Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-08-29
Deliberate Misrepresentation of Funds

Deliberate Misappropriation of Funds.
The board of county commissioners is
guilty of a deliberate misrepresentation
of the public funds in and by an order
made on February II, 1897, by which ii
appears that there is in the hands of the
San Miguel National bank the sum Of
81, 011.1 II which belongs to the county
of San Miguel. On that day the board
issued q warrant to the bank for'the
sum of $1,O11.12, the same being on ac-
count of a note given to the bank for
money borrowed by the county commits
SionerS. Who were the county commits
sioners or when this loan was negotiated
does not appear in the order for pay
ment. Will somebody please point ont
the law authorizing a board of county
commissioners to borrow money at a
bank in the name of the county for any
purpose whatever? The statutes may
be read in vain for authority to pay any
such obligation. Suit should be brought
on the bonds of each one of these coun-
ty commissioners to recover back the
amount so %wrongfully paid to the San
Miguel National bank. Explanation
may be attempted on the part of the
commissioners that this money was used
in some bond funding scheme, but the
fact remains that their acts were to-
tally without authority of law and are
necessarily worthless and void. From
all that could be learned, this bond
scheme was very profitable all around
except to the county and the bond hold
erS.
vUnrb $o,s %1.o H,ro1nd T,,.rv
Of course only a casual examination
of the record does not reveal all the ''rot-
tenness in-not Denmark-San Miguel
county" 1t will take a grand jury to
unearth all the fraud and official cor
rupti0n which has d%isgraced one of the
best communities of the territory during
the past four years. In the limited time
at my disposal every suspicious entry
could not be run down, and as the only
ource of information was the record, or
some official who would have failed to
answer any question put regarding such
entries, of which many were %encount-
cred, in a direct or satisfactory manner,
it is impossible to tell the half of what
should be known by the taxpayers of the
county, What is needed in San Miguel
county at the present time is a grand
jury that is not afraid of or under the
control of the "boss." The matters
given light in this statement of facts are
clear violations of law, and the perpetra-
tors should be removed from Office for
the good of the county. There are also
statutes, with penalties amounting to
fines and imprisonment, which could be
called into play with considerable salts
faction to the people living outside of
San Miguel county, as well as in, who
desire that that county should pay its
just proportion of taxes.
They Took the Situation as They
Found It.
1t is true that the corporations and
some of the rich citizens of San Miguel
county have escaped their just proper
ton of the burden of taxation, through
the unlawful acts of H. G. Coors, Petro-
milo Lucero and CatarinO Romero, the
chairman and members of the board of
county commissioners, but no blame can
be attached to the corporations and to
these men. The board of commissioners
has placed a premium upon tax lodging,
openly, almost, invited the payment of
taxes in script and accounts. in violation
of the law and for their own benefit have
looted the county treasury by the abate-
ment of taxes, reductions of assessments
and fraudulent issuance of warrants.
The citizen who would fail to take ad-
vantage of the opportunity offered would
be guilty of short s~ightedness and fool
ishness. Upon no one rests the igno-
miny, the shame and disgrace other than
the board of county commissioners.
That such things as shown In the fore
going statements, taken from the pages
of the commissioners record, could
transpire in the years mentioned seems
almost beyond belief, but the record
shows for itself, and more conclusive
evidence can not be produced.
The New MEXICAN accepted the inyi-
tation to examine the records of the
board Of county commissioners of r.,ac
Miguel county, and a small MT of the
results Of that examinat,o has been
set before the taxpayers of the county
IN the above article. Now then, will
tne taxpa.yyers Of the county permit them
secs " be longer robbed by retaining
| officials who have violated the laws of
the territory, disgraced the territory and
who deserve punishment for their acts,
or by electing men Of like stamp on the
Union ticket at the coming election.
OTTo l.. RICE,