New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-07-05

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formation was very pertinent as will
be shown.
The state board of loan commits.
sioners kept Z register of series &c"
bonds issued by them and a minute
book of their proceedings. They did
not keep a register Of the Santa Fe
bonds and coupons taken up or inc0r-
porated in the judgments against the
county funded by them, nor did tho
minute book show the interest cou,
pons upon which such judgments
we're based.
The act creating the board Of loan
commissioners required the county to
certify it's inde btedness. The county
commissioners filed a report which
presented a correct and complete list
of bonds, an incorrect and incomplete
list of judgments and no list at all OF
the interest coupons outstanding and
not reduced 10 judgment. The board
of loan commissioners contented
themselves with passing upon each
claim as 1t was presented unsupported
by any knowledge of the basis of
claims already paid by which each
new claim could be checked. A reg.
lister Of these things would have
shown the payment of many coupons
subsequently presented and would
have prevented the payment of $751;
1889 of duplicated claims alone.
Such register or the examination. Of
the county bond register, or proper
credence given the report of indebted
ness of the board OF county commis-
sioners would have prevented the rec
Ognition and payment of fraudulent
bonds to the amount of $12,43467.
The examination undertaken in this
matter necessarily raised numerous
questions of law. Chief among these
were the legal obligation Of the cOun-
ty to pay interest upon delinquent in
terest coupons and the liability of the
state to recognize this interest in is-
suing series &c" bonds. and the right
and duty of the state to plead the
statute of limitations upon obligations
whose collection was barred by its
terms On the first question, involv-
ing more than $2S6,3l379 it was con-
cluded that the legal obligation to pay
such interest existed and on indebted
ness which was valid was properly
recognized by the board of loan COM
missiOners. On the second point. the
statute of limitations, notwithstand-
ing a decision of the District Court
for Santa Fe county 1t was believed
that both the right and the duty de-
volved upon the board Of loan commits.
sioners to avail themselves Of this de-
tense and save the taxpayers the pay
ment of claims which by the terms Of
the statute were barred.
The detailed report submitted to
the governor covers more than ono
hundred typewritten pages and goes
at length into each transaction. This
is impossible In the space here avail
able but the conclusion in each case
will be set forth and the names and
amounts given.
The reader Is asked to bear in mind
that. the mere fact that a claim is set
up against an individual is of itself no
evidence Of wrongdoing. Even whom
claims are based upon duplicate pay
ments OK apparently fraudulent or r.
regular bonds. the claimant must have
known Of such duplication or fraud TO
be charged either by the criminal law
or BY fair and sound judgment with
guilty intentions to defraud the state.
could be more unfortunate 40
q result of this investigation than un-
charges of wrongdoing against
anyone merely because in the opinion
Of the director of this association the
board of loan commissioners paid the
claimant more than they were legally
bound to do. There is room for rea-
sonable differences Of opinions as to
the law and even il there were not
the securing of more than a full legal
payment on a debt itself regular
stands upon a different footing from
repeated double payments to fndivfd-
uals who knew the claim had already
been paid-sometimes to themselves.
It should also be remembered that
the overpayment Of claims by the
board although made for the most part
BY the issue of bonds was of vital in
terest to the taxpayers. Under the
terms of the grant Of one million acres
of land from the federal government
to cover the series &c" bond debt the
surplus left from the proceeds Of these
lands, il any, after the bonds are paid
is to be added to the common school
permanent fund, by so much relieving
the necessary demands upon the tax
payers. AS there is now available
nearly 100000 from such proceeds 1t
is clear that large surplus will be
available for the schools. AS interest
upon the bonds amounts in thirty
years to 1876 per cent of their face ev-
cry dollar of bonds unnecessarily is
sued takes S2.35 from the schools and
through them from the taxpayers and
postpones also the time when the sur
plus can be devoted to school pur-
poses. In the case of series "B" bonds
issued to refund the debt of Santa F6
county other than the railroad debt
every dollar is a direct and immediate
burden upon the taxpayers Of Santa
F6 county and one upon which they
are now paying more than $4,000 in
terest annually on q valuation Of $1o,-
900. 900 and not yet providing anything
for the ultimate paymsat Of the debt.
Series &C" bonds have been issued