Albuquerque morning journal., 1921-08-29
AS THE PEOPLE VIEW 1T

VI IT'S ODl6dtlOllS lOI SIX IIlOIllAo VI
year period than it would be for
that government to push to the
wall and indefinitely suspend oper-
ations in the very greatest of all its
industries-th livestock industry
through imposing on 1t unbear-
able taxes. II such a suspension of
payments-if completely ex-
hausted exchequer-is the only
means of impressing upon the leg
islature and the people the abso-
Lutte necessity for curtailment in
expenditures-for actual, not
theoretical, retrenchment-then
am sure that such q consummation
is one devoutly to be wished for.
That the livestock industry in
this state is the greatest of our in
dustries 1 need not demonstrate to
you. In 1919, which is the latest
year for which l have at hand
your official data, the assessed
valuation of cattle amounted to
1898 per cent of the total assessed
valuation Of the state, sheep and
goats to 2.79 per cent, and grazing
lands 1886 per cent. This makes
in the aggregate something over 30
per cent, which is per cent more
than the railroad valuation for the
same year. / have nothing to say
as to the valuation placed upon
cattle and sheep. Perhaps they
have been underassessed as to
values, / am sure they have not
been as to numbers. Nor does the
fact that grazing lands constitute
so large a proportion of the total
indicate in itself that they are
overassessed. But when we COM
pare their assessment with that of
some other classes of land or fig
ure it on the basis of their pro-
ductivity, it is clearly demonstrated
that they are, generally grossly
overassessed.
The matter of the grazing re-
sources of the state was given care
full Consideration by the special rev.
nue. commission. On page 20 OIL
the commissions report appears
the following statement:
1.-THE grazing industry upon
which so great share of our pros
perity depends, has, in the opinion
of honest observers. reached its
limits and In fact passed it's zenith.
Our ranges are already overstock--
ed. The grazing areas of natural
grasses in the state still available
in public and private ownership,
are, on the whole, not more than
two-thirds as good as they were
fifty years ago. While it is true
that overstocked ranges may IN
time recover II given absolute rest
for a long series of years, such
recovery is actually very slow, and,
in fact, except in certain privately
owned ranges little chance for re-
coyery is afforded. Outside Of the
national forest there is no control
of the open ranges. Wherever
there is free grazing the range is
used to the limit irrespective OF
grass conservation, wherever water
permit. The net result
OF such conditions Is that the great
est wealth producing asset of the
state. the asset upon which, above
all others the business welfare of
our people depends has deteriorat-
ed. Range preservation can, on the
whole be effected only through
private ownership or public con-
troll. Public control on a large
scale has not been made practical
BILE. Private ownership of good
many range tracts has been per-
fected in recent years but high
taxes against such privately ly-owned
tracts does not encourage such
ownership"
Since this was written range
have, as you know, been,
until quite recently, exceedingly
bad. They have been the worst
possible. Added to miserable
range conditions a cattle, sheep
and wool market unprecedentedly
low and the whole stock business
in the state is, to put it badly, on
the verge of collapse. While it is
more fair in the stock business
than in some other business TO
base the proper assessable values
in a particular year on only the
business for that year the actual
value of grazing lands to the user
thereof for an average of series
of years should be taken as the
proper basis of valuation. It is
unfair and inequitable because an
owner holds his land at four or
five dollars per acre, thinking that
some day it may acquire such value
for other than grazing purposes 10
assess such lands on any other
basis than their proven value for
grazing purposes.
Grazing lands under your rulings
are taxed at various rates. I pre-
sumo the average is around 1925
per acre. This, is the general rate
in eastern New Mexico. At this
valuation the taxes for 1920
amounted to about cents per acre,
making charge Of about 50 per
head of stock for taxes alone, as
suming that, on the average
twenty-five acres will carry one
head and bearing in mind that inn
provements as we'll as land are as
sessed. This is a higher charge
than the traffic will bear when
other costs are considered such as