Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-12-15
HAGERMAN SAYS Mine TAXATION
! IS KEY TO WHOLE QUESTION OF
+ PROPERLY Distributing BURDEN
Settlement of Dispute Will Be the Beginning
of An Adjustment of the States Tax and
Revenue Problems; Reviews Work of Com
7 mission at Farmers Conference

Ex-Governor Herbert !. Hager-
man delivered an address before
the Chaves county farm bureau at
Roswell last Saturday. Mr. Ha-
german is chairman Of the special
revenue commission which recently
completed a survey Of the taxa
ton situation in New Mexico and
submitted its findings and recon-
mendations to the governor His
address Saturday was devoted to
tax and revenue matters and will
no doubt be read with interest by
every taxpayer in the state. He
said:
Gentlemen: I am very glad to
have the privilege of talking with
You about taxation and revenue.
Not because I am fond of talking,
for / am not. Nor because I think
! know very much about the taxa
ton or revenue problems. I am
fully conscious that those questions
are very complex indeed and that
my knowledge of them is very in
complete. But I am glad to talk
with you because I feel that eco
nomic conditions in New Mexico
have reached a very serious crisis
and that we, whose interests are
largely stock and agricultural, are
between the upper and the neither
mill stones. We must calmly and
diSpassionately appraise the situa-
ton in the hope of find some solu-
ton, or anyway some amelioration
of our present difficulties
state Has Reached q Crisis.
zone cannot appraise the stua-
ton as it affects our own particu-
lar interests without trying to get
a general view of the whole eco
nomic crisis in the state, for that
we have reached crisis none can
deny. The problem here is in
some ways much more simple than
it is in many other states, for our
interests here are not excessively
diverse. Quantitatively as it were,
the whole states wealth, business
and material resources are so
small as to he we'll within the grasp
of a trained political economist or
student of government. There are
doubtless dozens of individuals in
the United States whose private
fortunes are much greater than the
actual value of the property in this
state
THE budget for the city of New
York for the coming year is as
remember, about S335, 100000,
which is very close to the whole as
sessed value Of all the property in
this state
Simple Plan of Government.
I'm spite of all that may be said
to the contrary, there is in my
humble opinion, nothing so peculiar
about the situation here as to pre-
vent the prompt realization OF a
husiness-like and simple plan of
state and county government. Such
a plan as would greatly relieve the
taxpayers. greatly increase eff
cheney. and open the way for an in
dustrial and economic development
entirely unhandicapped by politi-
cal distractions.
"Many of our administrative dit-
ficulties are difficult only because
we either have not the energy to
face them or because from mis-
taken political motives we fear to
face them.
Economic Conditions.
AS to economic conditions which
are necessarily closely allied with
political conditions, they are by no
means theoretically susceptible to
such simple solution. IT may be
said in a general way that If you
cut a lot of bunk out of politics and
put government on a simple, bust
ness basis, quite "A good many of
the difficulties will disappear from
our economic situation.
THAT can never be done. how
ever, by side-stepping the issues;
We must face the facts.
What / mean to say by this is;
that If we felt sure that public rev.
enues were being effectively used
and that our taxes We're being
equitably distributed and that thu
burdens of taxation were not only
commensurate with the benefits re-
ceived, but actually not so great as
TO handicap development, then We
could 20 ahead with our ordinary
occupations in much better spirit
and with a much better chance of
finding our way out of such diff
culties as now confront us. | am
sure YOU will agree with that
Principal Economic Interests.
1.-The principal economic inter-
ests OF the state may be divided in