Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-06-21
MUST BEAR
TAX BURDENS
Judgments For De-
linquent Coupons
to Be Assessed
COUNTY BOARD APPROVES
District Attorney Cortner
Cites Decisions Sustain
ing Action.

A surprise was sprung at the special
session Of the Board of County Com
missioners today, when it transpired
| that the county assessor, acting un-
der the advice of District Attorney r.
{ CORNER, had assessed Bird s. COler
and &. r. Chapman, of New York, F.
| NJ. Hubbell Son and Company, of
Des Moines, Iowa, and X. W. Spier,
on the value Of judgments held by
them against the county, based on
coupons cut from county bonds. The
assessments are made for the past
| seven years, and the tax charge re.
| sulting therefrom against Coler and
| Chapman alone aggregates S53. .262-
| 49, exclusive of the amount that may
| be demandable On the 1907 tax roll.
as to which the levies have not been
made 1t will be remembered that, the
COler judgment was one obtained in
| 1900 amounting to about $l35,000, and
| on which a levy of 80 mills was or.
| dered by the district court The lien
of this, levy has been great draw.
back in the prosperity Of the county.
If the present action is legally sound,
! it means that the bondholders who
| have invested their money in Santa
| Fe County bonds, must, whenever
they bring their bonds or coupons
within the county, share the burden
| of taxation in the county.
Confident of Maintaining Action.
When seen by representative OF
the New Mexican, Mr.. Gortner stated
that he was confident of being able to
maintain the actions Of which these
assessments are the foundation.
Territorial and municipal bonds in
| New Mexico are not exempt from
| taxation like United States bonds
and securities, said the district at
torney. Money invested in bonds or
coupons, or credits embraced in judg-
ments such as those now assessed,
are just as much subject to taxation
as if invested in real estate, sheep
or other kinds Of property. J expect
to sustain this action OF the county
board and assessor by various deci-
sions Of the United States Supreme
| Court and of the courts OF several
states. AS to the Coler and Chapman
assessments these people have
brought their personal property, their
coupons, into this county, deposited
them here, taken judgment on them,
and used the machinery provided by
the taxpayers--the courts--in their
behalf; they are morally and legally
bound TO pay their proportion of the
taxes. II is hoped that every out
standing bond can be taxed. 1t may
take additional legislation to tax the
bonds that are held in New York, bur
| | believe that the Territorial legisla'
ture will and can provide that where
such bonds are not taxed in some oth-
er state, they shall be taxed here in
the county where they are registered.
In fact believe that this remedy OF
taxation, legally existing and in our
hands, will eventually solve the ques-
| ton of the bonded debt of Santa Fe
County. Attorneys who may be inter
ested are referred to the cases of Muir
ray VS.. Charleston, sc U. S. 1872; Hart
man VS.. Greenhow, 102 U. s., 672:
and cases thereon cited in the Notes. >
| The board sustained the action OF
the assessor In listing the coupons re.
ferred to above for taxaN~r.
The three members of the Board OF
County Commissioners were present
at the special meeting today, Chair,
man ]. Sparks presiding, the others
being Commissioners Jose l.. Madril
of Galisteo, and Jose I. Roibal of Nam
be. The matter of assessing the cou
pons clipped from county bonds sent
here for collection on judgments was
not the only important matter that
came before the board The cases of
Bird S. Coler and E. R. Chapman, and
that of s. S. Beatty in which Attorney
Il. d. IlcllcJdU lldS uCCH
special counsel, were up for consider
alton. 1t was decided to have an APP
peal or writ of error taken to the Uni
ted States Supreme Court in the Coler-
Chapman cases and to appeal to the
Territorial Supreme Court in the
Beatty case. resolution to that effect
was adopted as follows
Whereas it has been reported to the
board by "A. B. Renehan, it's special
counsel in the cases hereinafter men,
toned that in the two cases of Coler
and Chapman heretofore pending in
the Supreme Court of the Territory
OF New Mexico on appeal the said
appeal was decided adversely but that
a motion for rehearing Of said caus-
es Is still undisposed Of: and where