The copper era., 1905-08-17
NEW MEXICO NEWS


 near Alma last week.
 The s7,4OO refunding bonds of Der nalillo county have been sold to N. w. Harris & Co.,, of Chicago, they agreeing to take bonds bearsing 4 per cent. interest.
 The sum of S5O,O has been ex- pended by the government in ma teriai and labor for the buildings and plants just completed at the Mes calero Indian reservation.
 F. G. Burns, foreman of the Wild cat mine at Santa Rita, was acci- dentally killed last week. He was knocked from the bucket by falling cross-head and fell to his death.
 Lordsburg is to have large new round house in the near future. It is to be built of brick and concrete and will be a model structure. Old timers will now see their fond hopes realized.
 Martin &5 Sloan, the well-known
  the western part of the county, have dissolved partnership, MT. Martin selling to MT. Sloan the formers in- dividual brand, known as the Mallet brand, and at the same time pur- chasing from MT. Sloan the latter's interest in the partnership brands, the principal one being H-Y.
 George H. Urter, appointed by the government to make a classification of the land embraced in the new ad- dition to the Gila Forest Reserve, north of Fierro, into agricultural, tim Der and mineral lands, and Super visor R. c. Mcclure visited that sec tion of the reserve on Saturday last and made the required classification.
 What came near being a serious accideAt occurred in the Copper Queen mine, being operated by the Hermosa Copper company, in the Central district. A drift was being run on the 200-foot level, when a shot caused an enormous body of water to rush into the mine from a subterranean flow. The pumps were utterly unable to handle the water, and the men made hurried escape, all reaching the surface in safety. The water is within seventy-fve feet of the surface.
 The people of Mckinley county are setting good example to the people in the other new counties in the ter ritory. They are going to build a court house, and are not going to is sue bonds for it. They will levy a five mill tax for court house building This will not raise enough money to build the house, but it will put in the foundation, which will be allowed to settle for a year. The next year an- other five mill tax will be levied for the same purpose, and it, with what is left over from the first tax will en- close the building and furnish it. The building will be of stone, which can be quarried near by. The build
 
 of the court houses in the territory, but it will be paid for, and undoubt- ed!y -2i1~ accommodate the county officers as well as the more expensive ones. A New Mexico court house un- adorned by mortgage would be worth travelling many miles to see.- Liberal.
 The courts are rapidly putting stop to the practice which has grown up in the different counties in the territory of the sheriff, collector and assessor. retaining per cent. each out of liquor and gaming license collections. Judge Abbott recently handed down an opinion in which he held that the collector was not en- titled to such commission, and last week in the Fifth Judicial district C Ourt for Eddy county at Carlsbad, Judge William H. Pope reached a like conclusion in the case of the Carlsbad Board of Education vs. the Board of County Commissioners on the subject of the county assessor to retain four per cent. of all liquor and gaming licenses collected. Judge Pope held that the act of 1901 absolutely prohibits any per centage upon collections and re- stricts the assessor to fee of but fifty cents for each gaming and liquor license. The results of the two decisions is that only four per cent. is properly allowable for com mission, this going to the sheriff, who is the officer who actually makes the collection. Under the old system the collection fees amounted to twelve per cent. The county com missioners of Grant county at their last meeting instructed the district attorney to proceed against the as sessors of this county who had wrongfully collected and withheld such commissions.
 H. F. Brinkman has struck it rich in a wolfranite proposition near Gage. The prospect has a queer history. It was located in 1882 by Peter Tonsend and Robert Cusack. The witnesses to the location were Wm. c. Kent and R. c. Barnes, the