Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1905-07-14

his shipment Of yearllngs consisted OF
two classes OF cattle, short yearlings
and long yearlinRs, practically two
years calf crop. This was authenticat.
ed, and the raise was cut down to 800
head, Just twice the number that had
been returned. Uncle Dick Roberts
was raised from 1900 to 1000 head. He
bired a lawyer TO tell the board what
a great mistake IL had made, but the
board was not convinced by the at
tOrneY's eloquence, and sustained the
raise. Uncle Dick told the board that
he bad been 10 the county for twenty
years, and his return had been raised
nineteen times, aud that every time
he had bad the raise cut down. The
board told him that he would have a
new experience this time. He took
an appeal to the territorial board Of
equalization. The Baker Brothers,
who live south Of here, and who are
known TO have many more cattle ttau
they ever returned, we're raised from
1900 TO 400 head. They Insisted that
this was a grave error, even under the
basis on which the board was dguring
the number OF cattle a man owned.
They explained to the board that
while the cattle were known as the
Baker Brothers cattle, yet many OF
them we're owned Individually by the
different brothers. They gave the
figures showing how one brother had
shipped so many yearlings, another so
many, and so on down the list. When
the total was figured up IL was seen
that the raise should have been made
to 444S head Instead of 4400, and so
the commissioners took the Baker
Brothers wi figures and made the
raise to 444S head. They also took an
appeal to the territorial board. John
Muir, who also has a constitutional
objection to paying taxes on all the
cattle he owns, was before the board
complaining that he had no such a
number OF cattle as they gave him
credit for, but when he was offered
market price for his herds, and the
count was to be twenty-five per cent
more than the number the board gave
him credit for, he could not be induced
to sell. The chairman Of the board,
the Hon. ]. Q. Cureton, who lives In
one commissioned district, and repres-
ents another, did not want to have a
hand ia the trouble, and so was abb
sent. The other commissioners thought
that "Uncle John" ought to pay more
taxes, and so raised his assessment
$50 head OF cattle. The official pro-
ceedings of the board will be printed
Ia the Silver City Independent, and
there will be found a list Of all those
who were raised. There were several
raises that >where not sustained.
When the board found a company oil
individual who was evidently trying
TO do what was right, and made a fail
return the return was allowed Il
stand. This was the case with the
X. T. company. It's return was raised
at the June meeting. Its manager
told one OF the commissioners that his
company always wanted to do what
was right, the company had had big
losses last year, but notwithstanding
this be would not appear before the
board, and he would not kick, espe.
cially if the board sustained the raises
made on some Of the notorious tax
dodgers. The board applied the same
rule TO this company IL had applied to
the others, and did not sustain the
raise. II it had been legal to do SC
it would have cut down the return
made by the company, for the returns
did not show that they had as many
cattle as they told the assessor they
had,