Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1895-02-06
OUR ruESrx LETTER.
vAriss. Interesting Matters from the
 Goath.

South.
 PHExIx, Feb. 2-[ Editorial Cor respondence - Although neither house has been in session to-day committees have been busy st work and members have had all they can do. Two bills have been in the house and one in the council pro viding for the repeal of the mer- chants license tax but they age be- ing opposed by some of the demo- cratic members, on the grounds that the territory can not afford to be deprived of the revenue. A lively meeting of a committee having one of these bills under consideration took place this morning and may result in the two reports being sub mitted. A compromise measure is however being talked of and 1t has many supporters, and that is the reenactment of the law repealed two years ago taxing billiard tables. | if the merchants license tax Is re- pealed it seems very probable now that billiard tables will be again placed on the list of licensable articles.
 Wright of Cochise has introduced bill which he had introduced in the last Legislature but which was killed, that is to sell out the capital location to the highest bidder. This has occasioned some little comment in the capital city, and has created some alarm in some quarters. it has not assumed 8 serious phase however in the legislature as yet but there is no telling what may oc- cur in the future. 1 see that the Courier has been figuring up the mileage of Brown and Martin and computes that they received S264-90 each. The reporter of that sheet has not had much experience with Arizona legislatures OF be would have learned ere this that reports of mileage commi tees, from which he figures are very deceptive. Just why it is that immediately on the eonvening of a territorial legislature a committee on mileage is appointed is one of the things do not under stand. The mileage is paid by the general government through it's disbursing officer, the secretary of the territory. The latter computes it from postal maps in his possession and the report of the committee on mileage cuts no figure whatever. This has always been the custom yet each legislature goes through the formality of appointing com mitteee on this question. For the benefit of the aforesaid paper l win state the mileage paid is not 90 csnts per mile but l5 cents. That the mileage from Prescott to Phe- nix, according to postal maps is l4s miles or 292 miles for the round trip hence it amounts to S43.S0 instead of the amount as quoted by it, or 8 little over S200 less than its figures.
 4 bill to exempt smelters from taxation has been introduced but expressions of opinions from mem- bers as far as heard from are not favorable to it, It seems that only one county in the territory favors 1t the representative from mining counties being specially opposed to it. The benefit of it to the county desiring it, if passed, would prove only temporary.
 l Yesterday witnessed quite an exodus from visitors from Phenix owing to adjournment of the su- preme court.
 Several citizens of Northern Ariz- ona have been investing in town lots in Phenix of late among the number being Col. J. F. Wilson who picked up couple of choice stray corners at reasonable figures.
 J. c. M.