Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1905-05-15
FINANCES IN
GOOD SHAPE
Travelling Auditor Stafford Visits
San Juan, Chaves, Eddy
and Roosevelt Counties.
RAIL LR0ADS BUILDING
Rapidly in Vicinity Of Farmlngten...
Many Settlers Coming to Peess
Valley and Conditions Fine.

Travelling Auditor c. V. Stafford re-
turned Saturday night from a months
absence from the city, which he spent
on official business partly in San Juan
County, going thence to Roosevelt.
Chaves and Eddy Counties. He made
thorough examination of the &C.
offices of the four counties while ON
/ his trip. He found the records and
the accounting systems of the four
counties in good shape.
In San Juan County things are
booming. The Denver & Rio Grande
Railway has about fifteen hundred
men employed in actual construction
work on its new road from Durango
to Pennington between Durango and
Aztec. The heavy grading and cut
ting is now being done and when Mr..
Stafford left that county the grade was
practically completed to distance OF
about twelve miles south of Durango
and had crossed the New Mexico line.
1t Is expected that the road will be
completed to Pennington, distance
of sixty miles from Durango, and in
operation by September 1st. Many
settlers and home-seekers are now In
San Juan County and more are COM
ing. The price of real estate is ad.
vancing rapidly. The outlook for the
crops of cereals and fruit Is of the
very best. Indeed, the best he has
seen since he first settled In the
county in 1890.
A very gratifying condition exists In
the three southeastern counties of the
Territory and many new comers and
immigrants are arriving there. Week
ly excursions, consisting Of special
trains, are run by the Talmage Immi-
grafton Company from Chicago to the
Pecos Valley, and much is being done
towards settling up the country and
bringing people into 1t. Mr.. Stafford
states that great change has taken
place during the past year. He visit
ed the Pecos Valley just about year
|ago and since then 1t seems to him
that the population has increased at
least forty per cent, and that new
towns are springing up and growing
rapidly.
Among these he mentions the towns
of Artesia and lakewood. in Eddy
County, and the town Of Dexter, In
Chaves County Water is abundant,
the range Is fine, cattle and sheep are
doing as well as they can and great
crops are expected.
The United States Reclamation
Service engineers are doing much
work on the construction of the Hon
do Reservoir, thirteen miles from Rosr
well; large force is employed and
the latest and most improved modern
machinery, such as steam shovels.
|etc., is being used.
1t Is believed that the reservoir will
be finished and ready for use within
la year and about ten thousand acres
Of the best land under the sun will
then be ready for irrigation and cul-
tivation. Every acre of this land Is
taken up and in private ownership;
the owners are only waiting until the
necessary water is ready for irrigation
to commence planting crops. The
value of the land is increasing steadily
The city of Roswell and the town of
Carlsbad are growing at gratifying
rate. The town Of Portales is holding
Its own and more. The Pecos Valley
& Northeastern Railway will pay
taxes on it's property this year from
Roswell north through Chaves Coun-
| ty and on its trackage in Roosevelt
County. This will add about two hun
dred thousand dollars to the assess
ment of Roosevelt County and about
two hundred thousand dollars to the
assessment of Chaves County and will
be quite an item in the tax collections
of the two counties. The people of
southeastern hew Mexico are very
anxious that railway connections with
the Santa Fe Central be made between
Torrance and Roswell and that at as
early a date as possible. While they
are actually in New Mexico now, they
feel that they are out of 1t on account
of the time and distance required to
reach the central part Of the Territory.
the Capital and the towns In the Rio
Grande Valley from the Pecos Valley.
A few days ago party Of Santa Fe
engineers and railroad contractors
left Texico overland to follow the sur.
vey of the Eastern Railway Of New
Mexico, preparatory to letting con-
tracts for the construction work OF
this road. The town of Texico, which
is on the Ell Paso & Northeastern Rail-
way and on the Texas-New Mexico
line, is commencing to boom. a. much
railroad material for the construction
of the Albuquerque Eastern is being
assembled there and ~ construction
work will start at that town. tn ID
ture Il bright.