The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1908-09-07
FUNDS FOR
CAMPAIGN

SA SA0A
or Taft. The campaign for the pres
idency will be influential in determin-
ing the political complexion of the
next congress. In the result of this
campaign the people of New Mexico
are vitality interested-in fact more
interested than the citizens of any
state. The welfare of the citizens of
a territory will be affected to the
same extent as that of the citizens of
a state by the wise or unwise deter
minatlon of all the issues in this cam
paign as set forth in the respective
platforms of the two great political
parties. In addition thereto the in
ternal affairs Of a territory are under
the direct control of the national adj
| ministration The national congress
has the power to and often does leg
affairs of a territory. The president
appoints our governor and secretary.
The governor appoints the territorial
treasurer, attorney-general, auditors,
coal oil Inspector, insurance commits
sioner, penitentiary officials, mem
bers of the cattle and sheep sanitary
boarsd, officers and members of the
mounted police, the boards of control
of all public institutions, all prosecut-
ing attorneys, and he influences in a
great degree local legislation. The
President also appoints the judges of
our supreme and district courts and
these judges appoint the court clerks
interpreters, stenographers and other
court officials. They also appoint
the land commissioners, referees and
the jury commissioners who select all
our juries. The president also ap-
points for the territory the federal
officials which are common to the
states, such as attorneys, marshall,
postmasters and land office officials.
The national forests consisting of
more than seven million acres,. are
controlled by the Interior Department
and a small army of supervisors and
range riders. The federal and terri
torial officials use their patronage for
the maintenance of partisan news
papers. With all this powsr welded
by the party of special privilege it is
not surprising that our territorial
government is considered q business
asset by party manipulators and con-
trolled by an arrogant, defiant, polit-
ical trust. Under the domination OF
this trust our condition has become
intolerable and adequate relief may
only be expected by the election of a
democratic president and a change in
the national administration.
New Mexico wants statehood,
republicans and republican newspa-
pers that New Mexico will be admit
ted to statehood at the next session
of congress provided a republican
delegate is elected. Does the record
of the republican papty warrant such
assertions? In 1892 the republican
national platform contained a declar-
Mexico Sat the earliest possible mo
ment." In 1886 the platform declared
for statehood sat the earliest pract-
tical date" In the republican plat
form of 1900 the declaration was for
"early admission to statehood" In
1904 the republican platform was
woefully silent upon this subject.
We are told that at the recent repub-
lican convention in Chicago the COM
mittee on resolutions at first refused
to insert any statement in favor of
statehood for New Mexico and that
the present plank in hat platform
| was only inserted after much impor-
tunity by delegates from New Mexico
to that convention and their assertion
that without such a plank a republi-
can delegate to congress from the
Territory of New Mexico could not be
elected. In 1899 Mr.. Roosevelt, who
was then governor of the state of
New York, at the first Rough Riders
reunion held in Las Vegas, publicly
declared himself in favor of statehood
for New Mexico and promised to go
to Washington aud do all he could to
bring about that result. Early in 1906
congress passed a bill providing q
means whereby New Mexico and Ari-
iona might be admitted as one state.
During the campaign oI that year the
President was universally quoted as
saying that unless joint statehood
were accepted neither of those terri
tories would be admitted to statehood
within a generation. Joint statehood
was rejected and in his messages to
congress since that time The Presi-
dent has not referred to the subject
of statehood. The last session of con-
gress vas what is known as the long
session and it's duration was limited
only by its own desires. It is well
known that the principal occupation