USA > New Mexico > History of New Mexico : its resources and people, Volume I > Part 41
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CIVIL RECORDS
A general awakening of public sentiment in regard to the disposition of large bodies of public domain, in excess of the amount allowed to be sold to one individual or association under the act of 1898, followed the celebrated proceedings inaugurated in the fall of 1905 against the rep- resentatives of C. L. and D. R. Tallmadge. In the spring of 1903, Chester L. Tallmadge, D. R. Tallmadge; Edwin R. Tallmadge and Benjamin H. Tallmadge, brothers, having headquarters in Chicago, began operations in Pecos valley lands on an extensive scale. Pursuing a custom of long standing, acting upon the suggestion of these men a large number of in- dividuals took up desert land claims in the vicinity of Roswell. The Tallmadge brothers would then secure the assignment of these claims,
reserved until the admission of the Territory into the Union shall be de- termined upon by Congress. The lands reserved for university and pub- lic school purposes may be leased by this act under such laws as the ter- ritorial legislature may prescribe. The act makes it unlawful to cut, re- move or appropriate in any way any timber growing upon these lands. Not more than one section of land is to be leased to any one person, corpora- tion or association, and no lease may be made for a longer period than five years. All leases terminate upon the admission of the Territory as a state. All moneys received on account of these lands is placed to the credit of sep- arate funds for the use of the institutions mentioned. The remainder of the lands granted may be sold under such laws as may be enacted by the territorial legislature, provided that not more than one quarter-section shall be sold to any person or association and no sale shall be made for less than a dollar and a quarter per acre, the proceeds of these sales to be placed to the credit of the separate funds created by the act. Under the regulations of the interior department fitting this statute the Territory is entitled to select an equal quantity of land in lieu of mineral lands sold or otherwise disposed of. The character of the selected lands must be determined under the rules governing agricultural land entries.
Pursuant to this Congressional statute the territorial legislature, by act approved March 16, 1899, established a board of public lands, consist- ing of the governor, solicitor-general and commissioner of public lands for the leasing, sale and general management of all public lands or pub- lic funds granted to the Territory. This law created the office of com- missioner of public lands, Alpheus A. Keen being the first appointed to that office. The new law withdrew from the market all lands granted by the government, permitted their leasing at an annual rental of not less than two cents per acre for a period not exceeding five years, but provided for the sale, for cash, of not more than twenty-five per cent of all the lands granted which are salable under the Congressional act "at the best price ob- tainable, which shall not be less than three dollars per acre."
The territorial officers report that New Mexico has been realizing thousands of dollars every year since the passage of the law, which is applied to the public school funds from the leasings thus far made. The successful outcome of Mr. Fergusson's endeavor to fix the status of these millions of acres of land, some of which is quite valuable, was considered noteworthy by reason of the fact that he was elected as a Democrat and induced a strong Republican majority in Congress to accede to the de- mands of the people of the Territory as expressed by him.
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advertise the land extensively in the east, bring out train-loads of excur- sionists and effect sales of the lands. They also began operations in the transfer of scrip lands on a large scale.
As the business of this concern increased and the Pecos valley de- veloped as a result, they found they needed more land than they could secure by consignments of claims, purchase of scrip, etc., and, according to the allegations of the respresentatives of the Federal government, pro- cured a number of "dummy" entrymen upon the payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars each ; procured additional land through them, and sold. it at from twenty to thirty dollars per acre. So far as is known the amount of land secured from. the government by this means was two thousand acres or more.
The case against them was first brought before a United States com- mission at Portales. In October, 1905, indictments were returned against the promoters of this scheme, three of their dummy entrymen-John F. McGrew, James W. Overstreet and Walter R. Haynes,-and against Carl H. Young, a promoter, and John H. Mckinstry, a land agent at Roswell. These indictments were tried on a plea of abatement, the cases were dis- missed, new indictments were secured on the ground of conspiracy, sub- ornation of perjury, the latter charges being raised. in the case of B. H. Tallmadge, and the case was tried at Roswell in. June, Edward L. Medler, assistant United States attorney, appearing for the government. Probably no trial of a case in which the disposal of public lands was involved has ever created such widespread interest and engendered such bitter feeling. Residents of the Pecos valley, witnessing the rapid development of that rich section of country as the direct result of the operations of Tallmadge and his associates, were, as a rule, friendly to the accused men, who were regarded as the instruments through which much of the modern develop- ment of the valley had been effected .. The action of the federal author- ities in interpreting the law literally, combined with the Luna county land case, referred to in. preceding pages, and the agitation of the question by the press of the Territory, were in a large measure responsible for the amendment of 1906 to the Fergusson act, authorizing the sale of ter- ritorial lands in larger bodies than six hundred. and forty acres each, al- though this amendment did not affect cases similar to that affecting Tall- madge and his associates.
This is but a hint as to some of the more important features of the conditions in the Territory at the close of the eight-year administration of Governor Otero early in January, 1906. The worn-out and utterly dis- gusted advocates of reform therefore hailed with delight the appointment to the office of chief executive of a man who might enter upon the dis- charge of his duties with clean hands and free from personal and political obligations to the past. When it was announced from Washington that the choice of the president for this arduous undertaking had fallen upon Herbert J. Hagerman, those citizens to whom honesty and integrity in the administration of public affairs was dearer than the maintenance of "party organization,"-hailed the new governor as their only hope. The very fact that he was young, probably ambitious, untried as a politician, and almost unknown to the rank and file of the party then in power, was re- garded as an angury of an improved status of affairs.
Governor Hagerman was slighty over thirty-four years of age at
your Cours surcerely BIHagerman
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the time of his inauguration. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 15, 1871, a son of J. J. Hagerman, who became most widely known in New Mexico as the chief factor in the modern development of the great agricultural resources of the fertile Pecos valley. He com- pleted his classical course at Cornell University, and afterward occupied the post of secretary of embassy under two American ambassadors to Russia-Ethan Allen Hitchcock, afterward secretary of the interior, and Charlemagne Tower. At the time of his inauguration he enjoyed the dis- tinction of being the youngest state or territorial governor in the United States.
The young governor knew that grave problems faced him. He knew that upon assuming the duties of the office he would be surrounded almost completely by political enemies. He knew that among the office-holding class those to whom he could turn for advice and information, with the slightest hope that he would not be misled into a path leading to the maze of intrigue and corruption, were few, if, indeed, there were any. He was confronted, at the beginning, with a crisis that would have caused a weak man to falter. His first need was a strong and reliable legal adviser; a man who had not suffered by personal contact with the notorious element whose influence had been paramount in the past, and who, like himself, possessed the courage of his convictions, and honesty of purpose. Soon after entering upon the duties of his office, he, therefore, called to the office of attorney-general, Captain W. C. Reid, a personal friend in whom he had confidence, one of the younger lawyers of the Territory, but a man of recognized ability, honest, courageous and fearless.
The new governor began the fulfillment of his mission by requesting the resignation of a number of territorial officials, the conduct of whose office had been reprehensible to a greater or less extent. In their places he appointed men who bore reputations for integrity and ability. While the majority of the new appointees were of the governor's party, some were Democrats. Fitness for the office in question appeared to be the chief qualification demanded. For the first time in the history of New Mexico he compelled the arrogant Standard Oil Company to abide by the law relative to the inspection of its product. Until the beginning of his ad- ministration, not a gallon of oil entering the Territory had been inspected by the officials who had sworn to fulfill the duties of their office. An in- vestigation into the management of the penitentiary at Santa Fé disclosed abuses. The physical conditions were vicious and the discipline lax, the inmates had not been properly employed, and it was found that out of the sum of about twenty-five thousand dollars received from the sale of lands, directed by the law to be devoted to the expense of permanent improve- ments, literally "for the enlargement and maintenance of the territorial penitentiary," twenty thousand dollars or more had been diverted to other purposes, without legal warrant, in excess of the moneys appropriated by the legislatures for that purpose.
The chief warden of the penitentiary, Henry O. Bursum, had become firmly established in power as the head of the ring which had been exploit- ing the finances of the Territory. Bursum was a political product of Socorro county. At the beginning of the Hagerman administration he was chairman of the territorial Republican central committee, and without doubt the most potential factor in the territorial Republican organization.
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He not only dominated the legislature, but exercised his influence over Governor Otero. One of the first acts of the new governor was to re- move Bursum and appoint in his place Captain Arthur Trelford, an ex- pert prison authority from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan- sas. A few days later Bursum's "vindication" followed in the form of his election to the mayoralty of Socorro, his home town. Alarmed at the pros- pects, Elfego Baca of Socorro, district-attorney for Socorro county, antic- ipated his removal on the charge of corrupt practices by telegraphing his resignation to the governor. Other resignations and removals followed quickly upon the heels of those referred to, and the vaunted strength of the organization waned in proportion as the sturdiness, independence and public spirit of the fearless new executive became more apparent. The faint spirit of resistance was overwhelmed by the tidal wave of purity in politics.
The legislature of 1905 engaged in more corrupt practices in the way of the use of the people's money, probably, than any of its predecessors for many years. As an example of the prodigality with which they disposed of the territorial funds the following inspired article, published at the same time in Santa Fé and Albuquerque newspapers, affords a sufficient expo- sition : "The people of the Territory are, by this time, quite familiar with those acts of the last territorial legislature known as joint resolution No. I and joint resolution No. 7, but they are not entirely familiar with the amount of money paid out under those resolutions, and the method of 'auditing' the bills incurred by virtue of those resolutions. Joint resolu- tion No. I reads as follows: 'Be it enacted by the thirty-sixth legislative assembly of the Territory of New Mexico: C. J. R. No. I, approved Jan- uary 18, 1905: That there is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the territorial treasury for the payment of the contingent expenses of said legislative assembly, during the (60) sixty days thereof, the sum of twelve thousand ($12,000.00) dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, six thousand ($6,000.00) dollars of which shall be expended under the direction of the chairman of the finance committee of the house of repre- sentatives, and six thousand ($6,000.00) dollars under the direction of the chairman of the finance committee of the legislative council, who shall re- spectively cause to be kept an accurate and true account of all disburse- ments made hereunder, and shall cause to be made a certified report to the president of the council and speaker of the house of representatives of all' such disbursements so made, and the receipts therefor; and the treasurer of the Territory is hereby directed to pay out of any moneys in the treas- ury such sums so stated to the order of the said chairman of the finance committee of the house of representatives and to the chairman of the finance committee of the legislative council, upon presentation of a certified copy of this resolution.' All. that there is to show in the territorial offices for the expenditure, under this resolution, of twelve thousand dollars, is a certified copy of the resolution. This certified copy is signed in type- writing by J. S. Clark, the president of the council, Owen, clerk of the council, Carl A. Dalies, speaker of the house and Armijo, clerk of the house, and by Governor Otero, the whole certified by the secretary of the Territory. On the back of this certified copy are two endorsements stamped and written as follows: 'Received of W. G. Sargent, territorial auditor, January 18, 1905, warrant No. 10,920, six thousand dollars in full pay-
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CIVIL RECORDS
ment of within account, payable to chairman of finance committee of coun- cil. John S. Clark, president council.' 'Received of W. G. Sargent, ter- ritorial auditor, January 18, 1905, warrant No. 10,922 for six thousand dollars in full payment of within account. Payable to chairman finance . committee of house. Carl A. Dalies, speaker of the house.' Six thousand dollars of this money was paid to W. E. Martin, chairman of the finance committee of the council, and six thousand dollars to Granville Pendleton, chairman of the finance committee of the house, and what they did with it is not known. If they used it for the payment of contingent expenses why do they not make a report and furnish proper vouchers? The above is absolutely all that, up to date, can possibly be found to account for the expenditure of twelve thousand dollars under joint resolution No. I. Joint resolution No. 7 reads as follows: 'Be it resolved by the council thirty- sixth legislative assembly of the Territory of New Mexico, the house of representatives concurring herein: That the president of the council shall appoint three committees of the council and the speaker of the house of representatives shall, in a like manner, appoint three committees of the house ; the numbers as to membership of said committees to be designated by the president of the council and the speaker of the house of representa- tives respectively, to act as joint committees for the purpose of inquiring into and inspecting and reporting to the governor of the Territory, at the most convenient time during this session, the condition, management, prosperity and needs of the various territorial institutions. That the chair- man of the finance committee of the council and the chairman of the finance committee of the house of representatives are hereby designated as an auditing committee to examine and audit the expense accounts of said committees and all accounts for printing and contingent expenses of said legislative council and house of representatives, and shall certify to the correctness of same, setting forth the amounts due to the territorial auditor, who shall, upon presentation of same, draw his warrants for such amounts so set forth upon the territorial treasurer, who shall pay same out of any funds in the territorial treasury.' To show for the expenditures under joint resolution No. 7, there are four papers in the territorial offices, the first of which is as follows :
Santa Fé, N. M., Feb. 23; 1905.
Territory of New Mexico, Dr .-
To auditing committee, Thirty-sixth legislature. To services of, and traveling expenses incurred by committees and clerks in visiting and examining and inquiring into the management, conditions and requirements and needs of the several public institutions of the Territory of New Mexico, and contingent expenses of the council and house, as provided and directed by and under council substitute to amend house substitute for house joint resolution No. 4, four thousand dollars.
We hereby certify the above amount to be true and correct.
W. E. MARTIN, Chairman Finance Committee Council. GRANVILLE PENDLETON, Chairman Finance Committee House of Representatives.
"This paper has nine different indorsements signed W. E. Martin for different amounts aggregating four thousand dollars, but what he did with the money he has not reported, or if he has reported, the report cannot be found. The second and third papers are the bills for the printing of the governor's message in Spanish by the New Mexican, owned principally
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HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO
by Maximilian Frost, the house and council bills in Spanish and the reports of the auditor, the board of public lands and the territorial treasurer, in amounts as follows :
Governor's message in Spanish. $2,661.37
House bills in Spanish. 1,370.21
Council bills in Spanish 1,080.30
Auditor's reports . 723.45
Board of Public Lands reports. 473.58
Treasurer's reports
743.00
Amounting to $7,051.91
These items were certified to by the chairman of the finance committees, and paid before the type had been set for the governor's message in Span- ish ; the amount paid being immeasurably in excess of any reasonable figure which should have been paid.
"The fourth paper is a modest request for eleven thousand dollars of the territorial funds. The document is as follows :
"'To the Honorable Territorial Auditor, Santa Fé, N. M.
"'Sir: We, the undersigned, chairman of finance committee of the council, and chairman of finance committee of the house of representatives of the Thirty-sixth legislative assembly, by and under the provisions of council substitute to amend house joint resolution No. 4, pursuant to the authority therein vested to the under- signed, do hereby certify that we have on this 13th day of March, A. D. 1905, audited and allowed contingent expenses of the Thirty-sixth legislative assembly to the amount of eleven thousand dollars, and hereby request that you draw your warrant upon the territorial treasurer in accordance and under the provisions of said resolu- tion.
W. E. MARTIN, Chairman Finance Committee Council. GRANVILLE PENDLETON,
Chairman Finance Committee, House of Representatives.'
"Referring also to joint resolution No. 7, it has four indorsements by W. E. Martin, chairman of the finance committee of the council, aggre- gating six thousand dollars, and one by . Granville Pendleton, chairman finance committee of the house, for five thousand dollars. There is noth- ing on the public records to show what Messrs. Martin and Pendleton did with any of this money. It will thus be seen that, in addition to the twelve thousand dollars appropriated for contingent expenses of the legislative assembly by joint resolution No. I, eleven thousand dollars more were taken under joint resolution No. 7 for the same purpose, making in all twenty- three thousand dollars spent for the contingent expenses of the legisla- ture. Four thousand dollars were spent for the trip to the territorial in- stitutions and $7,051.91 for printing outside of the regular appropriation for public printing, making $34,051.91 spent under these two resolutions, for which, up to date, there has been found absolutely nothing whatever in the territorial records to show in the way of accounting, except the very loose reports contained in the papers referred to for the printing part of it.
"Under the theory by which the governor, secretary and auditor of the territory passed upon the fourth paper, drawing eleven thousand dol- lars for contingent expenses under resolution No. 7, the auditor could have paid out to the chairman of the finance committee of the legislature
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every cent of money there was in the territorial treasury, if he had been requested to do so by them, with as much color of regularity as he paid out the eleven thousand dollars."
In his efforts to save to the Territory as much of its lands as it is possible to do under the laws, Governor Hagerman found himself strongly sustained by the department of the interior, which left much to his dis- cretion in the matter, the chief stipulation being that he permit no viola- tions of the Federal law regulating the control and irrigation of lands. The irrigation commission created by the territorial legislature was essen- tially a reclamation bureau. His first practical step toward stopping the illegal disposition of these lands was to prohibit the further meetings of the irrigation commission, and vesting in the land commissioner, Alpheus A. Keen, full authority as agent for the United States land commission. He found that by the provisions of a territorial law which sought to evade the restrictions imposed by Congress, pasturage permits, covering large areas, were authorized, whereas the law of 1898 allowed the leasing of but six hundred and forty acres to any individual or corporation. Though this provision of the law had now become recognized as unwise, Governor Hagerman determined to enforce it; and the interior department having ruled that permits were essentially leases and contrary to the law, he re- voked permits affecting about four hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, thereby cutting off the income to territorial institutions whch accrued from these leases. This done, he sought relief from Congress, which in the spring of 1906 amended the law of 1898 by allowing the leasing of large parcels of land under certain conditions-a thing which had been done without warrant of law during the Otero administration.
Prima facie evasions of the section of the act of 1898 permitting the sale of but one hundred and sixty acres to one person or association of individuals had been effected. These procedures were investigated by a special agent of the interior department, who reported that, in one import- ant case, already referred to, a large number of applicants for the pur- chase of lands signed their applications at the request of the attorney for J. S. Delamater, as trustee, and that they likewise executed deeds trans- ferring their interests in the lands, when acquired, to Delamater. In one case as many as one hundred and forty individuals made applications for lands, which were granted, the deeds to the corporation seeking in this manner to acquire title being recorded upon the same day. Under the amended law. while the fee to such lands remains vested in the Territory, grants of tracts in excess of one hundred and sixty acres may now be made, under certain conditions, which, if violated, may be followed by revocation of the grant by Congress. Though hundreds of thousands of acres of valuable timber lands passed into the control of corporations, by devious channels, in evasion of the apparent spirit of the law, during the Otero administration, Governor Hagerman put a stop to further transactions of this character. However, he recognized the question as to whether the Territory, though not authorized to sell the timber land in excess of one hundred and sixty acre tracts, might not sell the timber itself, leaving the land still in possession of the Territory. The assignment of school lands likewise remains unsettled.
It will thus be seen that Governor Hagerman has set his hand to a task of gigantic proportions. With the support of a legislature in sym-
Vol. I. 19
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HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO
pathy with his proposed further reforms, the undertaking might be greatly simplified. But if the legislature antagonizes him at every step the prob- lem will increase in its seriousness. The question of equality in taxation is one which will demand his attention. All efforts to procure a more nearly equitable valuation of the property of the railroads, the great lumber companies and the other special interests have failed. The influence of the railroad corporations in the legislature, through their local agents, has been paramount up to this time. The operations of the territorial board of equilization have proven a farce.
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