Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1900-10-27
DOYOU WANT TWO YEARS MORE OF THE Open JAIL DOOR!
nurderers Condemned to be Hung, and Sentenced to
the Pententary for Various Terms, AL
lowed to Escape Through Grim
nal CareIessness.


speech delivered by Mr. e. C. de Baca
at the opera house Thursday evening.
The Optic will not attempt to COM
ment on it as it needs no comment.
1t was expected that Mr.. Spiess or
somebody else would attempt to ans
wer the charges at the Hammer and
Tongs club last evening, and public
notice was given that he would dis
pose of Mr. Baca's charges in his
speech last night. Accordingly T h e
Optic had a representative
there but not word
of explanation was offered. |
,OS--ffie contrary Mr.. Spless confined |
most of his remarks to abuse of "T h e |
Optic and the ALIENS" The peo
pie are not interested in the Aliens, |
but they are interested in the affairs
of the county of San Miguel and many
of themsattended the "H & T." club
last evening to hear the charges of
Mr.. Baca, contained in the following.
explained, but were disappointed.
To show that The Op-
tic desires to be fair and only has
the public interest at heart, it invites
Mr.. opiess, against whom it has moth
ing personally, but whose acts or fail
nre to act we believe we have right
to show up-we invite him to explain
to the people, and tender to him ,the
use of T h e Opt c's columns for the
purpose, the matters contained in Mr.
Baca's arraignment,th the onlylprovision
we insist on being that he shall con-
fine himself specifically to the cases
cited by Mr.. Baca.
The following is Mr.. Baca's ad-
dress:
"The authors of a certain pamphlet
make great howl and attempt to rid
icule the Union administration be-
cause they did not make enough
levy to pay expenses, thing which
was made impossible by republican
legislation in increasing official sala-
ries and creating large expenses. And
the same pamphlet congratulates the
people because the present republi-
can administration is running on a
Cash Basis. 1t is said by lawyers that
a witness who is false in one ms
.tance is as apt to falsify everything
else as not Now the writer of the
pamphlet says they have been run
ming on a Cash Basis. He puts a
column of judgments obtained every
year from current expense Deficiencies
and marks 1899 and 1900 in big black
face type NONE. The levy for cur
rent expenses for 1899 was $7,772. 1t
is claimed that 791a per cent. of taxes
were collected. The actual legal cur
rent expenses amounted, for that
year, exclusive of illegal accounts, as
follows
Contract Aqua Pura Co. .......$ 2,50t
Electric Light mot less than).. 1,20(
County Printer mot less than. 1000
Sheriff (not less than) ....... 5000
Probate Judge, salary ........ 6O(
Probate Clerk, salary ....... 1,OOs
School Supt., salary. ........ 1,50l
County Commissioners, salary. 1,50i
Assessors & Collectors Com. 48t
e9
IOIal. ........... ....... VIZ o.
The expenses of expert work, in
terpreters, justices. constables, sta
tionery, repairing, ETC.. not mentioned
will make the expense account ruI
above $4,000. But the author of thu
statement makes both ends NEE
with s6.079 collected, runs the count,
ION aCash Basis and leaves NONE
deficiency. We find him false in thi
instance, and the readers of the pam
phlet will take his figures Cum gran
nm salis.'l
He criticises the Union board 70
paying assessors and collectors CON
mission on county Indebtedness re
deemed by set of in taxes by tn
county. Further down he says tha
the assessor and collector would hav
refused to obey orders If they wer
to be thereby robbed Of their con
missions" # commissions were nc
due the collector and assessor wha
were they to be robbed of?
He very loudly states that the il