OCR Text |
Show HISTORY 1880 TO On June 4, 1881, a personal friend of President Garfield, Lionel A. Sheldon,*” of Ohio, was inaugurated governor at Santa Fé. New PE PPD cess The legislative assembly of 1882 passed a school law, which was an improvement on any the territory had ever had, although by no means in keeping with the American idea of public educational enactments. *%4 unty Seat of Dofia Ana county at Las Cruces. ne ce of this assembly were: for the settlement of private land claims; the Me, cession of the old palace to the Historical Society; opening a part of . escalero Apache reservation for settlement, and for a repeal of the United €s law of 1878 forbidding the use of troops as a posse comitatus. The territorial] librarian’s Report of 1883 contains a catalogue of 1,810 a . ” a ea ~ a ee ere B int. 2a. ee ee eet. ook, | eet ee ed See Yet ae te a eee, et ee 2-0 2°99" a 8 ae 8 DN PR PR AR HP eesCe Oe oe aa 4 ee e"4 te La Se eeFe EP ee Fh thy ripen tale Beet AS NO A LP Ee ance eee a om Po FE. oe eee eer or ee oF Pee a a a eee to* rs aK Pte) FSP 2 regulating railroad fares and t es; defining a system of revenue; taxing cattle owned in other states and eres; authorizing the ransom of Apache captives; appropriating $3,000 as aid of the Sisters of Charity of Santa Fé; changing the county seat of ColMic County, the boundary between Colfax and Mora, between Mora and San a uel, Santa Fé and San Miguel, and San Miguel and Valencia, and fixing the I i for a tax of three mills on the dollar for school purposes. by the assembly of 1882 were: Act regulating the terri- RIG acts passed library ; protecting coal mines and miners; a PS. ae Other Na ‘ Pe a Sum derived from the poll tax. Surely no field in the United offers & richer opportunity for improvement in educational affairs than NewStates Mexico.’? This law provided Brey LB 403 Lewis Kingman was the chief engineer of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. 404 Report of Governor Sheldon, 1884: ‘‘The advantages of the new school law are that it creates a tangible system, and it is simpler and more efficient. It imposes greater restraints upon improper expenditure of the school funds, and Severer penalties for abuses and neglect of duty on the part of school officers, and it Should be added that duties are more specifically and clearly defined. There is also an increase of tax to the extent of one-half mill on the dollar for School purposes. I estimate that the school fund of the Territory, on the basis of the present assessments, will be nearly $100,000, including the ' 1881-1883, and Col. E. L. Bartlett in 1883-1884. In 1884 he called out the national guard to aid in putting down an Apache outbreak of that year under Geronimo, It was largely through his efforts that New Mexico changed its poliey of sending its convicted criminal s to the penitentiary at Ft. Leavenworth and constructed its own penal institution at Santa Fé. After his retirement as governor in 1885, he was appointed one of the receivers of the Texas Pacific Railway Company by Judge Pardee. He is now living in California. *°2 In 1880 there were no towns of any importance in the territory except Santa Fé, oe ee sensions which disrupted the party and made possible the election of a oe ag delegate to congress for ten years. Governor Sheldon devoted much a i tion to the militia of New Mexico. Colonel Max Frost was his adjutant genera’, em Atlantic and Pacific Railroad from Alburquerq ue west to the Arizona line had been completed.* ee In 1880, according to the census returns, the number of schools (public) in New Mexico was 162, but there were only 46 school buildings, and the average attendance was 3,150. Sixty per cent of the inhabitants of the territory ovel ten years of age were unable to read. In this year a reasonably fair educational bill, providing for the support of publie schools by tax, was defeated; a similar effort in 1876 and 1878 had also failed. It was not until the following session of 1882 that the eg assembly authorized the organization of school districts and the support 0: schools by public revenues. : 401 Lionel A. Sheldon is of Norman descent, his ancestors having settled in Yorkshire, England, about the time of the Conquest, one of whom was afterward appointed lord mayor of London, another bishop of Canterbury, and a third a lieutenant general. In 1646, three brothers of this family came to America, and from one of them Governor Sheldon is descended. He was born in Worcester, New York, August 30, 1831. He read law and was admitted i the bar, taking active part in political and military affairs of the time. be 1858 he was appointed brigadier general of militia, and at the outbreak of the Civil War joined the Union army, commanding a troop of volunteer cavalry. He was soon promoted to a coloneley and brevetted brigadier general, ea part in a number of engagements. In 1868, 1870, and 1872 he was elected to congress from a New Orleans district; he later became attorney for the govern: ment in the Alabama claims. In 1880 he was a of the and Chicago tion which nominated James A. Garfield for themember presidency severalOr ae after his inauguration was his guest at the White House. Sheldon had been z Garfield’s regiment during the war, was his warm personal friend, and, ie upon his influence with the administration, when he assumed the executive are in New Mexico, he antagonized several leaders of his party in New beg thereby injuring his influence with the legislatures and ultimately causing ua In July of this year the nec the new southwest was anticipated by all. er i seen penne Pe ete ea oes te| eee lines, and in other collateral enterprises, marked the prosperity of the period. All-ra il connection, across the continent had just been established and an immen se immigration to on December 5 following. : On May 14, the first street railway company in New Mexico was organized, the line being built at Alburquerque, connecting the new and the old towns. On July 7-15, General Ulysses 8. Grant, Mrs. Grant, and Mrs. Fred. Grant visited New Mexico and were publicly received at Santa Fé and Las Vegas. On October 15, Chief Victorio, driven from New Mexico into Old Mexico, was overtaken at Los Castillos, in the state of Chihuahua, and given battle by Mextcan troops; in the conflict 75 Indians were killed, and 68 women and children taken prisoners. On October 28, Rutherford B. Hayes, President of the United States, Mrs. Hayes, Secretary of War Ramsey, General William Tecumseh Sherman, ant others of the presidential party, returning from the Pacific Coast through New Mexico, visited Santa Fé and were received with great public and military demonstrations. On December 10, the Texas, Santa Fé and Northern Railroad Company, 4 line afterward built from Espafiola to Santa Fé, was incorporated. L. A. SHELDON Investments and speculation in land grant holdings, town and city lots in all the cities #°? and towns along the new railwa y MyM GOVERNOR OF Ph ACT ee to ee ADMINISTRATION ee Pek EL ON PM, PHO Mexico 491 was then enjoying a great period of prosperity. The live stock, mining, and other industries were making tremendous strides. On February 15, celebration of advent of the line of railroad into Santa Fé by an excursion to the Missouri river, in Pullman coaches, given by the railroad company to the territorial officials, members of the legislature, and business men of New Mexico. On April 9, the Santa Fé Gas Company was organized and gas idelivered through mains for the first time in the history of New 1912 Mexico et io oi MEXICAN i OF NEW - FACTS Ce 2? re LEADING Rr 490 |