Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1909-07-10
JUDGE ABBOTT
HOLDS LAW
INVALID
Beaven and Grunsfeld Enu.
tied to Four Per Cent
Of County Col.
leCII0ns.
APPEAL CASES TO
SUPRtMt CUORI
Controversy Over Salaries De-
Clded In Favor OF Former
OfflCialS In Opinion
Rendered This
Morning.

Holding that an act of the territor-
ial legislature in 1907, fixing the sal
aries of county treasurers and asses
sors was in direct contravention to an
act of Congress of 1885, Judge Ira A.
ASo0t5 Abbott G6 y9!Pins rendered an
mer - John S. Beaven and
former T. Sig Grunsfeld are en-
iued.------s-----4" Of collections
.ns 49, the time thex
Leld NJ, Siste 81. 2 per cent as
hxed BY the Jaw in queption
Judge Abbott holdsS Fnat the legis-
latiye act is unjust IN that 1t was
made to apply TO Bsrnafillo county
two years in advance of any other
county and was repealed before L
went into effect In other counties.
District Attorney Klock stated this
afternoon that both these cases will
be appealed to the territorial supreme
court for review by that body.
Under the decision of Judge Abb
bott this morning is entitled to re-
cover $S,094.5a and Grunsfeld s12,-
s7a -2S---- Tha-- colets ont5isns y "A
follows:
OPINION BY THE COURT.
TERRITORY of New Mexico In the Dis
trict Court of Bernalillo County.
Territory of New Mexico, plaintiff, VS..
John S. Beaven, ct al, defendants.
S. Grunsfeld. Plaintiff, vs.. Board OF
County Commissioners of Bernallllo
County, Defendants.
(No. 7901.)
I
| to oe determined is, whether Chao-
ter 45 of the session laws of 1907 is
valid, as regards the rights of the de-
fendant Beaven and the plaintiff,
| IGrunsfeld involved in the causes.
In addition to the facts admitted by
the demurrers, stipulations by the
parties have put other facts on the
same footing and the conclusions o!
the court are based on all together.
| Briefly stated, the essential facts
are that the defendant, Beaven, and
the plaintiff, Grunsfeld were elected
respectively. treasurer and assess d
of Bernalillo county in November
1896, for a term of two years TO be
gin January /, 1907. AT the time Of
the election and at the beginning %
the term, the compensation of tn
county treasurer as fixed by law, wa
per cent of the taxes and license
fees collected, and OF the assessor
Der cent on the amount of taxes col
lected on assessments made by him
A few days after the beginning o
their term of office, the Iegelativ'
Assembly of the territory met for I
regular session OF sixty days, and ai
March Is, 1907, enacted the statute
here in question. 1t provided for I
division Of the territory into fiv'
classes for the purpose of fixing thu
compensation Of treasurers and asses
sors and that those officers should
lTeceive percentages on the collection
of the previous year. ranging from
two per cent for Glass A, which in
! cluded counties with collections o
100000 or more, TO four per cen
I for Glass f. with collections of les
than $4,000, II was also provides
that neither officer should recelv
more than $4,500 per year in an,
, county. even if the percentage pro
: yided for should amount to more thar
that sum. In the previous year ther
were four counties besides Bernalill
whose treasurers and assessors ha'
been entitled to more than S4.50
each. under the then existing law Il
view OF the steady increase of popu
lation and wealth I'm the territory
was fairly to be presumed that theI
pay would amount 20 more rathe
, than less, on the same basis for IN
1.-TWO years from January T. 1907 I
January 1, 1903. BY It's terms, tn
, act was to go into effect at the las
named date, January !, 1903, Pro
: vided. as TO counties OF Class thI
: act shall be in full force and eheC
q fIom and after the date Of its pass
age" Now Glass 4 consisted of onl
= one county Bernalillo, and its treas
. Iurer and assessor were the only oth
GERS i'm the territory to be- at once af
fectcd by the act
II WAS claimed in support OF IA
validity Of the act that Class
. might under its provisions have bee
q increased on the addition Of othe
o counties for the year 1908. That
II 4..s.a IN thu ,thar side hut the dc