Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-10-27
CATRON'S BEEF CONTRACT.
Remarkable Story Told by q Man
Who Does Not Stand Highly
with Mr.. Riley.

Las Cruces Independent Democrat:
When Candidate Catron made speech to
the people of Las Cruces he drew dole
full picture OF the calamitous effects of
the importation from Old Mexico of cat.
tie free of duty. Mr.. Catron knows
something of the results of running cattle
across the line without paying duty. In
the early sos, he and Mr.. Staab haG a
government contract to supply beef for
San Carlos, and they smuggled cattle
from Old Mexico, cheating Uncle Sam out
of the duties and bringing the cheap beef
of Mexico into competition with the beef
raised by honest stockmen in Arizona.
Customs Inspector Parker seized herd
of Catrons contraband cattle, and the
case came up in Ell Paso for trial.
According to Parker's statements, and
he says the records bear him out, Catrou
attempted to bribe him not to appear.
The case was set for 10 a. m. on certain
day, and Parker declares that Catron
offered him $500 to remain on the Mex
ican side of the line until noon of that
day. Parker took the money in cold cash,
and then informed the United States at.
torney, who thereupon had the case con-
tinued until pm.
Catron went to Parker and told him
not to cross until after o'clock, but
Parker reminded him that the bargain
was that he should remain on the Mexi-
can side until noon only. According to
Parker's story, Catron declared that the
$500 was to pay him for not appearing
at all in the case, but Parker stuck to the
letter of the bond and crossed the line in
time to appear. He and John Riley then
went upon the witness stand, told their
stories, and each swore that he wouldn't
believe the other under oath, with which
mutual expression of distinguished con-
sideraton the incident closed so far as
Parker and the genial Johnny we're con-
cerned.
Mr.. Parker, the gentleman who stands
so low in the esteem of Mr.. Riley,
also AYERS that Mr.. Catron was not con-
tent with feeding Uncle Sans wards on
the pauper beef of Old Mexico, but he
cheated Uncle Sam in weight. The re-
ceiving officer at San Carlos happened to
step upon the scales and was surprised
to see that he had gained about
seventy pounds in about twenty-four
hours. He was about to write
testimonial to the wonderful effects of
the glorious Arizona climate, but fearing
that it would sound like patent medicine
ad. unless strongly corroborated, he re-
quested a 1S0-pound friend to try the
scales, which, by the way, balanced all
right at zero. The lS0-pounder also had
picked up remarkably since dinner and
was in his own person splendid health
resort advertisement for San Carlos. He
tipped the beam at about 293 pounds.
The behavior of the scales was puzzle
until somebody examined the iron weights
that hang at the end of the beam and
found them to be hollow frauds. MIR.
Parker solemnly AYERS that the false
weights we're made in st. Louis upon the
order of the contractors and secretly
substituted for the genuine weights. It
is probable that MIR. Riley, who was asso-
ciated with Mr.. Catron at that time, would
not believe Mr.. Parker's story about the
scales at San Carlos.