The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1908-10-27
Mr.. Hagerman's Letter.

MIR. Hagerman's Letter.
To the Editor of the Daily Record
Dear Sir:-If you will allow me to
do so, l will tell you why 1 think both
the machine and its candidate should
be beaten. They are in fact one. AS
matters stand, no one who knows the
facts can vote for Mr.. Andrews with
out voting to approve and confirm
what the machine has done since the
fall of 1904, when Andrews was first
nominated for congress and when he
chose H. o. Bursum as chairman of
the Republican Central Committee,
or party leader. Since then they and
a few others who constitute the ma
chine, the organization, the gang,
(call it what you will have dominat-
ed the politics of New Mexico abso-
lutely. They now call on Republicans
to confirm by their votes what the
machine has done and what it stands
for Without such confirmation the
machine cannot exist To get it they
assume that most peop1e will forget,
or good laturedly "let by-gones be
by-gones,"' as Mr.. Max Frost begs
Republicans to do in the cause of
party Harmony" Harmony is much
to be desired, and every good Repub-
lican should strive for it, unless it be
at the expense of principle, truth,
and good government, and then he
should rebel 1t seems to me that the
time has come when every honest
Republican should rebel against the
rule of the machine which has cap
tured the Republican organization,
mainly through the efforts of IT'S two
chief beneficiaries, Andrews and Bur-
sum. Every man has right to decide
for himself what his course should
be in any political exigency, such as
the one which now confronts us.
The machine assumes to dictate
the creed and articles of faith of all
whom it thinks entitled to member
ship in the Republican church. The
supreme test of. fitness is this: Any
man who will swallow without pro-
test any regular" candidate and any
regular" plot to ,mislead, befog and
plunder the people, which may be
agreed on by dozen or so of pol1t-
ieal thimbleriggers constituting the
machine, is a good Republican Any
man who will not surreE der his man
hood, his conscience and his honor
into the hands of this self constituted
hierarchy is branded as "heretic,"
a "traitor to the party" "copperhead
in disguise" and is at once marked
for slaughter.
1 think I have as good reason as
any man in New Mexico to kick over
the party traces and refuse to be led
BY these misleaders. 1 have been
Republican for forty-eight years. My
first vote was for Abraham Lincoln
in 1860, and I have voted for every
Republican nominee for President
since that time until in 1891, when
came to New Mexico to live. l have
done more for the development OF our
resources than any other man in New
Mexico. Since 1889 I have furnished
or raised from others fully thirteen
millions of dollars to invest here in
railroads, large irrigation works, and
other things which have made it pos
sible for thousands of men with small
means. but with brave hearts and
strong hands to come here and pos
sess and subdue the land, and make
the arid. plain laugh with fertility
This was not easily done. Many OBJ
stacles had to be overcome, and the
greatest obstacle of all has been our
inefHcient and usually rotten terrific
rial government,-cause by boss
rule. resulting in bad laws, high taxes,
moor enforcement of law, and a terri
HE reputation among investors, or
vould-be investors, outside of the ter
rritory. This incubus of boss rule
never was stronger than it is now.
and 1t has never been as shameless
as II has been during the four years
pursum and Andrews have been on
ION. For nineteen years ! have been
having personally and for the compa-
nies / have represented. and largely
owned. from seven to twenty thous'