Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-01-18
CHILDERS SPEAKS.
A FOrcible Answer to an Albuquerque A
Correspondent Who Attempts to
Injure New Mexico.

Tissue OF tno OenV6r hepuoiicdn'
Denver, Jan. Is, 1895.-The under
signed begs leave to correct several mis-
statements contained in Especial" pub
lished in your issue Of yesterday, from
Albuquerque, New Mexico, relating to
the organization of the legislature now in
session at Santa Fe. If not the object
the effect of these misstatements might
be to seriously injure the prospects OF
the passage of the enabling act for the
admission of New Mexico, now pending
before the senate.
1t seems to be assumed by the sender
of this special that because Republi-
can candidate for delegate received 2,700
majority, therefore the Republicans
elected majority of both houses of the
legislature. Nothing could be more er-
roneous.
The Democratic candidate carried twelve
out of eighteen counties in the territory,
although he was defeated by about 2,70O
votes. The majority received by the Re-
publican candidate for delegate came al
most entirely from two counties, Berna-
lilo and Valencia.
All the charges made against Secretary
Miller's action in recognizing and swear
ing in Democratic members of the legis-
lature, over protest of the Republicans,
MIGHT DE JUSTIFIED
by several Republican precedents; but
such precedents, whether made by Demo-
cratic or Republican officials, are vicious.
Now, as to the statements made in this
special. 1t is not true that Secretary
Miller refused to recognize and swear in
Republican member of the house who
had an undisputed majority Of 1856 votes,
upon the claim made by adeputy clerk of
the federal court that this representative
was short $13, clerks fees. He did de-
cline to swear in the member in question,
who had majority upon the face of the
returns, on the ground that he was in
eligible. His ineligibility resulted, not
from the charge made by the deputy clerk
or other irresponsible person, as stated
in the special, but from the fact that
there were several indictments against
him for defalca.ions, not in the sum of
$13, but for a large amount of money.
The statute of New Mexico, passed by the
last legislature, provides that any person
who is defaulter as to public moneys
shall not be entitled to hold any office of
trust or profit. The question as to
whether he was guilty or not had not been
determined by trial. but it was question
of fact, not of law, and this question the
secretary left to the determination of the
twenty-three members of the Legislature
who we're swern in. After the organiza-
tion of the house this claimant was seated
by vote of the house, after investiga-
tion, although the Democrats had
MAJORITY OF THE VOTES.
Neither is it true that, on account of
any alarm felt by the Democrats, another
Republican was given seat in the coun-
Gil. G. W. Miles was sworn in by the Sec
retary upon the ground that he had GER
tificate of election. His Republican op-
ponent, ]. A. Ancheta, also had a Ger.
certificate. Miles had served notice of
contest upon Ancheta previous to receiv-
ing his certificate of election. Several
Democrats in the council thought that
Ancheta was entitled to be seated in the
first instance; and, not from any alarm or
fear, but simply from disposition to do
what they considered law and justice re-
quired them to do, they voted with the
Republican members of the council and
gave Ancheta his seat. This precedent is
a new one in New Mexico and, it might
be added, not a very general one any
whore. Few instances can be found
where political party in control of a
legislative body has unseated one of its
members of the same political COM
plexion, without evidence, where fraud in
the election had been charged by the sit
ting member. Such non-partisan and
disinterested action in legislative assem-
blies by political parties is rare, and GER
tainly has
NO PARALLEL IN NEW MEXICO.
If crimination and recrimination were
worth anything, numerous precedents
could be found in New Mexico on the
part of the Republicans in the last fifteen
years in justification of everything
charged against the secretary, even ad-
mitting those charges to be trne. The
fact ia that there are several conservative
Democrats in the legislature, as we'll as
some conservative Republicans, who de
sire the enactment of good election law
to secure fair vote and an honest count
and return thereof, in order that the per-
sons elected to Office by the people shall
receive the Office to which they are
elected. And there is not the slightest
doubt but that some effective law will be
enacted at the present session of the leg
islature, with this end in view, satisfactory
to fair men of both political parties in
the territory.