Mohave County miner., 1906-08-04
The Debts of Two Territories.


Much has been written and spoken
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 a
discussion of their county indebted
ness at all. Two Arizona papers per-
sistently set forth that our indebted
ness is much greater than that of New
Mexico.
The Republican has hiterto not re-
garded this matter as of the most i'm
mediate importance, there being so
many more weighty reasons why there
should be no jointure of the two ter
ritories. However, we will now pre-
sent the indebtedness of the territor-
les. 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-
zona is 3.ll5,97IS from which is to be
deducted 2,075, ,OOOS, the funded indebt-
edness of counties, municipalities and
school districts. This separation 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 indebt-
ednesss having been funded.
The debt of New Mexico by towns,
school districts and counties is at fol-
lows: Albuquerque, ll6, ,0O0S: Las We
gas. 67.OOOs: Roswell, 39,90OS; Santa
Fe school district, 2S,000S; Bernalillo
county. 362. .6OOS: Chavez, 53.OO0S: Col
fax. 79.OOOs; Grant, 22S,00jS: Guade-
lupe. 5.O00S: Mora, 90,00OS; Otero. 81
COOS: San Miguel, 46S, ,00OS: Santa Fe,
l.l5l .OOOS: Sierra, 55,000S: Socorro,
ISI. zoos: Taos, 50,OOOS: Valencia 81
3OOS. Total 3,l76,5OOS.
1t is noticeable that the indebted
ness of many of the counties is high
per cent of the total valuation. In
most of the counties it is not less than
10 per cent. In Santa Fe county 1t
reaches the astounding height of 66
ana two-thirds per cent. There the
Indebtedness is 1,1l5, ,O0O$; the valua-
tion 1,75O,O00S.
To the county Indebtedness of New
Mexico is to be added the territorial
Indebtedness which has been kept so
prominently before US, of S53.O)OS,
leaving a grand total of 4,029, ,OO0S, as
AGAINST the 3.lI5.O00s of Arizona.
From the Indebtedness of New MeXi-
co there is to be deducted a sinking
fund of about S0,0OOS and from the
debt of Arizona there is to be deduct
ed a cash balance in the treasury Of
about the same amount. Thus the in
debtedness of New Mexico by this
showing exceeds that of Arizona by
about 500, ,000S.
But this is not nearly all. There are
two other classes of New Mexico in
debtedness of which 'The Commercial
and Financial Chronicle" could take
no cognizance and to which the joint
statehood papers have made the vag-
uest possible allusion. One OF these
classes is made up of the railroad
bonds of several of the counties, said
to aggregate about 9OO,OOO$. The 9TH
er class consists of the so-called mil
itia warrants issued in an unknown
amount. Conjectures have reached as
high as 1000, ,OO0$ and recently New
Mexican paper admitted as matter
of no consequence that militia war
rants had been issued to the amount
of something more than one million
dollars.