The copper era., 1911-04-28
AFFAIRS AT WASHINGTON.
Current News of the Week and Events of Importance in Which AriZ Z'na
 Fixtures.
(Special to the ERAl

Especial to the ERA
 Washington, D. C., April 24.-Dele
 gate Cameron has introduced a bil
 which proposes to regulate the tax
 ation of the Santa Fe Railroad. The
 Delegate asserts that this corporation
 has been unduly favored in the Ter
 ritory of Arizona and that in the list
 of tax dodgers of the country, il stands out as shining example. Ii
 appears that the road was given ar
 enormous land grant, and that by clever manipulation of it's affairs
 these great land holdings reverted
 back 10 the Government. payment
 being made to the Santa Fe in Govern ment scrip. This scrip was i'm mediately disposed of at a price
 which greatly enriched the stock holders of the road. This would not have been so bad had the story ended there. But, not content with this rich legacy from the Government, the builders of the road secured ex- emptions from the Government which resulted in a valuation last year upon the railroad property of the company in the Territory, amounting to S2 ,507, 65l.84. At the same time the Terri torial Board of railroads found that the Santa Fe Railroad had in opera ton last year 387 miles of road upon which an assessment of SI5, 100000 per mile should be paid and this amount,
 f it could have been collected, would nave made the valuation S5.sOl 10000, out owing to the beneficence of the Government, the valuation was re- duced in accordance with the Federal Law to S2, ,507 66l S4 In view of these port of the Governor of Arizona for the year ending June 10, 1910, it ap- pears that there is sound logic in the contention made by Mir. Cameron to the effect that this railroad is paying less than one-half of the taxes into the Territory to which the Terri torial Government is entitled, to say nothing of the closed book relating 10 the land grant scrip. The bill in troduced by Mir. Cameron and which will be vigorously put forward with the hope ofsecuring favora ble'actiOn at the present session of Congress, particular railroad shall be assessed in the same manner and 10 the same extent as other like properties situat- ed in the Territory. In substan. tiation of these claims, it is pointed out that he rate of taxation on the Southern Pacific in Arizona i7 far in excess of that of the Santa Fe and that the latter railroad is now and has been for a long time, paying an assessment into California and New Mexico on the ga me class of property as is owned in Arizona, in such glar- ing contrast to the figures of the latter Territory as to make the Ari- zon assessment ludicrous. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Territories, and all of the facts in relation thereto, are being, carefully prepared to substantiate the justice and equity of Delegate Cameron's preliminary statements made in relation thereto.
 Washington is kept in a continual state of disturbance because of the military affairs of the federals and the insurr ectionists of Mexico, who while exercising considerable care not to cross the American border, are not so pa rticular as to which way the bullets from their firearms are sent While the United States is endeavor ing to maintain neutral position along our southern frontier, the civil strife iu Mexico is encroaching so strongly upon the rights or our citi- zens that the question of ultimate by the United States is becoming larger every ! day. There have been plenty of warnings from Washington to the Mexican Government, and the com handlers of the insurgent forces that | the battle grounds for shooting affairs | must not involve the rights of the | strict neutrality which the United