Arizona republican., 1910-07-10
The County of GreenIee.

The legislature Of last year enacted a law creating the county of Green lee out of aportion of the territory embraced within the lines of Graham county. The act provides for the first election of county officers of the new county to be held at the time of the general election of 1910. Governor Sloan has issued a procla- nation ordering an election of off cers for the new county, to be held on the Sth of November of this year
 But inasmuch as there is to be no
 general election" in Arizona this year, the Graham Guardian, of Saf- ford, raises the question as to whether the act providing for the creation of Greenlee county remains in force. That paper suggests the possibility that 1t may be found nec- essary for the state legislature of Arizona to enact further legislation before Greenlee county can be start ed upon its rejoicing way. It also points out that the law creating Greenlee county provides that the of supervisors who happens to reside within the boundaries of the new county shall be a member of the board of supervisors of Greenlee county; and since the statehood en- abling act provides that all county of ficers elected in 1908 shall continue to serve until the state election. a re- quest Is made for statement of the status of the Graham board after the organization of Greenlee county. Will there be a vacancy in the board of supervisors of that county, not withstanding the dictum of the en- abling act that all officers shall re- main?. The Guardian also. mentions that the governors proclamation fails to order a vote on the question of the county seat of Greenlee county. but we do not think it was necessary for the governor to refer to the choice of county seat in his proclamation. The law merely saws that at said election the voters of said Greenlee lots the place of the county seat of said county" and if the law is in force its provisions in this respect do not see into require an order from the governor to make them effective.
 On the whole, however, there may be some business for the lawyers be- fore it is determined whether the or ganization of Greenlee county is in- terfered with by the statehood enabl- ing act
 Neither the Graham Guardian nor any other paper in Graham county, so far as we are aware, has referred to a question connected with the divis ion of that county which seems to us far more important than any that have been suggested. We refer to the question of the county indebtedness The law creating the new county provides that it shall assume its due proportion of the legal bonded in debtedness of Graham county" Now it so happens that Graham county has no legal bonded indebtedness" exclusive of school district bonds, al though the county Is indebted to the territory in the sum of s146,000; the territory having taken up the bonds of the county in that amount, charg ed the county therefor on the books of the territorial treasurer, and issued its own bonds in payment of the in debtedness. Time and again the act in it's reference to the adjustment of obligations between the two counties describes the debt as the legal bonded indebtedness" of Graham county. How Greenlee county can be made to assume any portion of the debt of s146, 900 owed to the territory by Graham county is a question that undoubtedly will have to be set tied in the courts.