The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1905-06-06
-HE -ARRAIeMs tFAE
OFFICE HOLDERS.
Some Plain Words on the Statehood
Question and the Animus of the
Oficials Who Oppose it.

PP~
Judge A. A. Freeman, of Carlsbad,
writes a letter to the Albuquerque
Citizen, which we quote in part as
follows:
l have just received in this morn
ing's mail The Citizens invitation,
to write to the editor.
The same mail brings me the New
Mexican with a quotation from the
Clayton Enterprise, as follows:
Are there some papers under the
dictatorship of the Latter Day Saints?
Do they want to link us with Arizona
so the dominant church there can
rule the two territories? 1t seems to
us that the majority of the people of
this territory would rather remain as
such h to submit to the humiliI
ton of joint statehood"
/ had known of course. what every
body else knows, that there is a COM
bination between the ~officeholders in
Arizona and their brethren in New
Mexico to defeat statehood. The plan
is to fight joint statehood, and pre-
tend to be in favor of single statehood
knowing full well that the latter is
unattainable. The same gentlemen if
advised that single statehood could
be obtained, and that joint statehood
was impracticable, would favor he
latter proposition. The whole purpose
is to keep up the statehood agitation.
and to hold onto their present posi-
tions. under the specious guise that
as the territorial condition is merely
temporary, and soon to be changed.
there is no necessity for both"rIng
the executive at Washington with the
annoyance of changing the present
officers.
Our excellent governor traveIs
through Arizona and epOrts here
that the people in Arizona are all in
arms against joint statehood. His
brother in Arizona returns the favor
by telling his people that New Mexico
is against joint statehood. The Ari-
IONA people are aroused against New
Mexico by the statement that we are
Il IhoSlCdIS. STodSeTS. etc. ana Cndt
Arizona SHOULD not be Inundated by
being united with us; and now comes
the Enterprise and says that New
Mexico ann submit to the humilia-
ton of being united with a Mormon
territory like Arizona. There is no
doubt but hat the masses of the peo-
pie, the taxpayers who are %groaning
under the growing weight of taxation
made necessary to supper a mass of
useless officeholders, and to meet the
exigencies of such reckless legisla-
ton as characterized the last legisla-
ture. understand this scheme, and
know full well that it is a deliberate
appeal to stupidity, and an effort 10
arouse groundless fears.
The strongest suggestion that has
been presented to my min that the
people of New Mexico are untitled
for self-government, is found in just
such clippings as l have quoted. If
the Enterprise believes that the peo-
pie of New Mexico are so igorant of
affairs as they exist in Arizona as not
to know that that territory is not in
the least danger OF ever being domin-
must have a very unfiattering idea
of the intelligence of our people.
If. as the anti-statehood people con
tend. New Mexico would be domin-
ated by the Mexican element: and
if, as the New Mexico contingent in
cictc Aiz0na mould hn ao-%-@1lol ~,
the Mormons. then neither territory
should be admitted, either Jointly or
singlely: ap>hts is just the result
desired by the ofseholding coterie in
both tetritoI les.
The truth is that nefeAAr party TO
this conspiracy is correct. NV Mexi-
CO and Arizona were acquitted by
this government as a single territory
and would have remained Is such
until his day if they had rbt been
separated for h purpose of tnc4eas-
ing the number of places fdt ambi-
tious statesmen; n the reaEopposi-
ton to their being reuniteG arises
from a like apprehension.
A majority Of the peoplei of this
territoryt as I believe; the 4en who
pay taxes to support the government,
prefer joint statehood if they can set
it. If then ann that they, or
4 most of them. would like to have
statehood of In sort.
What they desire is a change. Mat
tiers could not cry well be worse.
The present program of the admins