Carrizozo news., August 13, 1909, Image 4

About Carrizozo news. (Carrizozo, N.M.) 1908-192?

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LOTS OF CALLFEW FACTS.
Elsewhere in this issue will be
found a communication, signed
by J. V. Laws and J. J. Aragon,
as officers of flic so-tallcd tax
payers committee of Lincoln
county. A perusal of the article
displays the existence of an abun
dance of gall iu the men who at
tached their names to it; its venom
and vituperation arc evident and
its pretended statement of facts
create surprise in the minds of
honest men that such men as the
two mentioned would lend them
selves to such a proposition.
As to the statement that Coun
cilman Hewitt "sanctioned" the
passage of a bill in the council,
ceding to Socorro county a "fine
tract of grazing laud, consisting
of 270 square miles, in which
there arc several' large sheep and
stock men who pay quite consld
crablctaxcs, for 18 square miles
of lava bed in the Mai Pais coun
try,' besides paying to Socorro
county $11, 000, we have this to
say: The strip of land ceded to
Socorro county, as shown by the
map, is 30 miles long and cither
4 or 7 miles wide. There seems
to be a jog iu range 9, and it ap
pears on the regular New Mexico
map to be three instead of six
miles iu width, and the new line
between Lincoln and Socorro
counties is one mile cast of the
range line between ') atid 10. So
if range ') is only three miles in
width, the territory ceded to So
corro county is 4x30, or 120
square miles in extent: or if range
9 is a full township in width, the
strip is 7x30 and contains 210
square miles. This territory has
never been considered as having
any value and stock can exist
there only in the rainy season;
for there is no water except on
the surface, and there is not a
single ranchman that anybody
knows, outside of the Lincoln
people, living on the strip. Men
who have lived longest iu
county have regarded that
lion as the least valuable of
county's domain; and the
this
scc
the
iact
that it has remained unoccupied
all these years, and is still unoc
cupied, refutes the statement in
the Lincoln article, heurs out the
opinion of the old-timers ami
causes no one who is acquainted
with the facts to envv Socorro
county her acquisition.
On the other hand, wc received
from bocorro county nine town
ships, 18 miles square, 324 square
miles of territory, that has more
limit fifty homesteaders, a domett
Stockmen, some patented mines
and valuable improvements, about
six inilus of railroad, making a
total valuation of it least $60,000.
In other words, Lincoln county
will collect taxes annually from
tlio attached strip of from $1,500
to $2,000, and in return will pay
in interest annually on thc$l 1,000
bonded indebtedness the sum of
$550. Not one cent of taxes
is derived from the "fine"
tract of land ceded to Socorro
county. In addition to all this,
the pcoplo of that portion of So
corro county, now attached to
Lincoln county, petitioned the
legislature to placs them in Lin
coln county, and Mr. Hewitt
would not have performed his
duly to his constituents had he
failed to do all in his power to
accomplish that purpose. Let
the people themselves say wheth
er or not wc have been benefitted
by a change of boundary lines,
The communication also at
tacks Commissioners Taylor and
Winglicld for ordering the elec
tion, on the grounds that the
bill, under which the election
wns ordered, was not properly
signed. The commissioners had
a certified copy from the Secre
tary of the Territory that the bill
was passed by both council and
house and that the Governor al
lowed it tn become a law by
limitation. This should have
satisfied most any reasonable
mind; and the fact that the ses
sion laws, which have since been
published and distributed, con
tain this bill, showing that the
claims ot the Ltucoin people arc
entirely at variance with the
facts. So far as the commission
ers were concerned, it was not
question of whether they favored
Carrizozo or Lincoln, individu
ally, but the law is mandatory,
and it was their duty to call the
election if they found the require
incuts of the law had been ful
filled, And as tn Commissioner
Taylor being disqualified because
he is interested in Carrizozo, that
is so fat-fctched that it needs no
refutation.
The article states that the ed
itor of the Nitws backed down
and acknowledged his mistake
as brought out in a former article
by Dr. Laws, and adds that we
have other mistakes to correct.
As a matter of tact, wc know that
wc make mistakesan admission
that our correspondents won't
make, though, God knows, they
owe it to the people and we do
uotsitotia pedestal and, Pharisee
like, thank God that we arc not
like other men. We are willing
to grunt to others what we would
ask for ourselves, and claim no
met it in refraining front the in
dulgence of abuse, calumny and
vilification; for these should be
avoided by all gentlemen. How
ever, Dr. Laws and Mr. Aragon
fail to state what other mistakes
we have made in this county seat
controversy, but they assert that
we will not, to use their words,
"correct other mistakes until he
sees that his political future is
endangered." Wc thank these
correspondents for informing us
that wc have a political future,
and assure ill cm, now that wc
have discovered such to be the
fact, that wc will endeavor to get
along the best way possible, even
though, us the article Intimates,
we are to be denied their support.
MM lit rnfiltn I t ni t ntn t trim ttt ahI
VUI.V iwiutb iiiv.ii vrwii Hiuiiaui
later on iu the article, by assert
ing that the "Nitws is owned by
Mr. McDonald and the editor of
which lb but the mouthpiece of
the Carrizozo boosters." Now,
these two statements don't jibe,
and one or the other must be an
error; und all can readily see that
men who make such statements,
and make them as facts, and have
nothing upon which to base the
assertion further than a mere
opinion, proves conclusively that
they, in these assertions about
the editor of the Nitws, am en
deavoring to create prejudice iu
the minds of the people, and it
appears to be their purpose to
obscure the real issue and attempt
to make capital out an attack on
some of our people. The entire
article bristles with this particu
lar kind of "argument," made by
men iu a losing cause. If the
people of Lincoln county take to
that kind of "argument," wc are
willing to confess that the Car
rizozo Chamber of Commerce, the
Nkws and others upon whom the
writers vent their spleen have
made the wrong kind of cam
paigti; for they failed to use that
"uglier and stronger term" that
a celebrated cx-prcsidcnl avoided,
and have extended to their op
ponents the same privilege they
have asked for themselves that
a discussion of this question on
its merits.
They tell us also that a rep
rescntative of the Chamber of
Ccmtnerce attempted to corrupt
Mr, Peter A. Schmidt, deputy
probate clerk, by offering hush
money, and assert that they have
letters to bear out the statement,
and proclaim their willingness to
publish them. These correspond
ents fail, nevertheless, to produce
I these letters for publication, not
withstanding the assertion, and
ignore the fact that the campaign
is drawing to u close and there is
only a limited time to answer
such a charge. Wc know of no
, lcttera appealing to Mr. Schmidt
for his silence, but wc do know
this much, because wc were pres
ent and heard the conversation
between some individuals who
were talking to some members of
the committee, and it was this:
Someone suggested that Mr.
Schmidt's services could be se
cured to the committee, as he had
no interest in t.ic county and Unit
he wus going to leave the terri
tory after the election;
chairman oi tltc committee sal
"Let Schmidt go to the devil i V
would not give 50 cents to stop
llm."
The article announces that Mr.
Schmidt will meet the editor of
the Nitws or the Chamber of
Commerce in joint debate, and
names Cupitan and Corona ns
meeting places. This challenge
the Chamber of Commerce ac- .
ccptcd, and fixed upon Saturday,
the 14lh, at Cupitan, and Mon
day, the loth, at Corona, These
dates did not satisfy the Lincoln
people, notwithstanding their
anxiety for a joint discussion; so
they were allowed to supply the
dates. The dates for the joint
debate, agreed upon by both par-
tics, arc Corona tomorrow, the-
I4th, and Cupitan Monday, the
Kith. If anyone believes that
Carrizozo is unwilling to meet
the issue squarely, his presence
on these occasions will cuttse him
to abandon that idea.
As to the rrcation of counties,
our correspondents certainly err
is to the failure to make a new
county by the last legislature,
with Clovis as the county scat.
Curry county was created, Clovis
was made the county seat and a
complete list of. county officers
appointed. This and the former
article from Lincoln, both of
which were signed by Dr. Lawn,
had a great deal to say about
"the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth." If they
arc so insistent in their demands
on others why have they failed
so utterly to live up to their own
preachings? They tell us of the
failures to have counties created,
and say nothing of the successes.
Iu so doing did they give "the.
truth, the whole truth, and noth
ing but the truth?" Let us see.
Twelve counties have been or
ganized in New Mexico during
the past twenty years, and seven
of that number in half that time,
and four of the latter number in
still less time. Five of these
counties were made wholly or in
part from Lincoln county. We
therefore, ask the people of Liu
coin county if the "holier than
thou art" correspondents that
have asked us to publish their ar
ticles, which arc calculated to
uroitsc enmity and which freely
attack the character and impugn
the motives of the people of this
Mr
(i:
section ot the county, arc in u
position to "cast the first stone?"
Iu conclusion, allow us to say:
The man who is so ready to im
pute improper motives to the
other fellow will bear watching
himself. The man who is doing
what he can in a legitimate way
to retain the county seat at Lin
coln is entitled to respect; for that
is not only his privilege but his
duty, if he believes that to be for
the best interest of the county.
Will honest men deny that right 4
to supporters of Carrizozo?