The copper era., 1906-08-16
The Debts of Two Territories

in connection with the statehood de-
bate of the comparative Indebtedness
of Arizona and New Mexico. The
joint statehood papers of the latter
territory have indefinitely pointed to
the fact that their territorial indebt-
edness is somewhat less than ours
and they have declined to be drawn
into discussion of their county in
debtedness at all. Two Arizona pa
pers persistently set forth that our
Indebtedness is much greater than
that of New Mexico.
The Republican has hitherto not
regarded this matter as of the most
immediate Importance, there being
so many more weighty reasons why
there should be no jointure of the
two territories. However, we will
now present the indebtedness of the
territories. The figures are not only
from an authoritative source, but they
are the latest obtainable. They are
taken from 'The Commercial and
Financial Chronicle" of New York
for May.
The territorial Indebtedness of Ari-
IONA is S3,115,971 from which is to be
deducted $2,O75,OOO, the funded in
debtedness of counties, municipali-
ties and school districts. This sep
aration of the debt of Arizona is
made only for purposes of comparison
with the debt of New Mexico, which
is in different shape, no part of
the county Indebtedness having been
funded.
The debt of New Mexico by towns,
school districts and counties is as
follows: Albuquerque, $4,000; Las
Vegas, $67, 900; Roswell, $4,000; San
ia Fe school district, S2S, 200; Berna-
lilo county, 1862, 900; Chavez, 800, 900:
Colfax, $4,000; Grant 1925, 900; Guada-
lupe, $4,000; Mora, $1,000 Otero,
S57 900; San Miguel, $468, 900; Santa
Fe, 81, 151, 900; Sierra, $50, 900; Socorro,
S1S1, 200; Taos, $50, 600; Valencia, S97,-
30. Total SO, 500
1t is noticeable that the indebted
ness of many of the counties is a
In most of the counties it is not less
than 10 per cent. In Santa Fe coun-
ty it reaches the astounding height
of sc and two-thirds per cent. There
the Indebtedness is S1,115,OOO; the
valuation 81, 100000
To the county indebtedness of New
Mexico is to be added the territorial
indebtedness which has been kept so
prominently before us, of 1858, 900,
leaving a grand total of 81, 029, 900, as
against the S3,115,OOO of Arizona.
From the Indebtedness of New Next
co there is to be deducted a sinking
fund of about $4,000 and from the
debt of Arizona there is to be deduct
ed a cash balance in the treasury of
bout the same amount Thus the
indebte dness of New Mexico by this
showing exceeds that of Arizona by
about 100000.
But this is not nearly all. There
are two other classes of New Mexico
Indebtedness of which "The CONNER
cial and Financial Chronicle" could
take no cognizance and to which the
joint statehood papers have made
yaguest possible allusion. One of
these classes is made up of the rail-
road bonds of several of the counties,
said to aggregate about 100000.
The other class consists of the So
called militia warrants" issued in
an unknown amount. Conjectures
have reached as high as $4,000, 200
and recently a New Mexican paper
admitted as a matter of no conse-
quence that militia warrants had
been issued to the amount of some
thing more than one million dollars.
There seems to be no way of ascer-
tanning even approximately the
amount of his Indebtedness, but if
joint statehood should prevail the
amount would be known to a cent by
the time of the sitting of the first
legislature.
The joint statehood papers have
met referance to these railroad bonds
and militia warrants with the assur-
ance that they are invalid and dead
and that the statehood bill could not
breathe life into them. We know as
fact that men who are not ignor-
ant of the law think otherwise, since
last fall when the passage of the
Hamilton bill seemed probable, the
traffic in these old knocked-out bonds
became active and the holders of
them were identified as among the
most earnest advocates of jointure.
1t is stated that there was at the
same time as overwhelming of an
cient and dusty recorts in a search
for those long-despised militia war
rants.
The friends of jointure pretend to
believe that the following clause of
the statehood bill precludes the as
sumption by the new state of any
county indebtedness: "That the debts