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Tesorería Municipal

1914 proposal

On 21 March 1914 the Mining Journal Press, of Mexico City, wrote to the governor that it understood that the legislature had proposed an issue of bonos to counter the lack of small change and offered its services. They had already produced bonos for GuanajuatoAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1914 Exp. 1028. However, on 24 March, J. Castillo replied that such bonos were not necessaryAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1914 Exp. 1008.

1915

However, by early 1915 the shortage had become acute enough that on 9 April the Secretario General wrote to the president of the Cámara de Comercio that the governor had decided that the Querétaro town council should study the best way of making a provisional issue of fractional currency that would be accepted by local businesses. The amount issued should be fully guaranteed by a deposit in the Tesorería MunicipalAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1915 Exp. 170.

During May, June and part of July 1915 the state, and in particular the capital, of Querétaro was frequently cut off from Carranza in Veracruz. Therefore, on 12 June the government authorized local business to issue a series of notes, guaranteed by a fund deposited by the selfsame businesses in the Tesorería Municipal.

These notes were valid only for commercial transactions in Querétaro.

Comercio 25c A

Comercio 25c A reverse

Comercio 50c A

Comercio 50c A reverse

Comercio 50c B 0637

Comercio 50c B 0637 reverse

On the 25c and 50c the text reads ‘‘Bueno sólo por el Comercio de Ciudad de Querétaro. Garantizado en la Tesorería Municipal, por el depósito integro de la cantidad total de esta emisión, hecho por el comercio de la misma Ciudad’.

These were signed by the Presidente of the Cámara de Comercio, Robert Nieto, or an understudy, such as the 1o Vocal, [     ] Ramírez[identification needed], 2o Vocal, J. Ugarte, and Francisco Zubieta.

Robert Nieto sig Roberto
[    ] Ramírez  sig Ramirez
J. Ugarte sig Ugarte

Francisco Zubieta was the Tesorero Municipal.

He was arrested on 16 January 1915 by the governor, Teodoro Elizondo, but back at the Tesorería by 5 April.

sig Zubieta
 [identification needed] sig Comercio 50c B 0637

 

Series C were 10c notes, with a similar legend ‘Bueno solo por el comercio de ciudad de Querétaro. Garantizado en la Tesorería Municipal, por el depósito entero de la cantidad total de esta emisión, hecho por el comercio de la misma ciudad’.

On 16 May F. Zubieta, the Tesorero Municipal, wrote that to date they had issued $9,511.50 in series A and B and $5,000 in series C (of the $15,000 authorised), and that the Imprenta del Gobierno, because of other work, was only sending $500 a day. He asked for authorisation for a new issue of $20,000 in 50c notes (Series D) subject to the same conditions. This was granted by the governor, Federico Montes, on 18 MayAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-2 Año 1915 Exp. 188.

On 31 May Zubieta reported that public demand for fractional currency had still not been satisfied and asked for permission for another issue, Series E, of $20,000 in 50c notesAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1915 Exp. 170. The Secretario General wanted to know how much had already been issuedAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1915 Exp. 170 Secretario General to Tesorero Municipal, 2 June 1915. Zubieta replied that to date the amount was as followsAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1915 Exp. 170 letter Zubieta to Secretario General, 5 June 1915. In addition they had issued $525 in vales of the empresa de Tranvías S.A. making a grand total of $45,025,50. This has been issued to businesses in exchange as follows: $5,904.00 in April, $30,121.50 in May and $8,000.00 in June:

Value Series from to Total
1c A and B     $9,511.50
2c    
25c    
50c    
10c C     15,000.00
50c D     20,000.00
        $44,511.50

 

On 22 June Zubieta asked permission for another $20,000 in 50c, Series F and this was granted three days laterAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1915 Exp. 170. However, the governor’s response refers to the Series E, as though he was merely confirming the earlier authorizationAt the same time there was correspondence about a much larger issue. On 22 June Zubieta told governor Montes that on 17 June the Presidente Municipal had told him (Zubieta) that the governor had authorised an issue of $300,000 ($5,000 in 500,000 1c vales, $20,000 in 400,000 5c vales, $25,000 in 250,000 10c vales, $50,000 in 250,000 20c vales and $200,000 in 400,000 50c vales. This note was acknowleged by M. V. Enríquez, the Oficial Mayor, on 25 June (AQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-1 Año 1915 Exp. 170) but obviously nothing came of this.. These Series F were printed as on 31 July governor Federico Montes asked Tesorero Municipal Zubieta to give Melitón Romero, the Administrador General de Rentas’ envoy, $7,000 and he complied by giving him $5,000 in Gobierno Provisional notes and $2,000 in 50c vales Series FAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-2 Año 1915 Exp. 212.

On 10 July 1915 at an extraordinary sesión of the town council (Ayuntamiento) the members discussed a request from General Canuto Reyes for a loan of $100,000 for the costs of his flying column, and, considering the state of the municipal finances, decided to ask Reyes to leave some funds in the Tesorería for their own needs. They were told that there were just over $60,000 that businesses had deposited to guarantee the cartones in circulation: the amount of municipal funds was unknown as the Tesorero still had not produced a balance sheet. Benjamín Herrera said that the council could not use the $60,000 plus without the permission of the Cámara del Comercio, so they summoned its representativesJosé Aguirre, Presidente José García, Vicepresidente, Jesus Coello, Tesorero; Reginaldo Herrera, 2o Vocal, Herminio Camacho, 3er Vocal and Ramon del Villar, 3er Vocal suplente. Ramón García, the Secretario, was already present as a member of the town council and asked for their approval. The Cámara’s president stated that his organization did not represent all the businesses that had made deposits, and others said that they could not agree, but it was pointed out that the notes themselves said that they were guaranteed by the Cámara and finally it was decided to accede to General Reyes’ request, using the money that guaranteed the issueAMQ, actas de Cabildo, exp. 75, 10 de julio de 1915, f.95. So Reyes made off with the funds and to add insult to injury when the Carrancistas returned they fined everyone who contributed in good or bad faith to helping the Villistas (que contribuyeron con buena o mala voluntad a sostener a las fuerzas villistas)AMQ, actas de Cabildo,exp. 75, 14 de octubre de 1915, fs. 128v..

In August 1915, given the lack of funds, the government issued $200,000 in 50c notes, to ease small transactions and to pay for sanitation works. These were Serie F.

Of this $200,000 $88,000 was spent on drainage while the remaining $112,000 was distributed to businesses and individuals in exchange for notes of the national issues. Over time the Secretario General made several consignments of these 50c vales to the Tesorero General thusAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-2 Año 1915 Exp. 212:

  Oficio No. Series from to Total value
    F 1   $39,000
30 August 4210   100000 $11,000
    100001 140000 $20,000
4 September 4247 140001 180000 $20,000
8 September 4270 180001 220000 $20,000
11 September 4312 220001 260000 $20,000
21 September 4347 260001 300000 $20,000
4 October 4445 300001 350000 $25,000
16 October 4597 350001 400000 $25,000

 

On 27 September the Presidente Municipal of Amealco, Carlos P. Montes, asked the government for permission to buy $600 in these vales (for 5c, 10c and 50c) for which the local Cámara de Comercio would payAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-3 Año 1915 Exp. 258. He was told that only 50c vales were available, and to send the money directly to the Tesorería Municipal in QuerétaroAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-3 Año 1915 Exp. 255 letter Secretario General to Presidente Municipal, Amealco 4 October 1915.

On 10 October Ramón García, the Cámara’s secretary, wrote that various members had their entire holdings tied up in these 50c vales and were suffering because of counterfeits and the fact that the notes were not accepted outside of the capitalAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-2 Año 1915 Exp. 223 letter A. M. Camacho, presidente municipal, to Secretario General, 10 October 1915. On 30 November the Secretario General wrote to all the Presidentes Municipales of the Districts and Municipalities that the 50c Series F vales were of forced circulation throughout the stateAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-3 Año 1915 Exp. 327, acknowledged by Enrique Aguda, president municipal of Jalpán on 3 December. On 17 December 1915 on instructions from the state government the Tesorería Municipal handed $7,027.91 in cartones to Teniente Coronel Jorge Cabrera, jefe of the 84o Regimiento. Cabrera was to return the amount in notes of legal tenderAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1915 Exp. 279.

So the total wasAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-2 Año 1916 Exp. 520

Value Series from to total
number
total
value
 
1c         $   9,511.50  
2c          
25c A       includes numbers 0239 to 8141CNBanxico #11948 
50c A       includes number 1154
B       includes number 0637CNBanxico #11950 
10c C 1 150000   15,000.00 includes numbers 56053CNBanxico #11945 to 148032CNBanxico #5986
50c D       20,000.00 includes number 13650
E       20,000.00  
F  1 400000 400,000 200,000.00 includes numbers 45722CNBanxico #5988 to 373144CNBanxico #5987
          $264,511.50  

 

Withdrawal

On 30 April Zubieta reported the following held in the Tesoreria MunicipalAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-2 Año 1916 Exp. 520. Some errors corrected. Zubieta was also holding $21,150 in 50c vales and $51 in counterfeit 50c vales for Srita Ana Nieto, the result of the sale of grain belonging to Leopoldo Ruiz Ocejo during September and October:

Value Series Total
1c A and B $    398.39
2c
25c A and B 4,973.50
50c
10c C 1,082.30
50c D 30,590.00
E
F
    $37,044.19

 

By May 1916 Carranza was imposing his national currency, with the infalsificables to be the only currency from 30 June. The government envisaged problems in redeeming these existing cartones in the new infalsificables, or disputes over the going rate if they were redeemed with the old Carrancista currency, so on 16 May Federico Montes, the military commander and governor, ordered the decommissioning of these vales. From 22 May until 10 June they were to be exchanged in the offices of the Municipal Treasury for notes of the Ejército Constitucionalista and Veracruz Gobierno Provisional de México issues. After 10 June the cartones would be declared null and void.

In the redemption Series A to E were covered by the $64,511.50 deposited by businesses and the bulk of Series F in a similar manner. The remaining $88,000 was met from the government’s own funds.

On the first two days (22 and 23 May) more than $50,000 was handed inAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 515 and by 2 June $71,500 had been changed and $11,173.60 had been deposited in the Tesorería Municipal awaiting exchangeAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 515 report pf F. Zubieta, 2 June 1916. On the same day the governor warned the presidentes municipales of Querétaro, San Juan del Río, Amealco, Cadereyta, Tequisquiapan and Toliman that they should remit their notes before 10 June or they would not be changed. Jalpan was also telephoned but replied that so far nothing had been deposited. The governor sent another reminder on 6 June and Tolimán replied that its presidente municipal had set out with its notesAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 515.

The Presidente Municipal of Cadereyta, Jorge Cabrera, said that he had sent $1,334.00 on 3 June but on 7 June the Tesorero Municipal of Querétaro had told him that because of the amount of work he could not actually change more than $210.00. On 8 June he sent $3,200.00. By 9 June the Tesorero Municipal of San Juan del Río, Julian Alcantará, had already sent more than $5,534.00AQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 515.

On 10 June Zubieta reported the following holding(Archivo Querétaro, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 520)
:

Value Series Total
1c A and B $5,100.59
2c
25c
50c
10c C 1,531.20
50c D 12,819.10
E 6,491.00
F 109,882.50
not specified 24,000.00
deposited and awaiting
exchange
29,491.55
  $189,315.94

 

Incinerations

We have various references to incinerations. On 10 July the following amounts were burnt in the main patio of the Palacio Municipal in the presence of Alfonso M. Camacho, Presidente Municipal, J. Jesús Pozo, Secretario de la Cámara Mercantil, and othersAQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 515:

Value Series Total
1c A and B $6,243.59
2c
25c
50c
10c C 1,386.60
50c D 16,996.50
E 12,167.00
F 150,070.00
    $186,863.69

 By 30 June another $9 had been added AQ, Fondo Poder Ejecutivo Sec 2ª Hacienda C-4 Año 1916 Exp. 515:

Value Series Total
1c A and B $6,243.59
2c
25c
50c
10c C 1,386.60
50c D 16,996.50
E 12,167.00
F 150,079.00
  $186,872.69

 

Later, in the monthly cashflows produced by the Tesorería Municipal, there are occasional references to these vales; thus:

  debit credit
June 1916La Sombra de Arteaga, Año XLVIV, Núm. 40, 30 September 1916 Depósitos  para emisión de vales 798.00 Depósitos para emisión de vales 36,796.89
July        
August 1916La Sombra de Arteaga, Año XLIX, Núm. 48, 25 November 1916   1,030.00 Billetes infalsificables  14,500.00
September 1916La Sombra de Arteaga, Año XLIX, Núm. 49, 2 December 1916   980.00