Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-08-24
THE SUPREME COURT.
The Judgment of the Lower Court in the
Celebrated Elephant Butte Dam
Case Was Affirmed.
THREE OTHER OPINIONS HANDED DOWN

The New Mexico supreme court re-
sumed its adjourned session at 10
O'Clock this morning, Chief Justice w.
j. Mills presiding, Associate Justices
Crumpacker and Parker being present.
Opinions were announced in the follow
ing cases:
First National Bank of Albuquerque
VS.. Arthur M. Blackwell; affirmed.
E. w. Coggshall ct al. VS.. John B.
Bushnell; reversed and remanded.
Henry Lockhart VS.. H. c. Leeds, af-
f1rmed.
United States VS.. The Rio Grande
Dam and Irrigation Company; affirmed.
The latter is what is known as the
Elephant Butte dam case, and is by far
the most generally interesting to New
at this term. This decision stands as
another defeat for the national govern
ment in it's efforts to infringe upon the
rights which the people of New Mexico
and Colorado have to the use of the
waters of the Rio Grande and it's triru-
taries, and to pander to the interests
of a few political schemers and town
lot boomers owning lands on the inter
national boundary line at Ell Paso ard
Juarez, Mexico. The supreme court in
passing upon the case, sent it back to
the third judicial district of New Mexl-
co for further investigation on the point
whether the impounding of waters at
the Elephant Butte site would serve
naturally to decrease the flow in the
Rio Grande at that point where the
stream was admitted to be "navigahle
800 miles below Ell Paso. Judge Par
ker heard the case, and decided it
against the government, and the feder-
al attorneys appealed to the territorial
supreme court on fourteen assignments
of error, among them being one to the
effect that the statement of facts con-
tanned in the courts finding does not
justify the court in finding as a matter
of fact and concluding therefrom that
the amount of water proposed to be ap-
propriated and impounded at Elephant
stantially diminish the navigable ca
pacity of the Rio Grande within the
present limits of navigability. That the
court erred in refusing to reopen the
case upon application of the plaintiff
and to permit the obtaining of addition
al evidence to establish facts Necessary
to a proper determination of the case"
Chief Justice Mills wrote tha .sptnioni
II the case, holding that tn, < WAS 70,
Fr " the proceeding; - the lowe ,
court. and fully sustaining Judge Par
ker's decision. United States Attorney
w. B. Childers gave no notice of appeal,
and in response to reportorial inquiries
stated he was awaiting Instructions
from Washington.
In the case of the United States VS..
Haynes ct al, a Dona Ana county CT i'm
inal case, an order was entered modify
ing the judgment of the court in ac-
cordance with the mandate from the
United States court Of appeals, and the
district court for the third judicial dis
trict will proceed accordingly to SEN
tence defendants to eighteen months
Imprisonment in Jail. In 1897 Joseph
Haynes, William Johnson, William f.
Gilliland and Wilson Kountz, of Dona
Ana county, We're convicted of white
Gaping man named Clifford. They
donned masks, and with firearms ran
Clifford off of several mining claims
which he had located, thereby conspir-
ing to prevent him from exercising the
rights guaranteed him as an American
dictment they were found guilty and
sentenced to eighteen months impris-
but on no one separate count
We're they sentenced for more than one
year. The court of appeals decided that
under these circumstances they could
not be confined in the penitentiary at
hard labor, but rules that they shall
serve their sentence in the county Jail.
Formal charges against John D. w.
Veeder, of Las Vegas, for violation Of
conduct with respect to the
treatment of clients were filed with the
court by committee composed of
Messrs. A. B. Fitch, Summers Burk
hart and W. H. Pope, designated by the
court as such committee, and acting
with Solicitor General Bartlett, secre-
tary of the New Mexico bar association.
Mr.. Veeder was given thirty days in
which to file answer to the charges,
and George p. Money, of Las Vegas.
was appointed to take testimony in the
case to be reported at the next term of
court. ....
The court then took an adjournn ent
to January s. 1901, which has the effect
of continuing the present term to that
date, the day before the opening of the
regular term for the next year.
Including those announced yesterday,
twenty-five opinions have been handed
down at this session of the court. One
of the more important cases decided is
that of the United States Trust Com
pany Of New York VS.. the territory,
which involves the right Of Bernalillo
county to tax the roadway and i'm
provements of the old Atlantic & Pa
cific now the Santa Fe-Pacific railroad.
The lower court has twice decided that
the county had the right to tax, and
once the United States supreme court
has passed upon the subject. The de-
cision yesterday was again favorable to
the county and gave A Judgment for