Williams news., 1905-12-23

assets of the county, which is bein
 brought about as the result of ar other act of congress. to-wit: Sec tion A of the Act of March 8, 1891 (26 Stat, 1S95), authorizing tn creation of forest reserves" Unde this act the president has estab lished three vast forest reservation lying wholly or in part in Coco nino county, to-wit: San Francisc, mountains forest reserve, Blacl Mesa forest reserve, and the Grant Canyon forest reserve. The Sar Francisco mountains reserve, witl the exception of nine townships lies wholly in Coconino county; tn, Grand Canyon forest reserve is en tirely within it, and about one-thirc of the Black Mesa reserve is within it. The San Francisco mountains reserve comprises 1875, ,31O acres the Black Mesa, 1,65S, ,SSO, and the Grand Canyon 1851 ,52O. It hap pens that the San Francisco noun tains reserve is covered by the land grant made by the government to the Atlantic & Pacific railroad (now the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway), said grant comprising the odd numbered sections. More than one-half of the Grand Canyon re- serve is covered by this grant, and a small portion of the Black Mesa reserve. is in the saine condition. Inasmuch as under the law and subsisting contracts with the inte- rior department all these grant lands may be relinquished to the United States, which is being done as rapidly as possible, there will have been relinquished within the next two years ,449, 9,12O acres of land which has been heretofore taxable, but which, of course, can not be taxed after relinquishment to the United States. The relin- luishable acreage from the several is as follows:
 Acres. San Francisto mountains. 944.64O drand Canyon .......... 468, 400 Black Mesa ........ 46OSO
 1,449, ,12O
 The greater portion of this land las already been relinquished and therefore no longer taxable, and # course never can be again. The leu landsg granted in exchange have 'een selected from other states and erritories. The land so relinquished as realized the owners an average | $5 an acre. While it has never cen valued for taxable purposes at hat figure, it is safe to say that it 'ould have been valued for many ears at $1 per acre. Therefore the ( ne establishment of these reserves , as resulted in the loss to Coconino I 'unty of $1,449,12O in taxable roperty, the annual tax on which ( the average rate would be about V f3,473.6O. In five years time this a nnual tax would extinguish our [ onded debt of $159,0OO.99, princi i Il and interest, and leave a hand 8 me surplus in the treasury. It V i'll thus be seen at a glance with VI hat crushing force these two acts S congress have affected Coconino D unty. The validating act above O ferred to imposed upon it an un- r, st debt of about $1OO,OOO, and ts e forest reserve act deprived it tl nearly one third of the taxable ir sources upon which it depended to SC y that debt Itrequires no argu pl ent to show how injuriously this tt ects the remainder of the taxable le operty in the county, nor how of eatly it increases the burden of le \ upon it. at b. Another result of the estab- ar hment of these forest reserves de- sh yes mention at this point. From W. moment of their creation they fe, closed to entry and settlement eff der the homestead and desert tic Id laws, and the development of
 country ic fo that ovtont o.a =.