Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1889-02-14
NEW MExICANs ABROAD.
Mr.. Spradling Calls on President Harri
son-Col. Dwyer in Washington.

]
Mr.. ]. A. Spradling, manager OF the
New MEXICAN, was a caller at President
elect Harrison's home on Monday. The
dispatches say:
Mr.. Spradling called to advocate his
old friend, Gen. Powell Clayton, for a
| place in the cabinet. Mr.. Spradling is an
| earnest advocate of statehood for New
Mexico and vigorously repels the charge
that the people Of that territory are not
prepared and able to successfully assume
Independent government. He says the
objections at this time come from few
politicians and bankers in the territory
who perceive if the territory is admitted
they will lose their grip on the control of
affairs. The statement is widely pub
lished that official records of the legisla
ture and courts are kept in the Spanish
language only. He declared that false
hood. He is public printer Of the terri
tory. Mr.. Spreading also says there are
three prominent names mentioned for
governorship of New Mexico, Joseph W.
Dryer, of Ration, formerly private secre-
tary to Chief Justice Chase A. L. Morri-
son, of Santa Fe, ex-United States mar
shall under President Arthur, who took a
prominent part in the late campaign in
New York as organizer of the Irish-Amer-
lean Republican leagues, and L. Bradford
Prince, ex-chief justice of the territory
under President Hayes
PLAIN TALK.
Col. J. W. Dryer is in Washington,
and the press correspondents there have
interviewed him on New Mexico affairs,
with this result:
The New Mexicans are disheartened
about their land court bill, 1t is, as Mr..
Dwyer says, of vastly more importance to
the territory just now than the question
of statehood. The difficulty is with Sena-
tor Edmunds, who wants the land grant
controversies to go through the regular
courts. Mr.. Dryer and others have tried
to convince him that that course isn't
feasible, and that New Mexico will have
to struggle along under the incubus OF
these disquieting grant claims indefinitely
unless the whole collection of grant titles,
good and bad, is turned over to a COM
mission or court especially appointed by
the general government to investigate
them, and pass upon them finally and
forever. The New Mexicans first asked
for commission some years ago, but
Senator Edmunds opposed that idea so
vigorously it was given up. Now con-
gress is asked to provide land court,
which will require all these claims to be
submitted within given period for final
adjustment, after which all other claims
under these old Mexican and Spanish
grants are to be forever barred The bill
has passed the house, and it would 60
through the senate in short order if SEN
ator Edmunds could be made to see the
demand for it.
'But for these vexatious grants" said
Mr.. Dryer, New Mexico would have
100000 people to-day, and We would be
asking, as Dakota is, to be admitted as
two states. What can country do where
half of it is covered by alleged grants the
legality of which nobody can tell anything
about? People can't buy under clouded
titles either for homes or for developing
mines or for any permanent investment.
We are held back year after year by the
uncertainties in which our titles are invol
we'd. 1t will not do to leave these ques-
tons to the territorial courts, for there
isn't lawyer of standing in the territory
who isn't disqualified for the bench by
reason of being attorney for or against
one or more grants What we want is a
land court that will be appointed by the
president and confirmed by the senate to
60 to Mexico, take testimony, investigate
all these grants, and then render its de-
cision here in Washington. This court
can do what territorial or state courts
couldn't. 1t could, though the state de-
partment here obtain access to the records
at the City of Mexico and at Madrid, and
thus gather all the documentary evidence
there is to be had about these grants
New Mexico, Arizona and Southern Col
orado are deeply interested in this mat
ter. To New MeXicans it is a question of
far greater importance than statehood"
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