sort I
I. tax evasion, aud II viii material
Q reduce the burden Of taxation
o a large class Of our people, an
o result ia breaking up many Of u
baronlnl possessions Of the Teri
tory and their dlslflbution amor
d people who VIII cultlyats and d
yelope them and make them mi
n uinry TO the general pr0aperlt
which they are far from belng no
IA
q The delegates to the Cihcinns
is Convention felt and sxptessl
e great admiration for the homes