Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-08-30
SENSATION IN TAXES.
Why Sheriff Cunningham Levied Upon
the Property of the CerrillOs
Coal Il Iron Company.
The Juana Lopez Grant and It's Rec
ord as Tax Dodger-An In
junction Against the
Sheriff

Last week Sheriff Cunningham levied
upon and took possession of the prop
erty of the Cerrilles Coal L. Iron com
pany and the Juana Lopez grant for fail
ure to pay taxes.
THE RECORDS
in the Office of the sheriff and collector of
Santa Fe county show very interesting,
not to say peculiar, state of affairs rela-
tive to these properties. As far as these
official records indicate there has never
been cent of taxes paid on the Juana
Lopez grant. The Cerrillos Coal & Iron
company's delinquent taxes for the years
1890 and 1891 amount to $1,155. In for
mer years this corporation was known
and taxes assessed against it under the title
of the Cerrillos Coal & Coke company,
and for the years 1885, 1886 and 1888 the
Cerrillos Coal e. Coke company's delin-
quent taxes, as per
THE OFFICIAL FIGURES,
amount to 5000, the tax returns having
been made by 7. B. Catron. Thus the
delinquency on taxes by the Cerrilos
Coal Iron company amounts to a total
of $3, 1874 In addition to the 25 per cent
penalty. For the year 1887 this corpora
ton, through its agent, F. W. Risque, paid
its taxes under the name of the CerriIlos
Coal & Coke company; said taxes
amounted to the enormous sum of 5000,
and they were not paid until the 26th day
of May, 1898, and although they had been
over due for
MORE THAN SIX YEARS
there was no penalty added, as the law re-
quires, and the settlement took the ma
ture of ga compromise" with the then
district attorney R. E. Twitchell.
The delinquent taxes due by
THE JUANA LOPEZ GRANT,
on which the above corporations (if there
are two of them base their property
title, amounts to $4,2S9S5 for the years
1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892 and 1898. 1t
should b9 here noted that while the Juana
Lopez grant was confirmed by congress
in the year 1879 as the private property
of 5. B. Elkins, 7. B. Catron and others,
it has never paid, as above stated, sin
gle penny of taxes, and 1t was never even
assessed as taxable property (although it
covers $4,000 acres of the most valuable
land in the vest until the year 1888.
Thus it appears that by system of
official tinesse and
POLITICAL JUGGLERY,
through connivance with Santa Fe county
officers of former administrations the
owners of this vast property have up to
date enjoyed absolute immunity from all
| taxation.
Yesterday afternoon the Cerrillos Coal
q Iron company and the Cerrillos Coal
Railroad company, through their attor-
neys, applied to and obtained from Judge
! Laughlln
WRIT OF INJUNCTION
temporarily restraining Sheriff Cunning
ham from longer holding the property
under levy and an order for the sheriff to
show cause on September 20 why such
restraining order should not be made per-
manent
The Cerrillos Coal & Iron COM any sets
up that it has given contract to the
cERRILLos COAL RAILROAD COMPANY
to mine the coal on its property, erect
buildings, coke ovens, etc, and that the
sheriff has no right to levy upon the Ger
rillos Coal Railroad company's property,
as he has done, they allege, because under
the law the property of new railroads is
exempt from taxation for a period of six
years. 1t is also contended that the as
sessment of the Juana Lopez grant is
void for all these years because of uncer-
tainty in description on the county tax
rolls, the same being listed simply as the
"Juana Lopez grant, and not in the name
of L. B. Catron, owner, or against I'M
known owners, and because also the
ASSESSMENT IS AGAINST THE GRANT
as whole and the property of the Ger
rillos Coal & Iron company as separate
concern, which would amount to double
taxation for the latter corporation.
Sheriff Cunningham has retained the
services of Judge H. l.. Warren and Chas
II. Gildersleeve to defend his action in
the premises and Hon. Frank Springer
will represent the corporations.
The sheriff says this injunction will in
no wise retard his action in forcing the
collection of taxes long overdue Santa
Fe county, he being guided wholly by the
official records in his office, his legal
counsel and by what he deems his official
duty toward the long suffering tax payers
of this community.