USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. V > Part 6
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the same in the name of their office when law- fully directed by the voters of such district at any regular or special meeting, and shall carry into effect all lawful orders of the district.
"Sec. 42. The District Board shall have the care and keeping of the school house and other property belonging to the district. They shall have power to make such rules and regulations relating to the district library as they may deem proper, and to appoint some suitable person to act as librarian, and to take charge of the school apparatus belonging to the district.
"Sec. 43. The District Board shall have power to admit scholars from adjoining dis- tricts, and remove scholars for disorderly con- duct in attendance at school.
"Sec. 44. The District Board in each dis- trict shall have power to contract with and hire qualified teachers, for and in the name of the district, which contract shall be in writing, and shall specify the wages per week, or month, as agreed upon by the parties, and such contract shall be filed in the district Clerk's office; but no District Board shall have power to hire any person as a teacher, unless such person pro- duce a certificate of qualification signed by the County Superintendent.
"Sec. 45. The District Board shall provide the necessary appendages for the school house, during the time a school is taught therein, and shall keep an account of all expenses thus in- curred, and present the same for allowance at any regular district meeting.
"Sec. 46. That all schools established under the provisions of this act, shall at all times be V-6
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equally free and accessible to all the children resident therein, over four and under twenty- one years, subject to such regulations as the Dis- trict Board in each district may prescribe.
"Sec. 47. If a vacancy should occur in any District Board by death, resignation, or other- wise, the County Superintendent shall appoint some suitable person to fill such vacancy.
"Sec. 48. In every school district there shall be taught : orthography, reading, writing, arith- metic, geography and English grammar if de- sired, during the time school shall be kept, and such other branches of education as may be de- termined by the District Board.
"Sec. 49. The amount of district tax shall not exceed one and one-half per cent, per an- num. It shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors of each county in this Territory, at the time of making the annual assessment, to levy (in addition to the taxes already author- ized by law to be levied) one-fifth of one per cent, on all the taxable property in each county in this Territory, for the support of public schools in each of said counties, to be collected at the time and (in) the manner prescribed by law for the collection of other taxes; said tax, when collected, shall be distributed to the sev- eral school districts in each county in propor- tion to the number of children over four and under twenty-one years of age therein; and shall be drawn from the County Treasury upon the order of the County Superintendent of Public Schools.
"Sec. 50. Said taxes when collected, to- gether with all moneys specially appropriated
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by the acts of this and all former Legislatures, for the use and support of public schools in this Territory, shall be paid into the County Treas- ury, and be drawn out as hereinbefore pro- vided; said fund, so created, shall be known as the Common School Fund, and shall not be paid out for any other purpose, except for the hire and pay of competent teachers.
"Sec. 51. All taxes raised and collected in any school district, for any of the purposes au- thorized in this act, shall be assessed on the same kind of property as taxes for county pur- poses are assessed.
"Sec. 52. The Clerk of the school district, in making out any tax list, shall enter therein the names of all persons liable to pay a school tax, the amount of personal property to be taxed to each person, and a description of all taxable real estate in the district, distinguishing that owned by non-residents of the district, and he shall set opposite to each description of taxable property the valuation of the same, and the amount of tax charged upon such property, and to each person respectively, or tract of land owned by non-residents; and such description and valuation of taxable property shall be as- certained, as far as possible, from the last as- sessment roll of the County.
"Sec. 53. Whenever any real estate in any school district shall not have been separately valued in the assessment roll of the county, and the value of such estate cannot be definitely as- certained from such assessment roll, the Dis- trict Board of such district shall estimate the
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value of the same, and apportion the taxes thereon.
"Sec. 54. The warrant annexed to any tax list, shall be under the hand of the Clerk of the district, and shall command the Treasurer of the district to collect from each of the persons and corporations named in said tax list, the sev- eral sums set opposite their names, within forty days from the date thereof, and within twenty days from the time of receiving such warrant to personally demand such tax of the persons charged therewith and residing within his Dis- trict; and that if any tax shall not be paid within twenty days thereafter, to collect the same by distress and sale of property in the same manner as the county taxes are collected ; and the said Treasurer shall execute the said warrant and return the same to the Clerk at the expiration of the time limited therein for the collection of such tax list; provided, that when the owners of property within the district are non-residents, they shall be notified, by the Treasurer, if their place of residence is known, and if within the county they shall make pay- ment within thirty days; if not within the county, but in the Territory, they shall pay within forty days, and if without the Territory they shall make payment within sixty days. Provided, further, that said Treasurer shall be entitled to collect two per cent over and above the sums to be collected in the tax list. And whenever the said Collector shall be compelled to resort to distress and sale of property to ob- tain any tax, he shall be entitled to, and may take out of the proceeds of such sale, in addition
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to the above mentioned fees, the same fees as the County Collector is entitled to under similar circumstances.
"Sec. 55. The warrant issued by the Clerk of any school district, for the collection of any district tax authorized by the provisions of this act, may be executed anywhere within the limits of the county ; and such warrants shall have the like force and effect as a warrant issued for the collection of county taxes; and the Treasurer of the district, to whom any such warrants may be delivered for collection of a tax list, shall pos- sess the like powers in the execution of the same as provided by law for the collection of county taxes.
"Sec. 56. Whenever any error may be dis- covered in any district tax list, the district Board may order any money which may have been improperly collected on such tax list to be refunded, and authorize the Clerk of the district to amend and correct such error in said tax list.
"Sec. 57. Whenever any district tax, law- fully assessed shall be paid by any person on account of any real estate whereof he is only tenant, such tenant may charge and collect of the owner of such estate, the amount of tax so paid by him, unless some agreement to the con- trary shall have been made by the tenant.
"Sec. 58. It shall be the duty of the teacher of every district school, to make out and file with the district Clerk at the expiration of each term of school, a full report of the whole num- ber of scholars enrolled, distinguishing between male and female, the average number in daily attendance, the text books used, the branches
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taught, and the number of pupils engaged in the study of said branches. Any teacher who shall neglect or refuse to comply with the re- quirements of this section, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars to such a school district, at the discretion of the District Board.
"Sec. 59. Every Clerk of a District Board who shall wilfully sign a false report to the County Superintendent of his county, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three months.
"Sec. 60. Every School District Clerk or Treasurer, who shall neglect or refuse to de- liver to his successor in office, all records and books belonging to his office, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.
"Sec. 61. When any kind of judgment shall be obtained against any school district, the Dis- trict Board shall levy a tax on the taxable prop- erty in the district, for payment thereof; such tax shall be collected as other school district taxes, but no execution shall issue on judgment against a school district.
"62. No school district officer in this act, shall receive any compensation for his services out of the County or School District Fund.
"63. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby re- pealed."
The word "members" in Sec. 10, is evidently a misprint for "numbers." Other sections of the act being crudely expressed, the meaning is vague and uncertain, but with all its defects this law was the foundation upon which was
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reared the unsurpassed common school system of Arizona.
This Legislature also passed an Act locating the Territorial Prison at or near the town of Phoenix in the county of Yavapai and Terri- tory of Arizona, which act was approved De- cember 7th, 1868. Th This law was never enforced.
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CHAPTER IV. WHAT CONGRESS DID FOR ARIZONA.
COLLECTION DISTRICT PROPOSED-IMPROVEMENTS ON COLORADO RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION- DELEGATE BASHFORD'S SPEECH UPON-DE- BATE UPON-AMENDMENT TO POSTAL BILL- DELEGATE BASHFORD'S SPEECH UPON-ACTS OF THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH LEGISLATURES LEGALIZED - SIXTH LEGISLATURE HELD AT TUCSON.
At the Congressional Session of 1867-68, Coles Bashford, the Arizona Delegate in Congress, introduced a bill to create a collection district for Arizona, which bill was read the first and second time and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, where it remained.
On May 29, 1868, an amendment to the Appropriation Bill was introduced by Mr. Windom, reading as follows:
"For completing construction of irrigating canal on the Colorado reservation, breaking and fencing lands, purchase of seeds, teams and tools, construction of agency buildings, subsist- ence, etc., $84,500."
Upon this amendment Mr. Bashford spoke as follows: May 29, 1868.
"Mr. Chairman, I had not intended to say anything upon this amendment proposed by the chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. That committee made, so far as they were able, a careful examination into this subject, and although there was not a full attendance, the
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members present were unanimously in favor of the amendment now offered. Now, Mr. Chair- man, as the representative on this floor of Ari- zona Territory, I wish to state what I know of the Indians of that country after a residence there of some five years.
"The amendment proposes to bring together some ten thousand Indians who now have no local habitation, no home, and put them upon the reservation. During the discussion upon this bill I have heard a great deal about our Indian policy. It has been argued that the policy pursued by the Government is unwise. But, sir, can any better Indian policy be adopted than that contemplated by this amend- ment, which is to give the Indians a home, to put them upon a reservation where they can be self-sustaining ?
"The principal difficulty in making treaties with the Indians has been that when you have made a treaty, the Indians having no home, you have not been able to enforce it. You cannot punish them when they violate their treaty obli- gations. But when you put them upon a res- ervation, where they gather about them their families, their horses, their cattle, where they engage in the cultivation of their fields, they always keep their treaties, because they can be punished when they violate them. Sir, the true Indian policy to be pursued by this Government is to place these Indians upon reservations.
"Now, sir, this canal is some thirty miles long, some nine feet deep, and some twenty feet wide. It will irrigate land enough for all these Indians, and some more-not Indians to be
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picked, as the gentleman from Massachusetts has said-but some Indians known as the River Indians, who are friendly when they are prop- erly treated; who have always been friendly as a general rule. And, sir, they have only been hostile as the result of such a policy as is con- templated by this bill without the proposed amendment. Ever since the acquisition of this Indian country by the United States the Gov- ernment has, through its representatives and agents, held out to these Indians the prospect that they should be placed upon reservations and cared for, as contemplated by this amend- ment. By failing to carry out this policy, you render the Indians hostile; and sir, I say, not for the purpose of affecting this vote, that the safety of the people of the country would be endangered if these ten or twelve thousand Indians should join hands with the Apaches.
"Upon this reservation all the Indians of that country can be supported and cared for; and instead of being our enemies they will be our friends. We have heretofore raised com- panies of Indians to fight the Apaches, who have been our foes, stealing our property and murdering our people. I presume that this amendment was not properly presented and pressed before the Committee upon Appropria- tion, otherwise they would have been in favor of it. I know that it contemplates the only policy which the United States can wisely pur- sue in regard to the Indians in that far off country."
Mr. Windom, in support of the amendment, had the clerk read the following :
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"Plats of survey for canal are on file in the Indian Bureau. Estimated cost about one hun- dred and twenty thousand dollars, but by Indian labor can be done for much less. The canal. now already under course of construction, is thirty miles in length, twenty feet wide, with an average depth of about nine feet. When com- pleted will irrigate seventy-five thousand acres of land. The work is being prosecuted by the Indians, who work with a will, and it is confi- dently expected that the entire work will be completed during the present year, affording a home for ten or twelve thousand Indians, and rendering them in the future entirely self- sustaining. Should this appropriation fail fears are entertained that the labor already performed may be lost by reason of rains and overflow of river. This appropriation is asked also for breaking and fencing lands, building of houses, purchase of seed, agricultural imple- ments, etc.
"There are but two reservations in Arizona- the one on the Colorado river, for which the appropriation is asked, and the Maricopa and Pima reserve on the Gila river. This latter is now self-sustaining, and with an Indian popu- lation of six thousand, whose boast is 'that they do not know the color of the white man's blood,' furnishing statistical returns of products of last year amounting to $200,000, and during the year have furnished corn for supply of contracts to the Government troops in Arizona (Fort Whip- ple) at a rate one-half less than has ever been furnished heretofore."
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The following debate then took place in regard to this amendment:
MR. WINDOM (Wm. Windom of Minne- sota) :- "These facts were presented to me by Superintendent Dent. I laid them before a minority of the Committee on Indian Affairs- there were no more present-and they unani- mously directed me to offer this amendment. I believe it to be good policy, and that the Gov- ernment would save money by completing this work, because it would furnish employment to the Indians in the Territory, tending to civilize them, for if they are kept at work, enabled to raise corn, etc., they will be able to take care of themselves, and we would save the cost of keep- ing a military force there. If this amount, or a portion of it, is not now appropriated, it is said that what has already been appropriated will be lost."
MR. MILLER (George F. Miller of Pennsyl- vania) :- "How much has been already appro- priated ?"
MR. WINDOM :- " About fifty thousand dol- lars."
MR. BUTLER (Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts) :- "I will read to the Com- mittee of the Whole all the information upon this subject which was sent to us by the Sec- retary of the Interior to justify this appro- priation. It is from a letter written by Superintendent Dent, of Arizona Territory :
"'Referring to the estimate of $84,500 for completing the irrigating canal of the Colorado reservation, I again invite your attention to the
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insufficiency of the appropriation of $50,000 current this year to accomplish the whole work.
" 'The amount above stated, in addition, I think, will complete the ditch, buildings, etc. I trust that you will concur in this sum, and effect its being appropriated.
" 'Item No. 7, relating to the sum of $20,000 for maintaining Indians on the reservation that may be turned over by the military, I regard as very important. There can be no reasonable doubt but that the considerable force now en- gaged against the hostiles will conquer bands or tribes during the coming year, and it is highly proper that they should be immediately brought on the reservation, kept there by force, if neces- sary, and maintained until they can be made self-sustaining.'
"The proposition, therefore, is to appropriate $84,000, in addition to the $50,000 already appro- priated, for the purpose of building an irrigat- ing canal for Indians, a large portion of whom are yet to be caught, and brought in and set to work on the land which is to be thus irrigated."
MR. WINDOM :- "The gentleman is mis- taken on that point. There are several tribes of Indians there, two of them the largest in the Territory, I believe. They are now industrious, and have never been at war with the whites at all. Only a portion of the Indians, one tribe, is warlike."
MR. BUTLER :- "Upon examining the whole matter as well as we could the committee came to the conclusion that this was an expenditure that could wait, and hence struck out the appro-
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priation. The gentleman now proposes to put it in.
"I want to call the attention of the committee to the fact that in this bill we appropriate $35,000 to take care of the Indians of this Ter- ritory. According to the official returns there are seven thousand of them. We appropriate $15,000 to take care of ninety-three hundred and thirty Indians in Idaho. Now, the amend- ment asks an appropriation to build a canal. A canal nine feet deep, instead of being merely for purposes of irrigation, looks to me like a manufacturing project. Somebody, I imagine, wants to get water power. It is an immense work, and must cost quite a large amount. I think it had better wait a year. The Indians always have been without it, and in my judg- ment they can live without it another year. I hope the amendment will not prevail."
The amendment was rejected.
The canal in question was never built. The $50,000 which was said to have been appro- priated before for this purpose was used, just how no one knows, for according to Genung, there was less than one-half a mile of the canal built and the River Indians were never collected upon this reservation. A part of the Mohaves were gathered there, but the most of them were on the war-path in 1868, as will be seen further on in this history.
At this session of Congress an amendment was passed to the postal bill, which bill was en- titled "An Act to provide for carrying the mails from the United States to foreign ports, and for
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other purposes," approved March 25th, 1864. The fourth section of this law was as follows :
"And be it further enacted, That all mailable matter which may be conveyed by mail westward beyond the western boundary of Kansas, and eastward from the eastern boundary of Cali- fornia, shall be subject to prepaid letter postage rates; Provided, however, That this section shall not be held to extend to the transmission by mail of newspapers from a known office of publication to bona fide subscribers, not exceeding one copy to each subscriber, nor to franked matter to and from the intermediate points between the bound- aries above named at the usual rates: Provided further, That such franked matter shall be sub- ject to such regulations as to its transmission and delivery as the Postmaster General shall prescribe."
The bill was first considered in the House and an amendment striking out this section was passed, causing it to take effect immediately. In the Senate this amendment was inserted :
"Strike out all after the enacting clause, and in lieu thereof insert the following :
" 'The operation of the fourth section of an act to provide for carrying the mails of the United States to foreign ports, and for other purposes, approved March 25, 1864, shall cease and determine on and after the 30th day of September, 1868,' " the Senate fixing the time when the amendment should go into effect, as will be seen, on the 30th of September, 1868, when the contracts for carrying the mails would cease. The bill came back, as amended by the Senate, for concurrence in the house. A lively
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fight was had upon the amendment. The Chair- man of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, Mr. Farnsworth of Illinois, endeavored to have it referred to his committee, with the intent, as charged by some of the friends of the bill, upon the floor of the House, to kill the bill. The ensuing debate was participated in by the Delegates from Colorado, Montana and Arizona, and Mr. Ashley, Representative from the State of Nevada, in which it was shown that news- papers only forty and fifty miles from the rail- road which was built at that time, had to be sent by express, and cost seventy-five cents a pound ; that newspapers printed in San Francisco and in the East were sold at twenty-five cents a copy by the news agents on account of this excessive tariff; that periodicals and magazines were sold at a dollar and a half a copy; that books which cost probably at wholesale by the publishers fifty cents a copy, were sold at two and three dollars. This, it was contended, was a tax upon intelligence. The populations of these Terri- tories, amounting in the aggregate to between two and three hundred thousand people, pioneers in these localities, could not afford reading matter on account of the excessive tariff.
The debate was a long one, and the represen- tative from the State of Nevada, and the Dele- gates from the Territories affected, were heard. Mr. Bashford, Delegate from Arizona, spoke as follows in favor of the amendment and its imme- diate passage:
"Mr. Speaker, this bill has been deliberately considered in this House. All the objections
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made to it were met at the time when it passed. It was deliberately considered in the Senate, and they put an amendment upon the bill fixing a future day for it to go into operation. No one can object to that except the friends of the bill. Instead of going into effect immediately it is to go into effect at a future day. We make no objection to that. If I understand the chair- man of the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads he does not go back and renew the objections made here at the time the bill was passed, but says that since that time there have been contracts entered into, and this would affect those contracts, and those contractors would come here and charge the Government more than they otherwise would if we should take this restriction off of printed mail matter. Now, this question has been before Congress for the last year and more. This bill was in- troduced a long time before; and, sir, if it had been desirable, if the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads had wished this bill to pass, how easy it would have been for them to suspend, by joint resolution, the letting of these contracts until the bill was passed, and then urged the bill through the House, putting our people upon equal footing in all respects with other people of the United States. The pio- neers who go into our remote Territories have hardships enough to endure. They have dan- gers and troubles to meet from the Indians. You have collectors and receivers of public money among us. You make us help bear the burdens of Government, and yet deny us the V -- 7
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