The Holly chieftain., 1899-11-03
DENVER GOSSIP.


little less than 50 600, 600 in round num-
| bers.
Two wrecks, fire and the fatal in
| jury of a switch lender, are the results
of a series of rapid incidents in the Rio
Grande yards a, Pueblo on the oath.
Edward Walpolp. the switch tender, so
years old, is badly crushed and will
probably die. Seventeen cars of an
extra soufhbound Rio Grande freight,
which was switching at Bessemer, got
loose and CANE down the hill into the
Pueblo yards at a rapid rate. They
struck a switch and crossed over the
northbound track. striking the tail end
of train that was being switched by
engine 5I3. Within 4 moment or two
thereafter n yard engine came down
from the BesSemer hill with twelve
cars of steel rails behind her and ran
bodily into engine 5I3. In the mixup,
the switch shauty in which Walpole
was sitting became the center of the
wreck. and either fire from his stove
or from the caboose started blaze
which destroyed two box cars and the
caboose. Tlie two locomotives were
1ammed together and twenty cars are
on the track. Walpole was dug out
from beneath the wreck and taken to
his home where surgeons dressed his
injuries.
1t Is an assured fact that the Ameri.
can Beet Sugar Company. with a capi-
tai stock of $4,000, 600. and now con-
trolling four beet sugar plants in the
United States, will erect in the imme-
diate future million-dollar beet sugar
factory in the Arkansas valley, a short
distance from Rocky Ford. During
the past three months this company's
experts have been looking over the var
ious districts OF the valley, and in their
recent report state that the Arkansas
valley Is an ideal spot for the prodrc-
tion of the sugar beet. and that 1t far
exceeds the land controlled by the COM
pany In other localities where the sugar
beet Is now being cultivated. ]. G.
Hamilton. vice president of the COM
pany. and j. \. Davis. Industrial agent
OF the Santa fe railroad, have been in
conference with c. b. Schmidt, agent
Tor the Suburban Land & Investment
Company's lands under the Bessemer
ditch, which are reported to be super
Tor to those of any other section of the
valley for beet cultivation Mr. Hamil-
ton states that as soon as 5000 acres
have been secured for the cultivation
of sugar beets work will be commenced
on the new factory. and will be pushed
so as to have it completed In time to
utilize next seasons crop of beets. Two
thousand of the 5000 acres to be select
ed will be under the Bessemer ditch.
The American Company will pay 81
per ton for beets averaging 10 per cent.
sugar. and 33 1-3 cents per ton for each
additional per cent, or. in other
words. heets averaging 1S per cent.
lriY
tests of sugar beets cultivated on lands
under the Bessemer ditch show an ay-
verage of IS per cent. sugar, with SO
per cent. co-efficient of purity. No sam
pies ran below 16 per cent.
ules ready by January 1st.
War will soon be declared between
the county assessors of the state and
the State Board of Equalization. The
assessors are now doing lot of think
ing and comforting in person and by
mail; and their leader, Assessor Ames
of Arapahoe county, will probably re-
sist the order of the board. 1t is all
over the order recently issued by the
State Board of Equalization to the sew
enty-five county assessors in reference
to raising the valuation of certain
kinds of taxable property, and lower
ing the valuation of other kinds. Not
but that, in the opinion of certain as
SCISSORS, valuations might be raised or
lowered without harm, where circum-
stances might seem to justify the State
Board of Equalization in taking such
action, but the assessors claim that. as
all the tax schedules must be ready for
the various county treasurers by JAM
uary 1st, it is now too late to make the
changes in the schedules because of the
enormous amount of clerical work in
volved, and particularly in the more
thickly settled counties. 1t is the gen.
eral opinion among those who are
watching the trend of affairs In county
circles, that the assessors will resist
the order and that, too, with consider
able vim. The total valuation of prop
erty in Arapahoe county has been
raised S2,SOO,0O0 by the recent order
of the state board. AS the tax sched-
ules, in number more than 5000, are
well on their way to completion, the
work would to n large extent have to
be done over again, II the state boards
order We're obeyed. 1.-The State Board
Of Equalization" says Deputy Asses
sor Brinker, has Just ordered, for ex-
ample, an increase of per cent. on
realty and improvements and Is per
cent decrease on cattle. You can read
lily imagine what vast amount of
clerical work will have to be done over,
for we have been making up the more
than $4,000 tax schedules since last
August. Some of them have as many
as 400 items which would be subject
to change" Assessor Ames is credited
with having told Secretary w. II.
Griffith Of the State Board of Equaliza-
ton that the boards order is unconsti-
tutional; and that at this late date 1t is
physically impossible to comply with
the order In season to have the sched-