North Park union., 1900-02-02
DO1NGs AT DENVER.
Iss..s Of Interest Ere. the City and ~
state Capitol.

Justice Mullins has held Charles
Harrison to the District Court on the
charge Of numbering Jacob Uhl. Uhl
was a patient mt the county hospital,
and while deranged was severely III
jured by Harrison who WINS a porter
At that institution.
Deputy Register O'Reilly Of the state
land board, who tx preparing list OF
delinQuents who hold land under the
certificate Of purchase plan, has found
that the sum due to the state Is $SS,'
600. Not all the delinquencies have
yet been discovered. About 1000 Ger
tificates are vet to be examined. w
II. Lawrence, who purchased under
this plan section S6, township 8, range
90 west In 1889, IN behind 5000 IN
payments. This represents balance
OF the purchase price. $4,000. ana In
terest at seven per cent. Money col
lected from the delinquents will ~
into the public school permanent fund
and the interest Into the public school
income fund.
The state has taken steps to prevent
the new Colorado Springs and Cripple
Creek district railway from entering n
railroad trust. In deciding Monday to
grant the road the right OF way across
school section In the Grassie dis
trict, the land bonrd voted to insert
a provision providing II the company
shall ever be directly or indirectly CON
solidnted with or absorbed In any other
line or system in conflict with the state
constitution respecting the cOnbina-
tion of parallel or competing lines
the right of way shall Herewith re-
vert to the state as though no right
of way had ever been granted. Attor-
ney General Campbell originated this
antitrust Idea.
Chief Engineer Cowan of the Colo
rndO 4 Southern. has returned from
nn inspection OF the work on the Grip
pie Greek Short Line in South Platte
canon. He says that the ground IL so
frosty that the men are making slow
progress. He does not think II practi-
cable to do more than complete the
working surveys before spring. The
survey ls now complete for eight miles
up from South Flntte station. and SO
far the construction presents no very
great difficulties. Rhodes Bros. remain
confident that they can prove In court
thnt the short line can he carried
and to this end have surveyors In the
field running test lines.
A million acres Of federal land may
be added to the possessions of the
state without any cost to 1t. and with
the accompanying benefit that this vast
tract will be irrigated and placed at
the disposal Of small householders. The
lnnd may he secured under the Carey
act. which permits ench state to nc-
quire 1,0O0,0OO acres of arid govern
mcnt land, merely by putting 1t under
irrigation. The present administration
will not secure the whole million acres
before the close of the biennial period,
but II Will make II start. This policy
was made known when the State Land
Roard granted the privilege to the
Henry Improvement Company 10
undertake the redemption and irrigu-
tiOn of 5000 or 10000 acres In the vi
cInity of La Junta. This action will
stnnd ms II precedent upon which other
irrigation concerns may obtain similar
grants. The title to the land does not
go TO the irrigation companies, but IL
nctunl settlers. II II should happen
In the course of II few yenrs that the
precedent established should result In
the irrigating OF the million acres
which can he secured from the govern
ment under the Carey net. the state
law says that land secured under the
Carey act shall be sold for % cents III
acre. II further guards the small
landholtler and the great middle class
of citizens by limiting the amount OF
land to be allowed one person to lGC
acres.
The state has been defeated In every
point In the suit Instituted against vii
lard l.. Ames and other county usses
sors to compel them to increase assess
ments five per cent. and to equnliZt
values In accordance with the state
boards orders. The Supreme Court
handed down decision "Wednesday y
morning In which the bench unanl
mously agrees that the Board Of Equal
ixaiion usurpt.d Its powers and wen'
entirely outside of Its Jurisdiction In
making the recent changes In the coun
| ty assessments. The writ OF mnndamus
against Ames and the other county
authorities Is quashed and the costs
OF the suit taxed up to the state. The
victory for the assessor IL sweeping
| one. Governor Thomas Is much disal,
pointed over the result of the case. In
commenting on 1t he observed: "The
decision leaves the state board prnc
tIcally powerless as eQuallzers. All oul
euOTte 10 llupIONe the AhuhSiui COuoi
| tion of the state are declared void. The
court says that our method In raising
assessments and eQualizing are Illegal
hut prescribes II method that has beer
| tried time and time ngain and has beer
found to be impracticnble. In fact, II
| IL absolutely impossible to carry such
an idea Into effect as the court recon-
mends. This adverse decision does moi
necessarily mean nm extra session OF
| the Legislature. There will be no extra
session II 1t cnn possibly be avoided
| The decision OF the court takes $4O.OOt
| from the prospective income Of the
state. The board increased the vnlun
tIons from 500, 3,OOO,O0O TO S213.OOO. 600
and four-mill tax on the increase
would have brought n revenue OF $40.
OOO. The main points in the decision
are given In the following clause: "Th,
state board has no authority TO revise
the work of the county board: there
| fore. 1t has no power to equalize valua
| tIOns between classes or kinds of prop
| erty In the respective counties. for tina,
| is a matter which the constitution con.
tides to the county board. In order
then. that the two boards may work
harmOniOusly. the action Of one not tC
Interfere with the other, and the xu
thOrity OF each, within Its own proper
sphere he supreme, 1t must necessarily
follow that the state board. In eQualiz.
ing and adjusting values. must deal
with the respective valuations as re