Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-09-30
THE WEAKNESS OF FALsEHoOD.

THE WEAKNESS OF FALSEH0OD.
V hat rank rot it is that the enemies OF
progress are dealing out to the voters of
New Mexico in hopes of defeating the
state constitution. They are begging the
question right through. Theirs is cam
paign of falsehood and misrepresentation
and in resortng to such a course they
but indicate to all fair minded men the
weakness of their position. Then, too,
the vacillating policy they have pursued
certainly ought suffice to convince the
real friends of the ealth-the
masses-that political bunCOmb is the
basis of the whole assault. No one will
pretend to claim that any craftsmanship
is at the back OF it. In the beginning the
auti-statenood Democrats, very many OF
them at least, freely admitted the excel
lence OF the consti ution; they had to do
this because at that time the provisions
Of the instrument were all fresh in the
minds OF the people and they dared not
show their hand further than to enter
wholesale objection to the apportionment
clause. This was promptly met by the
friends OF the cause and the falseness OF
the charge was so completely exposed,
that now we no longer hear anything re-
garding the apportionment feature.
The opposition subsequently took up
the common schools feature of the con-
stitution, and the provision of school tax
under it. Again the friends of statehood
showed up the falIacv of their charges.
So with the objections raised against the
judicial provisions OF the document and
against the so.called Impeachment"
paragraph. Driven from the bitches
thus far the gang now takes another tack
and undertakes to make "the miner and
the poor man" believe that this consttu-
ton was framed with a subtle purpose in
view The taxation of ores and unlimit-
ed taxation of the trades, stock interests
and professions which lands are by it
restricted to q tax OF not more than | per
gence of people to undertake to hood
wink them in this manner? The word
ing of the provisions respecting taxation
is simple enough. The closest scrutiny
of the clause is invited. There is abso-
lutely nothing wrong with the provisions
in that respect they are just and fair
towarl all citizens, rich and poor alike,
and only the diseased imaginations Of a
small but very hungry and ambitious
gang OF Democratic politicians, accus-
toned to dccciying the people, could dis
cover IN them anything else.
Candidlv, these provisions confer no
new power upon the people represented
by and through their legislators. The
power to tax is always in the people and
the province of the constitution is to limit
it; it can not enlarge it. The present
taxing power in this territory is far great
err than it would be should we become a
state under this constitution. We may
thank the Laundering gang for calling
public attention to this very fact. The
legislature now has power to tax any and
all branches of business-"p professions,
occupations and specific articles if you
please it could tax the mines out of ex-
istence, almost, and make It so burden
some for the builders of railway lines and
irrigation canals as to exclude all such
enterprises, However, it hasn't done
these things, possibly because the terri
tor.al legislature has always been Repub-
lican, but probably for the reason that
the best interests of the people demand
ed the imposition of the highest posi-
Bile tax covering the fewest articles
This same policy would be followed by
the state legislature-t would be suicidal
to adopt any other. So that the whole
matter of taxation rests, after all, with
the people through their legislators and
the constitution merely exercises wise
discretion in restricting-in the interest
OF all the people alike-the tax for terri
torial purposes to per cent. This pro-
vision was incorporated in the consttu
ton with the especial view to protecting
the poor man rather than injuring him
The anti-state gang will have to trump W
something more serious than this if they
would win favor with the intelligent voters