Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-12-13

the legislative department WIN
mount 10 at least $4,000 per yeaI
ana that the printing expenses VIII
be verv elastic. especially II the
hnseas avn the favored printing es-
Here again appears
biq absolute certainty h a Legislators
viii be dishonest n corrupt. ~
provisions rs 20 the LEGISLATIVE q
penses and the sessions OF the ichi9
iatnro are such that il is Impossible
u 70 lfutate how much they viii pc
~, vear hut section . of article :
,,nts limitation upon legislative eX-
lenses for employees and oiIlcerS'
which will undoubtedly make suen
evpenses less than they have been II
the past. nan
100000 per ear OF salaries dio
fixed by the constitution, when huNs
heretofore been paid by the unlteu
GStafes Far the most part. This is not
necessarily the fault of the cohstllu-
zion btit it is Inaccurate. The gen
ern government has not PAID any
ike S100,0 600 of salaries ana eN-
penses for the territory. II now pasa
Tor salaries Of the governor, secretary
land Judges, $4,000, and congress has
. nproDriated, once in two years, ABOUT
4 SZ4. 2bO LOT leBlsidllNt NNpNtS nar
ing a total per year Of about 9o9's-o'
land this is all which we are to lose
III the way of payments made by the
national government.
2 sir. Fersusaon says the limlta-
Iuon az the tax rate is deceptive, pu'
he does not point out wherein the ~
~reption consists. Section 4 of artlcle
S OF the constitution provides lhal'
Tor the first two years under state
hood. the total annual tax levy for an
stafc purposes, except the necessary
l~levies for the state debt, shal not eN-
coed ~ mills and thereafter shall not
exceed 10 mills, When we take INTO
consideration the fact that there VIII
be necessarily some increase OF eX-
perse under the state government, ana
the fact that in recent years u levy
for territorial purposes has ranged
from II to Is mills on the dollar, II
win bc seen that his limitation is not
a high one, and with a better valu-
alton 81 property for purposes OF tax
alton, and with an increase IN the
amount of property in the state lnefe
is but little reason to expect that the
state tax will reach even these low
limits. In the past, there has beeh
nothing to prevent a territorial levy
being much higher, and yet We pave
seen. Notwithstanding all OF the pad
ness OF legislatures so wildly depict
ed by Mr.. Ferguson, the territorial
tax rate steadily diminishing, IS
there any reason to suppose that our
state government viii not be equally
Jealous in trying to reduce taXes2 MT.
FERGUSON SAYS, as to the 10 mill linz
~itation, that there is a large list of
exceptions Of purposes or payments
to which those figures apply thus
rendering the whole pretended hml-
tauon nugatory." l do not know what
Ia .- 49, 4hf. na No g11ah la roe
list of exceptions can be found in the
constitution. The only exception is,
as already stated, the necessary levles
for the state debt. He says that the
legislature is given power to invent
or specify other subjects of taxation
but his has no relation to the limita-
ton of the tax rate. The state tax
rate still cannot exceed the 10 mills on
the dollar. Mr.. FERGUSON imagines
that his will bring about the IMPOSE
Ition of an obnoxious occupation tax,
by which the calling of every business
man may be taxed. Admitting for tn
moment that occupation taxes are Cd
lnoNious, which is not at all certain
why must we assume that our state
legislatures viii inevitably do some
thing wrong or detrimental to the
public? Upon uoh assumptions a!
this, which are continually made by
! Mr.. Ferguson. it would he useless fol
7 us to attempt to have u governnen
[ whatever.
L.. Mr.. Ferguson says that section
} 10 Of the same article contains 'th'
t real Joker" because, as he says, Their
! is no provision requiring interest ever
! at d low rate, to be paid by bank
holding public moneys on deposit
!. That section provides that moneys no
2 invested in Understanding securitie
! shall be deposited. in banks, and tn
+, interest derived therefrom shall be ap
5 piled in the n prescribed D.
i law Here Is a distinct intimation t.
a the legislature that such deposit
, ought TO produce interest ana it is tn.
fact. of which Mr.. FERGUSON does no
seem to be aware, that, under the eX
listing law of New Mexico, which b,
section 4 OF article 22 of the consti
! tuition, is continued in force, ever
T bank receiving territorial moneys o
deposit must a interest at the rat
! of at least 8 per cent per annum, t
be calculated on daily balances an
credited monthly, and that this lay
|. has been in force for over seventee
years. The only reason for supposin
! that such interest will not be eXacte
in the future is to be found in M
= Fergusson's pessimistic certainty thu
! Ian state legislatures and state officer
: will necessarily be corrupt and di.
honest.
7 5. Mir. Ferguson declares hat tn
+, corporation commission is of no prat
y teal value because it has no power
cnforce obedience 20 it's oWn ORDER
He does not point oWt, however, an
proper way of giving such a power I
. such a commission. The interstat
+ commerce commission created b
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