Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1905-08-12
new MEXICO'S LAND
HELD IN BIG TRACTS
William {. Curtis Says Its Admission as a State Is
Retarded by Extensive Grants Under One
Control Settlement is Kept Back
nv WILLIAM {. CURTIS.


cage hecofd-7crEiu.l
AiDuuucruHo, n. M.-Oue Of che
most serious objections 10 the admis.
sion OF Nov Mexico % the Union is
that e con-lio able portion OF the ter.
ritory Do hold To- large tracts by cor
pOfations AMI individual owners Near.
ly an on tho available water Is also
taken np, which gives the men who
hold Il the clutrol of ne pasture land
Tor league round them, and thus
shuts out IMMIGRATION and rctards de-
volOpment Tie Maxwell grant, which
included 900 aci os. a8 / wrote
you the Other day, has been largely
cut un AM old bat several other
large houits of land unite as import
ant are being held for speculative
prices By tfp owners. These grants
we're made I1 colonization companies
and individrl's OF influence by the
government u, spain. before the In.
dependence u. Mexico. and hy The lat.
ter guvpmwrnt after Independence.
90 reward public servants and mill.
tary heroes or their services. 10 pro.
mote colon lion and to enrich tho
favOritcs oi #ars0ns Ia power. After
the anncxa Hl Of New Mexico sew.
cal OF the ants were confirmed hy
our congros ind others by the courts.
Finally -.li tribunal was ap.
pointed TOD .n purpose OF investiEai.
Ing al clan Of this sort and de-
tormining fHa titles TO an disputed
lands in No Mexico ana Arizona.
That court Governor Otoro stated
iu his inter the other day. has
completed wo,k and has gone out
ot eyistenc. leaving no opportunity
for litigation RS 90 the ownership 81
land IN The $50 territories Enormous
r8cts werp .1ufirmod To- individuals
Who had UI1 little or nothing FOR
them, but v claims were rejected
iol every oH. hat was confirmed
The city OBJ AlhnquerQun originally
stood near .Ia center OF a grant OF
seven million lc2ef. made hy the King
%. Spain a. Ic Duke OF Albuquerque.
who was ore ul he fay0rifoa n humid
Irci aud fHr years aga or more. The
dukes OF thai name have hnen impor.
can't person e8 az the spanish court
o.. many C..f1rigs, In "a political. mil.
1ry and way They have been
very rich n have held enormous
r"'atos in l.n. They have a palace
To Madrid. which Is one OF tho show
places. and have ranked among tho
most loyal and powerful supporters OF
Ha rhfone. But whichever duke Il
nas 90 whom the big grant Ia New
Mexico wa given. he ga not show
lus Interest 10 his new possessions.
'i0 cover ala anything 10 colombo or
/ owe n. and from tlmo 90 time,
hH'" before and after Independence.
/ portions OF tHo same tract were grant.
{ od other persons without rcmon-
/ sifl from the Albuquerque family.
| Thu her gne matter came before
I conerOa after annexation, the claims
were u rufllcilng and confusing that
none n lem was confirmed and the
whole Tlnt was pronounced public
domain
sey.r Millions OF acres sounds Ike
very 1rge piece OF land, but there
I Ga .lrr one across the border Ia
the s,afa OF Chihuahua. II belongs
4 20 Don uls Teriazas, aud IL undoubt.
odly Oh. Rrgost farm In inc world II
contain bout eight million acres In
a solid 'ract: mountains, mesae aud
! prairie Us boundaries are one hund.
red AND fity miles from north 70
south lul TWO hundred and fifty from
east to vest, and the trains on the
/ Mexican Central railroad take more
Than BALI "a day 90 cross n. Don Luis
Terraza does not know how many cat
Tie he owns, but he rs believed 10 have
I somrtaHg over a million heal. He
brandt lum 100000 to 100000 calves
every Hr.ng. He Is supposed 70 have
someihug Ike 100000 sheep and
100000 b0rsea, and employs more tnan
one thousand COW punchers, shep'
! herds aDd bosses aud other cattle
men. De- has more than one hundred
ranch Iuuaos scattered over his
esiates each beng the headquarters
I of division covering anywhere from
/ 1900 .u 10000 acres. To has his
| own SLAUGHTER house and packing
plant near he city Of Chlhu hua, on
I the edE. Hf hla ranch where be an.
nually @ 250000 cattle. as many
sheep HHI a large number OF moss.
and sh. he carcaFscs 90 the capital
and the o.ler cities of Mexico, upon
his own ..figerator cars. he also
packs anI preserves O. great deal OF
beet, rH. and other moatE, but
handles HU animals THAT are not rails.
ed on D. own place
Don IH. lives in castle whirh
cost 2.NNHHI1 silver dollars. u Is even
more mu'asent than the castle al
Chepul although lt not go large.
hverytlW In q was brought from
spain M lives Ike one of the an
Client ba"us. monarch OF an be snr.
yeys; hI an ardcni supporter and
intimate nd of Prc dent Dlas, and
has seven, times placed his fortune
and his u.iro force vi men so the
prosldou llsposm. llo once offered
60 assume lie public debt of Mexico.
Ills fonaulaw. Enrique Creel. Is the
financial alvlsor of the admlnistra.
lion, and was the mosi active and In.
iluontlal 'urco iu bringing Mexico
around t0 "a gold standard OF money.
hetWecn thirty and forty thousand
people i've upon the estate OF Don
Luis, ami De controls tuolr destinius
with a power oven moro absolute than
The Gar oI Russia ever exercised In
hls domains
Fortunately there are no such con.
ditlons In New Mexico. The largest
tract Of land remaining undivided Is
called "Iho Mora Grant" Il lieH In
the northern part of the territory, en-.
braces 2,lOO coo acres, aud once be.
/ longod to "a FreDchmau named neau.
hicn, one of the original owners OF
the Maxwell grant. u was Inherited
by Maxwells wife and was purchased
from her children hy Senator Elkins
of West Virginia, judge CatrOn OF
Santa Ne, and their assoc ties, who
stlll own H. The land has not been
offered for salc. clthor ln whole or ~
part but ID Is leased IN large sections
ga MUuInnr raanNFUFu Zoe .naf.tun o.