New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-12-23
CHAIRMAN SAINTS ADDRESS
TO ASSESSORS AND OTHER
TAXING OFFICIALS MONDAY

Following constant urging OF this
Commission and others that knew the
situation, the Legislature passed a law
allowing compensation for travelling
expenses OF assessors to the extent
/ OF 81 POO per annum, the expendi-
ture OF this $1,000 to be approved by
the county commissioners. They have
also granted Sl,200 additional COM
penSation for deputy service. 1t is
the belief of this Commission that
this Sl,2OO for additional deputy SER
vice should not be used to employ
one man for a full year. The Com
mission is firmly OF the belief that
only during the campaign of getting
the property on the rolls, which is
all required between January and
May /, extra deputies should be em-
ployed. In other words. that this
extra deputy service should all be
employed in the first four months of
the year during which time the sche-
dulles must be made out. This is a
matter open for discussion during this
conference
The last Legislature repealed
Chapter ll3. Laws OF 1919. which re-
quired the tax commission to place
the value on grazing lands througout
the state. Under this law, Chapter
llS, the tax commission classified the
state into eight districts according
to rainfall and moisture and also the
commission undertook under this law
to begin a system OF classification
OF grazing lands other than rainfall
and moisture taking into account TIC
proportion Of bad land to good Land
in the various tracts. especially the
large areas lying within the boundaries
Of the Old Spanish grants and like
wise large areas acquired by cattle
and sheep companies from te public
domain. state purchase land. etc.
Fight on Grazing Lands
The attempt at classification made
by the commission in 1919 and 1877
aroused serious objection in certain
part Of the state and this antagon'sm
to the classification from certain
countic, IN the state resulted in the
refcal OF the law There is nothing
more certain to my mind that while
this law has been repealed that it IS
only question OF time when a sim
lar law WI be passed ani that the
,-r7ziug lands OF thi, state VII &c
classified A. they should be There
i probably no place in the whole
range OF taxation where the psyche
Iogy OF taxation has been more clearly
demonstrated than this fight that was
made on the tax commission for at
tempting to classify grazing lands
At the last session Of the Legisla-
ture they repealed Chapter = which
was the law creating the tax commits
sion in 1915 This Chapter - has
Deen succeeded bv Chapter l33, Ar
ticle :. Section 5Ol. But while the
trainers of Chapter l33 evidently did
not intend. or. rather. overlooked GER
tain sections OF Chapter -. that there
was no valid reason for overlooking.
vet Chapter - stands repealed. As
further proaf OF oversight in framing
Chapter l33 and repeating Chapter
=. Section 9. the clause requiring
he tax commission to print the
blanks for the assessor OF each coun-
ty was repealed and no provision
made as 70 who should be responsible
for this work. The tax commission
all do this work until This defect in
the Law IS cured bv legislation. as no
tContinued on rsee 81