Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-11-08
MILITIA WARRANTS
ARE Up AGAIN
Much Beautiful Oratory Is
Wasted in Excoriating
Them
THEIR HISTORY IS REVIEWED
Convention Adopts Another
Clause That VIII Prevent
Their Validation.

The Constitutional Convention. at
an evening session, disposed of part
/ of another clause of the eonstitu-
ton, and most important one too,
that on State, County and Municipal
Indebtedness. 1t was a most inte-
| resting and to the outsider, instruct
| i've session. The audience, for in
stance, learned more than it ever
knew before about the militia war
rants, and incidentally about certain
eleventh hour methods of legislatures.
In fact, the interest and oratory over
| the militia warrants, which were
hardly relevant issue, prevented
much illumination being thrown
/ by oratory, on subjects of much
greater Importance such as the ar
rangement for the assumption by the
! state of county debts, the arrange
ment for the payment of the Santa
Fe and Grant county railroad bonds,
what is considered valid of such In
debtedness and what not valid, al
though thes facts can be dug out
from the sections adopted
G. A. Richardson of the minority re-
port presided during the meeting of
the Committee of the Whole which
considered the Article section by sec
ton. A substitute for section /, re-
ported from committee was adopted
and went through with much less
trouble than had been Anticipated.
From material standpoint, it is the
most important paragraph in the
Constitution. 1t was W. D. Murray
who moved that the substitute be
adopted. G. E. Moffett offered an
amendment which he withdrew when
he learned that the point had been
|. covered in another section. E. d. Tit
: man offered an amendment to correct
the language of section but with
drew it to permit the committee on
revision to make the necessary cor
rection.
Then the fireworks began, and the
debate lasted several hours. The
subject was the old one of the militia
warrants, and it was H. B. FERGUSON,
who started the fray with an amend
, ment which declared that the state
) shall never provide any money or
, fund for the payment of militia war
rant; and that the courts shall for
t ever be closed to any suit to establish
, the validity of such warrants. The
) amendment did not attempt to define
militia warrants, a fatal oversight in
} itself, but it seemed to be under
stood that militia warrants referred
to certain warrants issued at various
and rather indefinite dates for ser
vices rendered and supplies furnished
in times of stress in defense of the
Union and in defense of the frontier
:. against Indian raids.
II I. B. Catron raised the point of or.
: der that the substance of the amend
! ment offered had already been adopt.
( ed in the Bill of Rights.
? H. o. Bursum showed that 1t also
t appeared in the Ordinance Compact
/ with the United States.
7 Amount to a Million.
7 H. B. Ferguson launched into an
attack on the militia warrants. He
insisted that no suit should be main
tainable after so long lapse of time,
when all other evidence pro- or
''con" is destroyed, except the face
of the warrant itself, which would
have to be accepted as prima facie
= evidence by the courts. I'VE must
3 guard in every possible way against
saddling any debt of this nature on
the state,' he insisted, "a debt which
am informed amounts to one million
dollars"
History of the Warrants.
T. B. Catron replied: 'If this
amendment is adopted, the conven
r ton might as well pack up and &c
home. The President cannot approve
a constitution, with such a clause
even if only fifty cents worth of the
u warrants are valid. 1t was admitted
by the minority, and no one denies
: the validity of part of these warrants
We certainly can not have it appear
in our constitution that we have alb
solutely repudiated an Indebtedness
# that is prima facie valid" Mr. Catror
# then reviewed the history of the war
n rants. In 1861 and 1862, when Gen
, eral Sibley with his Texans invaded
e the Territory, Governor Conley, a
e the request of General Candy, sem
o militia to Valverde. The militia
n equipped itself, furnished its owl
o horses, blankets and subsistence ant
hurried to the defense of the Union
The Federals were overcome, scat
A tered and a remnant driven to For
L Craig. near the present San Marcial
II The Militia lost their all and the
3 men on foot made their way to theil
d homes as best they could. They
g proved their losses to subsequent
J. legislature. which for lack of funds
e. issued warrants in payment. Many
e of these warrants were disposed of a
u par, others at from fifty to seventy
y FIVE cents on the dollar. The total
x believe amounts to 100000. People
y took the warrants in good faith
r in payment for their horses
Continued an Page Three)