Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-12-23
.LUGIUS DILLS
FLAyS FERGUSON
Shov Latter 10 Be Not Only
Un-Patriotic But Un-
Democratic
VETERAN PEG0S VALLEY EDITOR
Gives Especial Praise to the Bur-
sum Corporation Commits
sion Provision.

! After q halt century Of supprca.
ton, the congress Of the United
States has, rather grudgingly granted
the prayer Of the peopIe Of New Mexi-
co to formulate a constitution. ratify
il themselves and pass it back to CON
gress for its O. X. or kibosh
/ New Mexico has accepted the con-
ditions, chosen its delegates who have
in convention assembled prepared an
organic law, which is now before the
people OF the commonwealth for con-
/ tirmation or rejection at the election
to be held January Il, 1911.
As was TO have been expected~ there
is considerable opposition to the
adoption of the work Of our dele
gates In this opposition Hon. H. B.
( Ferguson. by reason OF his long res
idence and prominence seems to be
the accepted leader, and it is under
stood that his arraignment in the Al
buquerQue Tribune Citizen Of Decem-
her II, is to he the platform upon
which the anti-constitutionists will do
battle.
Permit me in my feeble way to
animadyert upon his animadversions.
/ 1t seems singular tha. so erudite a
lawyer and so astute a statesman and
political Joshua should have predi-
Gated his diatribe upon a positive mis-
conception Of the province of state
constitution. He seems to labor un-
! der the hallucination that a constitu-
/ tion or organic compact is an unre-
Ipealable system Of egislation-while
the practically unanimous view of
constitutional lawyers is that a state
constitution is a series of checks. or
limitations up the people, their
legislatures and officials, for their
own protection. In other words, in
the absence of any constitution or or
either in themselves or by their leg.
islatures do anything that was not
positively and in express terms for
hidden by the constitution of the
United States. That the constitution
for New Mexico encroaches upon the
functions of the legislature is its most
Objectionable feature
Mr.. Ferguson bewails the absence
.of provisions for direct legislation as
embodied in the initiative, referendum
and recall, and some of the small fry
allude to these as the Democratic
idea" I would be pleased if some
Cne of them would vouchsafe the in
formation WHEN AND UNDER
WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES THESE
OKLATSMS BECAME TENETs OF
DEMOCRACY. l have been a consist.
ent Democrat for fifty years and have
witnessed the saddling of issues upon
Democracy that would make the
bones of Jefferson rattle in their sar-
cOphagus, but thus far this cup has
not been forced to its lips. If there
is one constant tenet of Democracy
rs taught by Jefferson. his compeers
and successors, it has been REPRE-
SENTATIVE DEMOCRACY. Mr.. JEFF
ferson too well knew that every pure
Democracy in the world had been
usurped by a demagogic dictator.
But politics aside and back to the
constitution" That these fads of pop
ulism will prove a panacea for ills
remains to be seen, and if the expert
ment is successful where it is being
tiled I find nothing in the organic %
law, as submitted, to prevent our
adopting them by legislative enact
ment or by amendments to the con-
stitution.
Mr.. Ferguson charges that the
railroads and other "interests' domi-
mated the convention and dictated the
constitution. Less than five per cent
of the electorate of New Mexico is
interested directly or indirectly in
railroads, or other predatory plutas of
which he complains-and if the peo-
pie were so supinely Indifferent to
their interests in a matter of such
vital Importance as formulating a
constitution, it would seem that about
al. the use that we will ever have
for the initiative, referendum and re-
call will be furnishing opportunities
for disappointed agitators to harass
and vilify their successful opponents.
This agitation, for these features in
our political system suggests a very
serious question and one which Mr.
Ferguson was careful to avoid With
the experience of mankind demon
strating that all great achievements
are emanations from single intellects
and that all public and quasi-public
business can be more satisfactorily at
tended to by representatives or SER
wants of the public than by the people
en- masse. we are here in New Mexico,
upon the Threshold of statehood ana
local self-government, confronted with
a demand that will tie the hands of
our lawmakers, our judges and our
administrative officers. This is either
the carpings of disgruntled agitators,
nursing disappointed ambitions, or it
is the result of conditions that 90 to
the very vitals of our body polite.
Mr.. FERGUSON and others charge
that the members of the constitution
al convention sold themselves to the
corporate interests and that future
legislatures will do the same thing.
He and others charge that corporate
interests corrupt our electorate and
(COntinued on Page Seven