Albuquerque morning journal., 1907-01-11
PLAN DETERMINED
CAMPAIGN IN THE
LEGISLATURE
Especial Correspondence Morning JOurnal.i

fNpffi1l correspondence hOEutHb utufuuisl
Santa Fe. y. NJ. Jan. 10.-While
considerable sport has been made of
the failure OF the attempt by Gov
ernor Prince and his hackers. to con-
vene the constitutional convention
delegates in Santa Fe on January 7th,
Governor Prince has not given up his
plans for a convention, or have those
who stand with him on the project
laid down." for the promoters of the
convention are now industriously en-
gagged in a campaign against the leg
islature which has for its object an
act authorizing the holding of con-
stitutional convention, and appropri-
ating money with which to pay the
expenses of such a convention. 1t
should be said in fairness to Governor
Prince that he doesn't care whether
the legislature appropriates money
for the expenses of the convention or
not further than as it would tend to
make the delegates attend. Governor
! Prince wants constitution formed,
he is honestly convinced that nothing
/ else will save New Mexico from eter~
Inal damnation in the eyes of con-
gress and he proposes to save the ter
ritory The fact that congress doesn
/ give thirty cents whether New Mexico
adopts a constitution or not, appar-
entity has never occurred to Governor
/ Prince and no amount of argument
/ can show him the light in which con-
gress looks at us and our troubles.
/ If all the other promoters of the
constitutional convention were as dis
/ interested as Governor Prince, the
matter would not be very serious
But they are not. There is a surplus
d In ha ATpxiFn trpq II pDIIlI
| be used to the end of lowering the
/ territorial tax rate and this would
probably please the people who pay
the taxes On the other hand it could
be appropriated by the legislature for
various little items such as constitu-
/ tional conventions for which the peo-
pie have no earthly use and which
could do the territory no good at all.
True, such a convention well supplied
with funds would give places for quite
a number of employees for quite a
number of days, whose appointment
would be controlled to a greater or
/ less extent by politicians. 1t would
make business good for the Santa Fe
hotel keepers for few days, and
very few people could object to this,
for the Santa Fe hotel keepers are
/ good fellows. Useless, all of it, so far
as the most ardent friends of the con-
stitutional convention business can go,
but nevertheless, something which
the legislature will be asked to do
Governor Prince is not the only
delegate-elect to the constitutional
convention who thinks the legisla-
ture should authorize such conven-
tion. There are several of them.
There are not so many of these con-
scientious gentlemen who think the
territory should be called to pay the
bills.
Briefly the constitutional conven-
ton program is not ended yet; not by
city block It is just beginning. a
committee has been appointed for the
express purpose of influencing the
legislature to put the scheme through
1t is true that several members of the
committee have declared fatty and
expressly against such a convention
1t Is true that large number of the
delegates-eleCt have expressed them
selves against it, but the game is go
ing on just the same, and if 1t can be
done. the next Legislature will be in
duced to part with a large slice of the
peoples money to pay for the forma
ton of "A constitution which ninety
nine per cent of the people would not
be sufficiently interested in to read
and which would have about as much
influence on congress according tc
congressional experts as the tradi-
ditional SNOWFALL had on the tempera-
ture Of hades.