Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-06-23
DEFENDS THE WEST.
Rodey Answers Resolutions Against
Statehood for Territories,
A HOT LETTER.

The New England Shoe & Leather
association of Boston recently adopted
resolutions appealing to congress to re-
ject the bill granting statehood to Ok
lahoma, New Mexico and arizona. A
copy of the resolutions was SEN to
Delegate Rodey, of New Mexico. He
has replied to the association in a let
ter in which he says:
ION behalf of the people of the great
territory of New Mexico l most en-
~phatically invite your association to
mind its own business. If it would
only tell the truth, there could be no
objection to anything 1t might say.
Your slanderous letter is but a tissue
of falsehoods from beginning to end.
What have the territories ever lone
to your association that o should
take it upon yourselves to attempt to
have denied to them their rights as
citizens of the United States? The
only thing we have ever done to your
city of Boston is hat we have been
guilty for from a dozen years to half
a century and more of buying millions
of dollars worth of shoes, rattan furni-
ture, drugs, cottons, ducks, crockery
and other merchandise from you. Is
this a crime? Don't you want us to
Increase and progress so that we can
buy more of your goods?
New Mexico has an area as large
as all of New England, New York and
New Jersey combined. Your whole
state is not as large as one of Il
counties. We have, in New Mexico,
tracts of coal land three times as big
as your whole state, and tracts of lum-
Der land bigger than your whole state.
What a blessing it is that your con-
gressmen are not as ignorant as your
association is. Every last one of them
voted for u statehood bill in the
house, and they acted honestly and
right under their official oaths. They
were honest men, God bless them, and
no narrow-minded bigots like your
board of directors.
Il have tent you Ii governors last
report and a lot of literature regarding
our territory, which | commend to your
association to read so that you will
know what you are talking about be-
fore you begin slandering a million
citizens of the United States. | SCI
you several copies of the report on the
statehood bill by that able and honest
statesman, Hon. w. S. Knox, of Massa'
chusetts. and it may do your associa-
ton some good to read 1t. You viii
learn something about the territories.
Does your association think it is in
a better position to judge of the fitness
of our people to come into the union
than men like Congressman Knox,
Congressman Tirrell, Congressman
Powers and the rest of the Massaehut
sets delegation in congress?
Il won't believe that any considera'
BILE number of the people of the great
city of Boston, of which once had the
honor of being a citizen, are so illib-
eral and bigoted as to believe as your.
narrow-minded association does. |
will not think that the people who
boast ia Faneuil nall, Bunker hill
and Harvard could entertain such SEN
timents. | will not admit that a state
that produced a Winthrop, a Warren,
a Sumner, a Wendell Phillips and a
Hoar voices its sentiments through
any such body as your association.
'The three delegates from the three
territories attacked resolved this after
noon to circulate your slanderous cir
cular in their territories, and then the
people, perhaps, will cease to purchase
millions of dollars worth Of goods from
your merchants since you deny us our
rights. If you want to do us justice,
then reconvene your association and
retract this libel and false and imper-
tinent piece of impudence you have
put upon us. Very truly yours.
"B. S. RODEY,
Delegate in Congress from New
Mexico"