Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1892-12-28


vision is to country which was settle,
before either jamestown or Plymouth
was thought Of, and where land is held il
an entirely different manner from tha
which was suitable to the public domain
on the prairies Of the northwest.
These facts we're laid before the Com
mittee on Private Land Claims Of tn,
senate, together With others. showing tina
the requirement of residence on eacl
strip of land was wrong, because by de
scent or by purchase one person nigh
own several of these strips and yet hi:
whole property not exceed ten or fiGtecr
acres, and especially because the syster
of colonization of the Spanards looked
to the establishment of central plaza OF
town, where ali should live together fol
purposes of mutual protection, while
their lands were situated up and down the
river, and in many cases were not resided
upon at all.
In the pressure of congressional bust
ness, while the necessary alterations as &c
the shape of the tracts was made in sec
ton lb, 1t was overlooked in section II
and in heither section was tho provision
as to residence corrected; and tho bill
finally passed in that form. In the pres
ent congress bin was introduced in the
house amendatory of the act, and correc-
ting these errors, and this WAS reported
! favorabiy by the Committee on the Ju-
dietary. accompanied by an explanatory
report embodying letter from Commits
sioner Carter This ameudatory act con
tains the most necessary corrections, aud
it is to be hoped that it may speedily be
come law. There are thousands of these
smell holdings in the territory, and under
the law as at present worded. not one in Il
hundred can be confirmed.
The time for the presentation of appli-
cations under these sections should GER
tainly be extended, as it now expires on
March 3. | recommend that, the logis-
lature memorialize congress on the sub
ject without loss of time and there'c can
be no doubt that the necessary amend
ments will then be made. A great nation
like the United States has no desire to
deprive its poorer citizens Of the little
homes which their ancestors with much
labor changed from deserts into fertile
fields, and in the protection of which
from the Indians of the plains many sac-
rifced their lives.
STATEHOOD.
Another ject as to which it would
be proper that the legislature, az the
representative of our people, should give
earnest expression to their almost ami
versal sentiment, by memorial to con-
gress, is that of statehood,
| Since the last session of the legislature
some progress has made in this respect
An enabling act passed the house of rep
resentatiyes by a practically unanimous
vote on June 6, 1892, and is now awaiting
action in the senate. 1t is unnecessary
to repeat here the arguments which show
so conclusiyely that New Mexico is en-
titled to demand statehood ns a right
rather than to beg for it as privilege.
Few will deny that self-goyernment is the
normal attribute of the American citizen,
and that q territorial condition is an un-
natural one, only intended as Il temporary
! expedienC until community is ready TO
assume - position as a state. The right
to representative voice III the legislative
body which enacts the laws which he is to
obey and imposes the taxes which lie is
obliged to pay, is one dear to every
American; and tho right to take part in
the selection of the chief magistrate and
of the local governor and similar officials,
is likewise one of which he will not
Willingly be deprived.
These principles of self-government are
so fundamental in our Institutions that no
citizen should be deprive Of the right
except under such peculiar circumstances
as render its exercise impossible or dan
gerous,
No circumstance now exists in relation
to the people of New Mexico which justi-
ties their being longer deprived of their
full rights under a state government.
AS to population, our claim to state
hood is indisputable. No territory at the
time of its admission, with the exception
of Dakota has contained the population
now in New Mexico. By the census of
1890 it had 153,076 inhabitants, without
counting the Indians on the reservations.
The real population, as has been con
clusively shown in public documents and
is practically unquestioned, was between
100000 and $4,000; the difficulty of full
enumeration where the area is so vast
and the population so scattered, account
ing for the difference. But even taking
the census figures, the above statement as
to other territories is correct.
From the admission OF Tennessee in
1886, to that of Wyoming in 1850, the
census reports show that the largest
population of any territory, except Da-
kota, at the time of its admission, was
that of Kansas, in 1861 which was l07 ,2OG
So it is evident that there is now no
reason, on the score of the lack of suili-
al ,1p+t Co. I ,i,,i,, ,tb,
pie of New Mexico of the ordinary rights
of citizens. On the contrary it has more
population than Idaho and Wyoming
combined consideraly more than Mon
tana, nearly or quite four times as much
as Nevada, and really $4,000 more than
Delaware.
The next question is whether the value
of taxable property is sufficient to sup
port a state government. If not, that
might be a valid reason for longer delay.
But we find that the assessed valuation
of property in 1891 was $45, 1929, ,563 This
is much larger than that of many other
territories at the time of their admission.
The valuation of the last two states, for
example, was as follows: Idaho, %28,-
100000; Wyoming, 3l,000000
If the resources of the territory, as the
foundation of its ability to sustain its
own government permanently, are mat
ters of inquiry, we may truthfully repeat
the broad assertion that New Mexico is
endowed with greater natural resources.
and in greater variety, than any other
state or territory of the Union.
No territory has ever erected so many
public buildings, or possessed so much
public property as New Mexico. Without
the slightest aid from the national gov
ernment, it has built beautiful capitol
a substantial penitentiary, and more re-
Gently an insane asylum, university, agri-
cultural college and school of mines. All
these latter structures are not only cred
table, but sources of pride and gratifca-
tion.
p The character of the people, composed,
IF N ND