Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-04-16
How Brice and COler Have Load
ed Tt with Amendments Aimed
to Rob People Of Santa Fe
and Grant Counties.
RECORD Of PERFIDY AND FRAUD
Subst antial Reasons Why People Of
this County Feel They Are Neither
Legally Nor Morally Bound to
Pay These Bonds Reasons
that Ought to Weigh
with Congress.

The appended able, exhaustive and con-
elusive document on a sub ject of absorb
ing local interest, prepared by prominent
Taxpayers of Santa Fe county, has this
day been transmitted to Congressman
Samuel B. Cooper and other friends of
New Mexico in congress:
In the matter Of issue of the Santa Fe
county bonds proposed to be validated
by an amendment to house bill No.
1852, now psnding in congress.
Statement Of Case.
Tho original house bill proposed to
ratify the act Of the territorial assembly
of 1896, authorizing the issuance of Ger
tain bonds for the purpose of rebuilding
the capitol which was destroyed by fire,
and to build an addition to the insane
asylum, the school of agriculture and the
military institute, and to complete the
normal school buildings at Las Vegas and
Silver City.
There is no objection upon the part of
the citizens Of New Mexico to the passage
of the original bill (H. B. 4052.) In fact,
they feel that its passage ia q necessity,
as the insane asylum is now overcrowded,
and the territorial institutions are in
great need of the completion of their
buildings. 1t is to the amendment alone,
that serious objection is made upon the
part of the citizens Of New Mexico.
The original bill as introduced, having
passed. the house, an amendment was Of
tasssi ia the senate to validate $172,500
of the bonds issued by the county of San
ia Fe to the Texas, Santa Fe & Northern
railroad, and the bill was passed in the
ssnate with this amendment theretn; COM
ing back to the house another amend
meLt was offered by Coler & Co. to vall-
date $25O,OOO of the bonds issued by the
county of Santa Fe to the New Mexico 4
Southern Railroad company, and $4,000
bonds issued by Grant county for the Sill
yer City branch of the A., T. & 8. F. R. R /,
and>$5O,O0O issued by Silver City in aid
of said last mentioned road.
In 1872, the legislature of New Mexico
passed an act authorizing the counties to
issue bonds in aid of railroad construc-
tion, but expressly provided that
NOT MORE THAN FIVE PER CENT
of the assessed valuation OF the property
in any county should be issued to aid in
the construction of any one railroad and
contained the following proviso, to wit:
<
Hyidence of debt created in this act shall
/ be sold for less than par value, nor such
/ bonds or other evidence of debt shall be
paid or delivered to any railroad, or per-
son or persons for the use of such COM
pany, nor shall they be permitted to
leaYs the hands of such commissioners,
except on the certificate of the governor
that the railroad to which said aid has
I bsan conceded, has been completed In the
county where such aid was voted" See
section 27l2 Compiled Laws of New Mex
ico.) The same law also provides that
railroad stock shall be issued to the coun-
ty in consideration of such bonds.
Afterwards, in 1873, for the purpose of
limiting the power Of the counties and
municipal corporations In issuing bonds,
congress passed law expressly provid-
ing that no county or municipal corpora
tion shall issue bonds for ANY purpose,