Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-09-20

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open. Your public schools would run
ON half time, The penitentiary, the
hospitals and other territorial institu-
tions would be crippled. Territorial
bonds now worth at any financial center
over Il per cent premium, would drop
below par and the interest thereon de-
fault. The territory's credit would be
ruined. But Coors. great tinancier and
benevolent saviour of the dear people,
says: No; better let the bonded inter-
est default; better let anything happen
than permit the opportunity to escape
Of raising the value of county paper by
the passage of an illegal resolution; bet
ter to do anything rather than disap-
point a lot of county accounts specula-
tors and fail to keep party pledges; bet
ter to sacrifice everything rather than
compel lot of local spectators in coun-
tv Indebtedness to take their proper
place in the line of county creditors.
Why should the banks and corporations
be preferred? Why should county Of
ticials be preferred? Why should the
county collector have his taxes abated
so per cent, others 25 per cent and the
board of county commissioners theirs
altogether? Because you happen to be
county commissioner are you any better
than any other taxpayer? You took the
office knowing the condition of affairs;
why should you pay your taxes in vouch-
ers and dubious paper, and others not
in office pay in cash? Don't you know
that the law says you shall receive moth
ing for services as county commissioner
unless there is cash on hand to pay you
and all the rest of the officials? Then,
what right have you to pay yourself by
abating your taxes and calling the ac-
count closed? What right have some Of
the local creditors of San Miguel county
to receive 100 cents on the dollar for
their claims and the other creditors
~nothing?. There is no valid reason and
there can be none. 1t may be that the
board desires to deceive the people by
saying it has wiped out $50, 900 of float
ing debt and scrip is worth par. Stuff
and no~nsense. If the board had done
its duty there would be no scrip, for the
law declares that no evidence of indebt-
edneSS shall be issued unless there is
cash in the treasury to meet it, and this
has been the law ever since the Union
party has been in power in San Miguel
county and the board of county commits
sioners has clearly violated the law every
time it has issued any scrip or other
cash on hand to liquidate it.. Every
such evidence of Indebtedness as has
been received by the board in lieu of
taxes the law declares to be void, and
every dollar of the certificates and scrip
received by the board has been issued by
commissioners belonging to the Union
party or supported by them.
Every time you have abated, as you
call it, the taxes of a taxpayer and ac-
cepted scrip or county accounts or
other paper you have violated your oath
of Office and have defrauded the terri
tory and the people out of what the law
declares to be due. The San Miguel
county board has sacrificed not only
the credit of the county, but it has de-
frauded the holders of its bonds of the
money rightfully belonging to them.
San Miguel bonds have been in default
ever since 1894. Since The Union party
took charge in San Miguel county the
bonds have defaulted at every semi
annual payment. The board has wiped
out $50, 900 OF floating illegal debt and
in its stead there STANDS several years
defaulted interest on upwards Of $780,
600 of bonds. This bond interest the
taxpayers will have to pay in a lump
sum by a compulsory lump levy, the
size of which will take away the breath
as well as the cash of your citizens.
When this happens what will become
of your boosted argument and explana-
ton of eXpediency? What have you
Salheu U! your acGlon! "A llttle tem-
porary satisfaction to local county cred
itors and scrip spectators? You have
lost your credit and enjoy the reputa-
ton of being little less than rank repu-
diators. This is the logical result.
There also remains in the public mouth
something more than a taste of official
%rottenness, something more in the nos
trils than IL faint of corruption, some
thing which the balance of the tax
payers of this territory are demanding
must be probed to the bottom.