Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-12-20
Santa Fe. December 10. 1905.

Santa Fe. December 10, 1905.
To The Evening Citizen:
In The Citizen of the 18th inst, APP
peared the following article:
'WHY is PR1CHARD AGAINST
STATEHOOD? FRIENDS OF THE
MEASURE ARE HEARTILY ANUS
ED AT HIS CONDUCT. THE TURN
OF THE LEAF.
THE special received by The Citi-
gen yesterday, telling of ne part AL
torney General George w. Prichard
and other New Mexico politicians are
taking in the fight against Joint state
hood at the national capital, brings
To the mind of the writer the conduct
of Mr.. Prichard previous to his APP
pointment to the office Of attorney
general, thus obligating himself TO
Governor Otero. It's a case of the
sensitive palm OF the leaf of the plant
turning with the sun, and basking.
profting and growing under it's rays.
"At the outset of the joint statehood
movement no more ardent supporter
of it could be found that Colonel
Priehard of White Oaks, Lincoln
county, and il was quite compliment
tary to the movement to have the COL
oneTs support. He was an attorney
at law of reputation, and a gentleman
of deep thought. one who had lived
under a territorial form of government
for many years and was of wide eX-
perience.
Colonel w. S. Hopewell says that he
remembers when Colonel Prichard
came to him and congratulated him
on the stand he had taken for joint
statehood. Even in California last
summer, the writer remembers that
Colonel Prichard took great delight in
talking joint statehood to the Hon.
Marcus Smith, delegate from Arizona.
w H. Greer was another New MeXi-
can who took delight in talking joint
statehood to the Hon. Marcus Smith,
and SO ardent were these gentlemen
in their support of joint statehood and
so fertile were their arguments that
Mr.. Smith finally fed to Catalina Is
land in the Pacific ocean, to escape
them.
Then those who witnessed and
heard the able speech made by Col
onel Prichard in support Of Hon. p. S
Rodey at the last territorial republi.
can convention, will also TemembeI
that the colonel, Immediately after the
convention. made a trip over the ter.
ritory campaigning for the nominatet
candidate. Directly after that cam
paign, the politicians who had on twI
occasions defeated him for the ap
pointment of district judge, made hin
attorney general.
The influence Mr.. Prichard ough
to have ON the members of congress
on the statehood matter should &C
very much as a boomerang"
ask OF you a little space in you
valuable paper 10 say in reply to tn
above, that at no time or place, l
public or In private. verbally or 1
writing, nave | ever said that | was 1
favor of joint statehood as agains
separate statehood. The writer of tn
article above quoted may have bee
inspired TO think that because / tod
the position at the Las Vegas conven
ton, a year n a half ago, In fave
of declaring for statehood simpl.
without any qualifying clauses, that
favored Joint statehood, but there wa
n o an act or a word of mine at thu
time upon which to draw such infer
ence.
was in the Albuquerque CONVEX
tion last fall n was on the commit
tee on resolutions at that time an
drew and presented the following ser
arate statehood resolution 10 the CON
mittee. and It was unanimously adopI
ed, namely:
statehood Is the most importaI
question before the people Of Ne
Mexico al this time. Our loyalty
the general government, our gree
progress in natural wealth, our syI
TEN of magnificent schools, our Coz
of civil and criminal law. our freedo
from mob law, our respect for q
courts, the extent of our great terri
tory, and the intelligence OF our pc
pie entitle US to an equal status amor