Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1901-10-14
Hon. B. S. Rodey, Albuquerque, N. M.

Hon. B. S. Rodey, Albuquerque, N. M.
My Dear Friend Rodey:-
I read with considerable interest YOU
recent somewhat lengthy letter to TIN
editor of the White Oaks Eagle, regard
ing the subject of statehood for New
Mexico. / have not seen the article u
which your letter is a reply l alsf
noted, at the time of their publication
one or two interviews given out by yot
and published in the New Mexican or
the same subject. l had not INTENDED
to mix up in this controversy, but Il
occurs to me that some suggestions are
due from friend Of yours am going
to criticise some of your utterances fol
the reason that / think | have a right
to do it. I base my right on three con-
siderations. In the first place, 1 am
New Mexican; not ito the manor
born to be sure, but have been cit
izen now something more than ten
years, twice as long as is required OF u
foreigner before becoming naturalized;
I am taxpayer and voter in New
Mexico; I have grandchildren born to
me in this sunny cline; and expect to
spend the remainder of my life here
and to be buried in it's soil If that
makes me New Mexican then I am as
much a New Mexican as yourself. In
the second place, / am Republican,
and gave you as warm a support as
any man in the territory. In the third
place, I am your personal friend, and
stand ready at any and all times to do
everything in my power to promote
your personal interests. Now then,
with these preliminaries out of the way
let's to the work.
In one of your interviews you say q
quote your language): II do not give
credit to the minority who are against
statehood for their convictions" And
again you characterize the exercise of
this right of opinion as an exhibition of
gall You then proceed as follows:
IT say to all such to get out" and in
your more recent utterances, published
in the New Mexican of the 18th ultimo,
you reiterate, practically, the senti-
ments, and among other reasons given
for statehood you say in effect that it
will relieve the territory of the rule of
carpet baggers." 1t seems to me that
/ have heard of the term carpet bag
gers" before. Our Democratic friends
ne querque Aldliloddaftm vev gak k
in the south for long time opposed
the influx of northern people into that
country, denouncing them as carpet
baggers." Native union men, like my
self, were called "scalawags." But, Mr..
Rodey, how long since you were car
pet bagger to New Mexico? You were
not born here. carpet-bagged here
about ten years ago. Judge O'Brien,
Judge Seeds, Judge Smith and thous-
ands of others preceded me. I believe
man by the name of Kearny was a
still earlier carpet-bagger, and if his
tory is to be accredited, he was pre-
ceded by Coronado and Alvarado.
Judge Leland, Judge Crumpacker,
Judge Mills and Judge Mcmillan are all
carpet of more recent date.
Are these the men that you desire to
in that oft repeated nonsense of saying
to the anti-statehood people that if
they don't think the people of New
Mexico are good enough to be citizens
0f a state, they ought not to live
among them, but to 60 somewhere
else. 1t might be answered by saying
that if you do not think the territory
is good enough to live in, you should
get out and go to a state. You came
here when this was a territory; what
did you come for? Why didn't you
stay back in a state? You came here
when it was territory, and because it
was a territory. The anti-statehood,
people seem to be satisfied with the
country, the climate, the people and
the government; and have ON more
than one occasion, believe, declined
to change their form Of government.
Are they not entitled to exercise this
right? Are they not entitled to remain
longer as territory, if they desire to
do SO?
You speak of anti-statehood people
as having the GALL 1t suggests itself
to me that it requires infinitely more
gall, as you call it, for us who are not
born here, and were not compelled to
come here, to come into the territory,
and say to the people who are here,
''You get out!" If there is any getting
out to be done, 1t ought to be done by
the people who are dissatisfied with
the present conditions. There are
plenty Of states all around us, and the
coming to the territory, ought to cor
rect it by going to some of these states.
You say "they dmmigrants) just won't
come in any large numbers to a terri
tory, and be indefinitely disfranchised
and governed by carpet-baggers; they
won't live among people who have no
rights; they will go to Old Mexico first,
and deal with national government at
once. They seem to take 1t for granted
that If we were fit for any other sort OF
government, we would be enjoying 1t
long before this" Well now, my dear
Rodey don't know why they shall not
be allowed to go to Old Mexico, or stay
at home, If they want to. I confess,
that am not among those who believe
that the prosperity Of the territory de-
pends upon getting in a flood of Inn
migrants. I should like New Mexico, If
I knew that NOT another immigrant
would ever come to 1t. II your imrni-
grant don't like the territory Of New
Mexico, let him go to Mexico, or to
Texas, or to -, well, let that pass.