The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1915-05-06
FEES MOTION
NOT. PRELUDE TO
SUIT SAYS REID
Petition Asking Tax Commits.
sion for Reconsideration Of
Raise Order Was to Keep
Tax Matter Out Of Court.

That the motion filed last week
with tho state tax commission by the
Santa Fe railway company. for a re-
consideration BY the commission OF
the raises on the property OF that
company In New Mexico. ordered by
the commission at it, April meeting
In Santa Re, does not mean that the
santa Fe company proposes to con-
test the Increases In the courts. Is the
statement OF w. G. Reid. New Mexico
attorney for the company, who has
just returned here from a stay Of
ten days In Roswell. The purpose Of
the motion, he states, was rather 10
keep the matter Of the corporate In
creases ordered by the tax commits
sion out of the courts. by leaving
them within the Jurisdiction Of the
tax commissioning and subject to a
modification should Il be found that
the pending readjuHtmest OF taxation
conditions and assessments In New
Mexico should make It possible. Had
the order been permitted to stand
without action by any Of the corpo-
rations affected. Captain Reid points
out that II would have passed out OF
the hands OF the commission and
the only way to have reached an add
iustment then would have been
through an action in court. which
nigh, have tied up indefinitely large
amounts of tax money paid TO the
state and counties by the various cor
porations.
Il am not In = position to say that
these raises eventually will not be
taken into cOIrt.' said Captain Reid
today. THAT Is a decision which
rests with "a higher authority than
myself In the Santa re railway COM
pany. and ! do not know the inten-
tlon of the other corporations inter-
ested. But our object In hling the
motion for "a reconsideration by the
board not only was not in the "a
OF "A preliminary TO u court action,
but was for the purpose of keeping
the matter out Of court, IL II Is pos
siolc 10 do 80. Had we permitted the
order OF the commission. making a
10 per cent raise In our valuation. to
stand without this motion Tor a re-
consideration. the matter would have
passed out Of The Jurisdiction OF the
tax commission n the only chance
To sccure a readjustment would have
been by going into court. our mo-
ton having been filed, the raises
made remain within the jurisdiction
and control Of the commission. In
the extensive efforts which the COM
mission will make to secure a proper
valuation n return of other classes
Of property and go bring omitted
property onto the assessment rolls,
the. situation mag so adjust itself that
the commission may be able to give
the Santa Re and other railway COM
panies the relief 10 which we believe
we are entitled, from "A valuation
which We know To be unjust, as COM
pared with existing valuation OF other
classes OF property. The santa Fe
railway company, ana | think the
other corporations involved, have
confidence that il Is the desire OF the
lax commission to deal fairly with
our properties, and the chief. and in
fact the only purpose we had In III
ing this motion was to give the COM
mission itself the continued power
10 grant US relief, n Il should prove
possible for II to do 50.
ITO take this matter OF our in
creased taxes into court would tie up
for an indefinite period large sums
Of money which the Santa Fe pays
TO the county ANA state governments.
a course which might seriously em-
barrass them. As the largest taNpay-
or In The state the Santa FEES inter-
ests are Identical with those Of New
Mexico and anything which embar-
rasses the communities served by Us
embarrasses ~. To take this mat.
ter into court therefore would be
avoided boy the santa Fe company In
us fnr "a a IL uoasIbIe %