The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-03-09
The Morning Journal Bureau.

The Morning urn Bureau.
Santa Fe, N. M. March 5.
Although its purpose was not to
bring out the facts in the case, but
merely reflect, if possible, on the
record of Governor Hagerman, the
house resolution calling for an in
v~estigation of the governors connec-
ton with the Pennsylvania Develop
ment company land deal, il which
1000 acres of the territory's lands
were handed out to a corporation at
SO per acre. promises to bring some
interesting, and to the people some
instructive results.
For some years past there has been
discussion among the people of the
methods employed for the sale of the
territorial lands. There LAY been
vague rumors of Irregularities, but
these rumors have lever taken form
sufficiently definite to show just what
irregularities had occurred. The re-
cent attempt of the machine leaders
however, to discredit Governor Ha-
german with this Pennsylvania De
velopment company deal, and the
present attempt to injure him at
home, has served to revive all the in
terest in these LAND matters, and to
bring out statements concerning them
lLOLl bbC pCOPIC III a pOoALAOh ~ hAiC"
which have never before been made.
The story is being told, for instance
of the Sacramento mountain deal
and the Bonham and Holt transaction
This latter transaction, which was
conducted for the purchasers by Mr..
Herbert B. Holt, the present machine
leader of the house, is as yet ncom
pleted, and is therefore of especial in
%terest, since the territory's lands in
this case have not passed out of the
territory'S hands, as vas the case in
the Pennsylvania Development Com
pany deal wnen Governor Hagerman
came into office.
The fact that the Goernor has re-
fused to complete this Bonham and
Holt deal or to allow it to be com
pleted, is said to be n of the chief
causes of the bitter fight Mr.. Holt
has waged pon the governor in the
present legislature. and il which he
has displayed considerably more OF
dignity han of judgment.
The Bonham and Holt deal has
been made the subject of an interior
department investigation and is set
forth in a congressional document
known as house document No. $50,
of the ifty-ninth congress-. For some
reason this document has never beer
made public in New Mexico.
The report of the inspector VINO in
vestigated this dea is an interesting
one and will peal careful reading by
every N who is interested il the dis
position which has been made in the
past of the public lands of the terri
tory.
The History of The Case.
1t hould be first said, for a proper
understanding of the report, that in
the act of congress which granted the
lands to New Mexico for use of the
various institutions, there was a
clause providing that not more than
16O acres of such lands should be sold
to any person. association or corpor-
alton. The effort to evade this provis-
ion, aften successful in the past, and
only blocked il the case of the Bon
ham and Holt dea because of the re-
fusal of the present governor and the
commissioner OF public lands, Mr..
Keen, to sign the deeds, is the basis
for all of the irregularities, Oh nearly
all of them which have occurred in
the handling of these lands.
II was this provision which was vic
lated in the case of the Pennsylvania
Development Company deal, in which
1000 acres of the territory's lands