Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1898-02-16
SOUTHERN new MEXICO POLITICS
silver Sentiment is Growing and
Democrats are Hopeful.
From the New Mexican.

From the New Mexican.
LAS CRUCES, N. M, Feb. 14th, 1888.
Politics 10 southern New Mexico can
not be said to be boiling at the present
time, but it is simmering, and among
the Republicans the simmer has an
angry sound. while the Democrats go
around with a se~lf-satisied smirk on
their faces which is positively exasper-
ating. The causes for that condition of
affairs are many, some of them natural
and reasonable, others difficult to &C
count for and still others are personal
and Others caused by disappointment or
| dissatisfaction in the matter Of appoint
ments to Offices.
Probably the one great cause of EN-
| couragement to the Democrats in Grant
and Dona Ana counties, is the rapid
and inexplicable growth and spread of
the free silver sentiment. Men, who
one year ago were silver men, In the
sense that they thought the product OF
the American mines could be taken
care of by the government, by exclud-
ing foreign silver, even il the ratio had
! to be changed, are now strong advocates
of the free and unlimited coinage OF
| silver at the ratio Of IL to |. Others
| who were staunch 'golG bugs have SO
far fallen from grace that they are oc-
| cupying a middle ground and fast drift
| ing into the free silver camp. Partic-
ularly is this true in the old silver
camps. Mines are idle which ones
poured wealth into the pockets o. the
Owners and employed many men, the
| .aash times'' of silver days are gone
with no prospect of yer returning,
"Hope long deferred maketh the heart
sick" and discouraged mel are prone
to try questionable experiments IN find.
ing a remedy for real or imaginary
troubles.
why this growing silver sentiment
exists in this part of the terri, DRY is
difficult to understand. Every bust
ness ID an admits that last years bust
ness was highly satisfactory and that
the prospects for the present year are
more than encouraging. The Republi
can party. in less than a year, has, by
protection and the maintenance of the
brought about a return Of prosperity
far greater than a majority of the
people really expected, and as a rank
Democrat in Deming said a few days
ago 'the country is good for three years
more of good times, high prices for our
cattle, and plenty of money And yet
nine out of ten men say: Yes, bust
ness is good, but we want more money;
we must have free silver" and this Is
invariably followed by IN attack upon
the gold bugs" that for forcible
language and choice epithets would pnt
to flight the average mule engineer
Well. reason or none for it, the Repub.
licans will be compelled to face n much
larger number of silver msn in the
next campaign than in the last.
So far as the results of these condi-
tions upon the Republican party in this
district is concerned, the readers of the
Nsw Mexican are at liberty to draw
their own conclusions, and il they con-
clude that fur will fly In the coming
campaign they will not go far wrong.
Already the sound Of the grindstone as
it puts a keen edge on the tomahawk
and scalping knife fills tie political air.
One subject that is receiving con-
siderable attention is that Of dslegate.
The general opinion is that either Hon.
Pedro Perea or Hon. Sol, Lula will be
the nominee CT the Republicans. AS
between them there seems to be no
great difference in strength. Either
will be acceptable to the party and will
prove strong among the voters. There
is, however, another Richmond in the
field who is gathering about his stan
dard a following of no mean proper
tions and may proyea favor. tie in the
convention. His initials in full are
Hon. Thomas A. Finical, of Albuquer-
que. That he is an avowed candidate
no n seem5 to know, unless it is
| Thomas himself, and so far he has not
told of it, but as the temptation is
great he may fail, which better men
than he have done in the past. Among
the Democrats but very little is heard
except the name of the present
incumbent. And just a word to
would-be delegates to congress, whether
they be Democrats or Republicans. the
name of Ferguson in this part of the
territory is not to be- sneezed at. His
bills to permanently locate the capital
at Santa Fe and to secure school lands
for the Territory have caught on like a
fire in q high wind. Any Of his Demo
cratic friends who have a bee buzzing
in their bonnets would just as well
swipe 1t to death now, for the Demo-
cratic convention win kill it ii they
don't. What the outcome Of the cleo
ton will be-well, that is some months
ahead and will form the subject of an
other story.
Locally, there is not much stir
among the politicians as yet. County
candidates are yetin the wooda waiting
for the trees to be shaken, but that
shake will doubtless bring down a bag
full. As TO candidates for the legisla-
ture from Grant and D0na Ana, both
parties are In the position of a tender
foot in the Notwithstanding to catch
his wind. Taking the situation all iH
all. It is sufficient to warrant a student
Of practical politics to pay it particular
attention, and the results will probably