Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-03-26
THE BOND QUESTION
The Validity of a Certain Portion Of
Santa Fe County Bonds Is
Contested,
HEARING BY JUDGE M'FlE
The Question Has Been Submitted On
Briefs and Was Argued In Court Sat-
urday-A Decision Will Be
Given Soon.

The question of the validity of a por-
ton of the Santa Fe county bonds, or
the point recently raised by District At
torney Gortner, came up for hearing on
Saturday, and was argued before Judge
| McFie in the case of the Territory eX
rel. Elston VS.. Board of County Com
missioners. Gen. f.. l.. Bartlett APP
peared for the relator, and a writ of
mandamus was sought to compel the
county board to make a tax levy to
meet the overdue interest coupons held
by relator, amounting to some $1,40O.
The act of congress of January Is,
1897, which seeks to validate the partic-
ular indebtedness in question in this
suit, is in part as follows:
ALSO, the certain bonds and indebt-
edness, $172, 500 in amount, together with
the interest coupons thereto attached,
of the county of Santa Fee, Territory of
New Mexico, dated March /, 1892, issued
under the provisions of an act of the
territorial general assembly known as
the refunding act; such bonds having
been issued in refunding and in lieu of
$780, 900 of bonds and the overdue inter-
est thereon, of said county of Santa Fe,
heretofore issued and outstanding, are
hereby validated, approved and con
firmed."
1t appears by the records that the is
sue of March l, 1892, amounted to $17S,-
600, and not to the amount set forth
above. The district attorney insists
that the entire issue, not having been
validated, a portion remains invalid,
under the familiar principles of the Pr
ma county (Arizona) case, as an
nounced in 1855 U. S., "a, the indebted
ness not having been created for inter-
nal improvement, and being in excess of
the power of the municipality to indebt
itself. That the burden is on the relat-
or in this case, as it will be in every
case brought on these same facts, to
show that his particular bonds and
coupons are a portion of the $172, 500 val
dated or attempted to be validated by
| congress-; and the answer to the man.
damus, as made by the district attor-
ney, denies that the coupons and bonds
sued on are a portion of that $172. 500. IT
will be readily seen that if the conten-
ton made is correct, it will always be
impossible for any holder of bonds OF
coupons of this issue to prove that his
particular bonds and coupons are valid,
Six thousand hundred dollars Of the
issue remains unvalidated at all events,
and no n al say to which block or
portion his bonds and coupons belong.
On the other hand, General Bartlett, for
the relator, suggests that the intent of
congress was to legalize the entire issue,
and that the expression of the amount
was by way of description only, and can
be rejected az s%urplusage. But it is
doubtful whether the courts can over
look this specific language in the act
expressing the amount of the indebt-
edness in question before congress.
Briefs have been filed by General Bart
lett and District Attorney Gortner In
support of their contentious, and the
matter will be taken up for careful con-
sideration by Judge McFie as soon as
the present term of court is over.