The Coconino sun., 1902-03-15
RAILROAD TAX EXEMPTION.
The Bill Proposed to Make One Organ. ization of the Road -DeleeAte Smith
 Furnishes Inform ation.

| s. Clark and H. c. Hibben, clerk of the board of supervisors, last week, more concise information was obtained in regard to the bill introduced by Con. gressman Curtis to transfer the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad to the Santa Fe, and it is proposed to carry the privi- leges now enjoyed by the Santa Fe Pacific, one of these privileges being tax exemption on its right of way.
 On last Thursday Clerk Hibben wired Delegate Smith to advise what had been done, and received the follow ing reply under date of March z:
 Bill not reported to either house. Further hearing before house commit tee Tuesday. Immunities will not re- main in bill. Received your resolu- tions. doubt whether Santa Fe Pa cific has exemption. I don't like the bill. Will protect counties in every any compromise will be acceptable. They may possibly beat us."
 Under Washington date of March 4 Delegate Smith wrote E. $. Clark as follows:
 ''I am in receipt of your letter of re- cent date enclosing resolutions adopted by the board of supervisors touching the sale to the A., T. & $. F. Railroad. The bill which the railroad is pressing now before the committee is entirely different from the bill that they were attempting to pass last year. Their present bill asks nothing more nor less than that the Santa Fe Pacific may transfer to the A., T. & $. F. exactly more. They have made an offer to pay S15O in taxes mile on the road in case their bill is passed. have an idea that it is little dangerous to legislate about these roads at this particular time inas- mach as the statehood bill is progress ing nicely. I will appear before the committee on Saturday of this week and learn the whole case and let you know further about it.''
 On Saturday the board of supervisors called meeting to be held Monday and asked by wire the attendance of the boards from Mohave, Yavapai, Navajo and Apache, but all sent replies that they could not attend.
 The board ordered the clerk to send the following telegram to Delegate Smith:
 "In reply to your telegram of the Eth, am directed by board of super visors to wire you that Coconino county will be satisfied with Sl5O taxes oil each mile right of way for each year until territory becomes state, but want it embodied in bill. Answer action taken by you"
 If the facts are as stated in the letter of Mir. Smith to Mir. Clark, that the present bill asks nothing but the trans fer of the Santa Fe Pacific to the Santa Fe, and only that, there can be no ob- jection to the simple transfer when the exemption clause is stricken out, and there can be no reason to accept the offer of the railroad people to pay the modest sum offered as taxes, as the passage of the bill, based on the i'm formation contained in Mir. Smiths letter, leads the reader to believe that the railroad company will be placed in the same position as regards taxes as are the other railroad corporations within the territory, and that is just what has been contended for by the county. But there seems to be strong belief in the minds of many that the railroad will under the bill eYade taxa