The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1909-10-18

tuition that shall serve as a funda-
mental law. for a hundred years, IL
may De, constitutions are not
easily n |
duced into that convention a great
many men who are going to try to
make people good and just by stat
ute; that are going TO accomplish ev-
erything by law and who intend to
put SO many limitations ON your leg
islature that i: cannot move at all.
And now you have got to meet
that issue. and If you want to get in
with a constitution that bucks and
gags YOU, and ties you in every way.
that is the kind of a responsibility
you have got to assume, but l hope |
| you won't.
II hope you won't because I mean
to become as responsible as / can for
your admission into the United States
and l want you to come in and stand
up like other states, without the bur-
den of a constitution, that is a mere
statutory provision for details, but
with a fundamental law that shall be
like the constitution of the United
States, simple. comprehensive, with
proper limitations to vested rights and
personal liberty. but not going into
all the details that a present condi-
ton presents that may cease to be
of the slightest Importance except as
a b~urdensome restriction in the next
ten years.
In other words naks yourselves
statesmen and send statesmen to your
convention when o draft a consti
tuition.
The trouble is whe you are max
ing a constitution you will take any
old thing If you can only get state
hood. | know that. Well. there ought
to be a provision by which you should
first vote on your constitution, and
hen vote on you officers, and | hope
You have the strength of character
enough to vote down a poor constitu-
ton and wait until you can get a good
one by. a new convention.
IF you could get one, why then
come in with II. but if YOU do not then
have courage enough to vote IL down.
| don't know whether YOU will have
or not. You ave that yet to prove. |
like to look into your faces and see
that You are Americans, and you are
just as conscious that you are going
TO be the most perfect state in the
union as possible. You DO not assume
that these burdens with respect TO
statehood mount to anything-only
give us statehood and everything else
is eaven beyond.
swell. you will find that a little diff
ferent when you get into IL. but 1t
is no reason why your desire for in
dependence. for statehood. for a larg-
er measure of self government, should
he denied to on but / ask you in
your own interest. not as a partisan.
not representing any particular par
~, but anxious hat every state that
comes into the union should add to
the force, the intelligence and loyal
ty to the union.
anxious for that I ask you to be
-nnGf careful u-hnn x-n,a panEa nm -nur
constitution and when you select your
first state officers.
Now my friends. you have got a
great state here. l would not guess 1t
by passing through 1t as I have today
it looks TO be very much like a des-
ert with "a 10y scrubby growths on
IL.
but | nave not met a New Mexi
can. | have not met a man from Ari-
IONA, | have not met a man from Col
orado, | have not met a man from
Montana, / rave not met a man from
Idaho. | have not net a man from
Washington or southern California,
that he Toe not have in his pocket a
paper containing the statistics show
ing how any hundreds of thousands
or millions of acres of and can be
made to blossom and produce the best |
fruit, the best alfalfa, and tie best
cereals in the world, If only you can
get water on 1t. and If only the gov.
ernment will help you do it.
well that is the XII of spirit
that Toes things and k to see il,
and / do not care if the man from Ida
no, from Colorado Or New Mexico and
Arizona is dealing a little in imagi-
nation when he tells me these big fig
ures. l like to nave him thing so.
IF he is an opti:nist he is quite
likely to make those figures good.
You have a great sheep raising in
dustry here. 1t indicates to me that
the sheep is a mighty close browsing
animal If he a get anything off
of these plains.
"One thing I like out here I have
not heard preached in any way the
thing you are discomfort with is thai
you have not a greater opportunity.
and that is the kind of discomfort
that we ought to encourage.
The great object of the American
civilization and the American method
OF government Is h promotion of
equality of opportunity. and that, III
think o have out here in perfection.
There is certainly lots of land, and
there is certainly lots OF opportunities
to improve this and if you will only
put muscle n the elbow grease and
optimism into the business. and each
man into whose face / look and each
well dressed woman, n they are
well dressed and all young; indicate
to ne that they are happy, that they
have homes here and they do not
want TO go back to what you used to
call the states.
That they are content here to grow
up in New Mexico. thai they feel
proud of New Mexico, and when they
go east they feel just a little Bit
just a little bit-sorrowful for those
of us who have to live in that be
nighted country.