Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-06-24
Hill, Champion and Quesen-
berry Answer Allegations
Regarding the Financial
Condition of School.

the following answer made by
three members of the board of re-
Al gents of the state agricultural COL
Iege TO the charges Of Governor
Larrazelo of alleged malfeasance
in office was filed with the COVER
ID nor at Santa Fe Wednesday: .....
80 To Honorable o. A. Larrazolo,
.T5Ta Governor of New Mexico.
y Sirt We. the undersigned mem
q bers ef'the board of regents of the
8 New Mexico College of Agriculture
2 and Mechanic Arts, have each re-
ceived your letter dated June IL.
1920, and your notice of hearing
dated June Is, 1920, both refer
ring to charges made against us
as members of said board, and no.
tifying each Of us Of a hearing TO
be held in your office on June 2s,
1920, at 10 o'clock a. m, at which
we are each required to show
cause why we should not be re-
moved from office for malfeasance
alleged to have been committed
therein,
The charges by you, whatever
the source of your Information or
your motives in making them. are
30 manifestly unfair that we are
compelled to reply in considerable
detail, though you have in your Of
flee and at your command quar-
terly reports which show many Of
the financial transactions handled
by your board and indicate the
falsity of these charges.
No present showing of the ac-
tual financial condition of the col
lege was made at the meeting had
in your office on May %, 1920.
Those of us who attended that
meeting did not understand that a
statement of present conditions
would be required and did not
have books or bookkeeping officers
of the college at hand. The only
reports consulted were an auditors
report, the closing date Of which
was February 2S, 1920, and the
quarterly reports made to the state
officers which were not down to
date.
This board took charge Of the
institution named in the latter
part of March. 1917, though the
proper arrangements to take over
the finances of the college were
not completed until the following
month of April. The first quarterly
report following shows that at the
time we took charge there was a
deficit or overdraft of $40,212.56.
At the same time there was a
bookkeeping credit on the treasur-
er's books of approximately $70,-
900 which was then involved in the
failure of the First State bank of
Las Cruces. This money was never
recovered until December, 1918.
and later, when It was paid by the
surety company on its boni and
sum amounted to s79,230.26, prin-
cipal and interest, and of this
amount the state treasurer took
possession of $4,000 as state per-
manent funds which could not be
spent by the college. How this
amount of $4,000 came into the
hands of the treasurer of a former
board we are wholly unable to
"ytate. We had right to assume
that no such funds would be held
by the treasurer of the board
which should have been held and
invested by the state treasurer.
This left $50, 1925 to be used by
the college. This amount was for
the most part absorbed to replace
federal funds which had been lost
in the failure of the First State
bank, and in addition, the college
was compelled to pay about $4,000
in interest on moneys borrowed to
meet its EXPENSES and carry on
federal funds until the money was
recovered.
No money was ever appropriated
by the state legislature to pay any
of the deficit mentioned above and
the only appropriation ever made,
outside the regular appropriations,
was one of $4,000 to meet the in
terest referred to in the last para
graph. In fact. since the present
board had charge, the legislative
appropriation have been small
when we eliminate special appro-
priations made necessary by new
laws and designed to meet federal
appropriations of like character
and which could not be used for
the general college needs already
existing. Also during the past two
. years. the value of money has so
declined. being practically fifty
cents on the dollar at Las Cruces.
as SHOWN by carefully prepared
report made by the faculty of the
college, that even appropriations
made on the basis of former years
were only fifty per cent effective
In purchasing power at the college.
Immediately after mis- board
took charge of the college our
country entered the world war. In
creased production was called for
in every kind of foodstuffs to feed
the armies and the people Of Eu
rope as we'll as our own. An inten-
sive campaign was begun all over
the nation, and our state could
not lag behind. The college was in
the forefront of this campaign as
the logical medium of that work.
While there were few county ag-
ricultural agents when 1t began, at
the end Of year there were agents
In nearly every county of the state.
Among those were several Spanish
American workers who did well.
and the people responded as well,
The increase in production was
from IS to SO per cent during the
first year, though 1t was an ex-
ceedingly dry season in many parts