Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-10-09
MUST FURNISH
INPOR NATION
officials Required to Tell the Num-
Der Of Deaf Mute Children in
Each County.
ONLY TWO COUNTIES REPORT
An Explicit Opinion by Solicitor General E
L. Bartlett School Officers Have a
Duty to Perform-Th Penalty
for Delinquency.

Upon the request of h board of trus-
asylum in this city, Solicitor General E.
l.. Bartlett has given the following
opinion:
Hon.. Benz. M. Read, Secretary Board
of Trustees of New Mexico Asylum for
the Deaf and Dumb-Sir: Your favor of
yesterday stating that you were direct
ed by the board of trustees to inquire
Of me what, if any,, remedy there was
against the clerks of school districts
and boards of education and the super
intendents of schools in their respective
counties for failure to report to the SUI
perintendent of the asylum the names,
age, sex and residence of all deaf or
mute persons of school age residing
within their respective districts, as re-
quired by section 4, chapter AZ, Session
Laws of 1899, is received, and in reply
would say that the section referred to
provides, ANY failure on the part Of
any person hereinbefore mentioned to
comply with the duties herein provided
ollull De uCtIIlCu Il IIIlSuCLIlCdllOl dIld
punished as such"
While there is no specific punishment
provided in this section of the act, Sec
ton 1855 Of the Compiled Laws of 1897
| provides that in cases of misdemeanor
in which no punishment has been pre-
scribed by law, the punishment shall be
by fine not exceeding 5000, or by impris-
onment in the county Jail for a period
not exceeding three months, or both, in
| the discretion of the court, and in my
| opinion this section is applicable to the
misdemeanor mentioned in section 4,
and it may be enforced by complaint by
any person interested before a justice of
the peace or by information of the dis
trict attorney, Or by presenting the
matter to the grand jury; and it seems
to me clearly to be the duty of your
board to bring this dereliction of duty
on the part of the school officers of the
respective counties to the attention Of
the proper district attorneys for the
chapter AZ, was passed for the benefi-
cent purpose of providing these poor,
unfortunate people with an education
which will tend to prevent them from
becoming public charges and growing
up with all the disabilities with which
they are afflicted. The law is manda-
tory, in which it says: st is hereby
made the duty of the clerks of all school
districts and boards of education with
in the territory of New Mexico to report
to the school superintendent, n n
and it shall be the duty of such school
superintendent to at one send a report
to the superintendent of this asylum"
You state in your communication that
with the exception of Taos and Rio Ar
riba counties these officers have utterly
failed to do their duty in these particu-
lars. 1t is not possible that there are
not in the other counties deaf and mute
children of school age, and this is prima
facie evidence that the officers have ut
terly failed, as you state.
I would suggest in the. first instance
that you notify each school superin-
tendent in the derelict counties of their
obligations under the law, in order that
they may in turn require the school
directors to comply with it, giving them
a reasonable time in which to act and
make the report to the superintendent
of our institution. al the expiration of
which time, if they still fail and neglect
to perform their duty as enjoined by
law, that o certify the fact to the
proper district attorney and request
him to proceed against the derelict Off
| GERS.
In addition to being subjected to the
penalties provided in section 4 of the
act, their conduct is in violation of their
oath of office, in failure to 10 their duty,
and would subject them to forfeiture of
their respective official bonds.
Prompt action in the manner indi-
Gated by me, I think, will result benef-
cially, not only to your institution, but
to the territory. Very respectfully,
EDWARD l.. BARTLETT,
Solicitor General.