Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-11-12
ASSESSMENT Of
PRIVATE LAND GRANTS
A Personal Inspection by the Mem.
bers of the Territorial Board of
EQUALIZATION Contemplated---
Additional Assessment
Figures.

Travelling Auditor Charles V. Stafford
has gone to considerable trouble and
some expense to compile a list OF the
land grants in New Mexico, securing
his data from the Office of the survey
or general and the United States lane
Offices. He has mailed this list togeth-
er with the recent able opinion OF
Judge John R. McFie on the taxation
of grants, to the members OF the Ter
ritorial Board of Equalization, TO
whom he will also mail a new map OF
New Mexico as soon as the maps can
be procured 1t is the intention OF the
board to divide into four parties, two
in each party, Travelling Auditor Saf-
ford being counted as member Tor
the purpose, and visit every grant In
the Territory to gain an accurate
idea as to it's value for taxation pur-
poses.
Travelling Auditor Charles v SAT-
ford has also prepared table OF as
sessment statistics in addition to tnat
prepared sometime ago and from
which copious extracts We're publlsned
nv the New Mexican. This new table
shows even greater inequalities in the
methods of different county assessors.
Take. for instance, the value OF I'M
provements on agricultural and graz
ing lands and in cities and towns.
Chaves County leads all the counties
with $5S1, JOG, San Miguel coming sec
ond with $579,5S9. Colfax is third
with $456,96o, and Grant fourth with
s456 ,665. Then come the other coun-
ties in the following order: Dona Ana
1922, ,967; Otero $289,223; Eddy $2S2 :
445; Socorro S250,565; Santa Fe,
s218,5O2; Luna $165,546; Lincoln $155,-
9s7: Union $153005; San Juan 1928
7O7; Roosevelt $104752 Mckinley
s1O2,O3O; Sierra $101,1 Mora 1884,
s57; Quay $50 25S; Rio Arriba $66,S02;
Leonard Wood $54,S56; Taos S5O,279;
Sandoval $43,51O; the rich county OF
Valencia being last with only $35,423,
or less than one-sixteenth OF Chayes
County.
When city improvements alone are
considered, the inequalities are even
more striking, Santa Fe County, for in
stance, with the large city OF Santa
Fe and many lesser towns and settle
ments standing near the bottom OF the
list showing that assessments in Santa
Fe, and therefore taxes, are exceeding
ly low. San Miguel with the city o.
Las Vegas leads with $523,110, the
data for Bernalillo County not being
available, because the assessor OF that
county failed to separate the items as
he should have done. Chaves with the
city of Roswell is second with $4O5,-
1903: then comes Grant with Silver
CITY $342,265; Colfax with Ration $9l4,-
215: Otero with Alamogordo $2O4,369; !;
Dona Ana with Las Cruces $143,63S; !;
Socorro with the city of Socorro $l29,-
1870: Luna with Deming $127, 74S; Eddy
with Carlsbad $116,370; Mckinley with
Gallup $96,515; and then only comes
Santa Fe with the city of Santa Fe,
Espanola, Cerrillos and other settle
ments, only $93,2S7; Lincoln $65,592;
Sierra $65,516; San Juan $4S.O2S;
Quay $39, 1862; Roosevelt $3S,669; Leon
ard Wood $33,536; Valencia $2O,93O;
Mora $16,65O; Taos $2,S02; Sandoval
$787.
| The following is the amount OF i'm
| provements reported on agricultural
lands: Union $153,oO5; Chaves s1S1
$50; Bernalillo s131,690; Dona Ana
s125.494: Santa Fe $125,215; Otero
sS4,S54; San Juan $S1,679; Lincoln
s66. .9O1: Rio Arriba $66,S02; Roosevelt
S66, ,O83; Colfax $63, AGO; Mora $5O.155;
Grant $49,l45; Taos $47,477; Sandoval
$42,753; Eddy $39,879; San Miguel
Ss8. $50; Socorro $11,845; Luna I'll
%: Sierra $1O,O15; Valencia $3.50;
Leonard Wood $4,000; Mckinley $S,
975; Quay $780, 1t is rather remark
able that the agricultural improve
ments in the small mining county OF
Sierra are worth twice as much as the
improvements in the large agricultural
county of Valencia.
Only fifteen counties report improve
ments on grazing lands. Eddy leads
with $126,19 and then comes Socorro
with $1O9,5 Colfax $79,285; Grant
s6z,255; Chaves SAILS; Quay $40
TAI: Luna $26,O45; Sierra $25,637;
Dona Ana $23 S35; Lincoln 3.484;
San Miguel $17,789 Mora SIT O52;
Leonard wood $17011; Valencia $S,'
674; Mckinley $1,54O.
The table also deals with averages
It seems strange tnat the average
value of city lots is less in Santa Fe
than it is at Aztec or In Mora. The
following are the average values Of
city lots in counties from which the
lassossmont returns were SumC1ently