Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-03-28
WORK is DONE.
Territorial Grand Jury Made Its
Final Report Yesterday.
SHOWER OF BOUQUETS.

We, the grand jury. selected at tnls
March term of the district court for
Bernalillo county, to inquire as to Of
lenses against the laws of the territory
of New Mexico. having concluded our
labors, respectfully submit our final re-
port:
Wehave been in session and actually
engaged in the investigation of mat
tiers coming before us, on nine days.
during which time we have considered
80 cases. in 10 of which we have pre-
scented indictments. We have also
made presentments to the court of no
bills of eight cases in which the de.
PENDANTS were either in custody or un-
der bond to appear. and in which, in
our judgment. the evidence was insult
ficient. No presentments have been
made in the other cases because, while
we were unable to find true bills
against the defendants. yet as they
were not in custody or under bond to
appear, it appeared unnecessary and
undesirable to cucumber the records of
the court with any reference to them.
To make a public record of the fact
that a man has been even accused of
crime. might work a great injustice to
him. although il should also appear
that the grand jury refused to indict
him.
We are informed that the amount of
business brought before us is much less
than has been usual in this county int
we cannot refrain from calling atten-
tion to the fact, and congratulating
the county upon the marked diminu-
ton of crime. It is also noticeable that
we have had but few crimes of violence
to investigate. not including even q sin
gle case of homicide, and that the
greater part of the offenses for which
been committed by non-residents OF
our county and not by those who may
be considered our own people.
We have made examination of the
various county Offices and find nothing
to criticize in their conduct and man
agement, but on the contrary. we be
lieve that there has been marked i'm
provement in the conduct of all the
county offices. and that the present
officials are to be highly commended.
We call special attention to the office
of county superintendent of schools
and the condition of the schools
throughout the county. We learn that
a most excellent corps of teachers has
been employed during me present
school year. and that almost every
school district in the county now has
it's own public school building, and
that within a short time there will be
no district without such q building.
The records of the office are in excel
lent condition, and the superintendent
has been active and energetic in the
discharge of his duties.
We find the Office of the sheriff one
of the most pleasant and attractive in
the county court house, and that the
duties of the sheriff are promptly and
efficiently discharged, and all records
of his business carefully and accurate.
ly kept, for which special credit should
be given to the excellent chief deputy
Mr.. G. E. Newcomer, as we'll as to the
sheriff himself.
We find that in the Office of the pro,
bate clerk and county recorder, great
improvements have been, and are still
being made in the methods of keeping
the files and records, and when these
are fully completed, we believe the of
flee will be a model one. Our informa
ton is that already it is the best ar
ranged and best conducted office of its
kind in New Mexico.
In the Office of the assessor, we find
an efficient and industrious corps of as
oicIobto WV appear W DC cal htoliy Ch
gagged in an effort to improve the con
dition of the assessment of property in
our county-a matter of the utmost i'm
portance to the public welfare. In this
connection, we desire to recommend tC
the county commissioners that better
provision shold be made for the pre-
servation, in easily accessible shape, Of
the great mass of assessment returns
now in the Office of the probate CLERK
and the assessor. While these returns
have been carefully kept, yet they are
not. and cannot with the present facil
tiles be. so arranged as to enable ont
easily to find any particular return
made. in past years.
We have made In examination of tn
county jail and while it is as we'll KEEP
and the prisoners as well taken care O
as circumstances will permit, yet W
cannot find language strong enough t
characterize the inhumanity of col
filming so many persons in such inaC
equate quarters. In saying this, W
must not be understood as finding an
fault with the sherl. who has charg
of the Jail. He has done the best POI
sible with the facilities at his comman
We found 29 persons confined in
space which would be insufficient 70
one-third of the number, and we ar
told that the number is often niue
larger. Cleanliness and the ordinar
decencies of life are impossibilitie!
Youthful offenders and hardened erin
inals are necessarily huddled together
The spread of contagion, both mora
and physical, is certain.
We recommend most earnestly to n
county commissioners that measure
be taken for the enlargement of the ia
and such an arrangement of it's int
ior as will permit the proper separ;
ton of those who are confined /
the Jail. He has done the best pc
sible 10 confine different grades an
classes of prisoners in separate qua
tiers.
We invite the attention of the count
authorities to the case OF a youthfl
prisoner confined as a pauper lunati
We are informed that his family ca
provide for ais support at the teri
torial asylum, and they should be +
nnfrad m do On thnc raliaving tho oo,