El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-27

I LbOQUERe2JEs y NJ. Nav 81
/ n Impressed with the importance
= - OF the movement which he i,
heading, Ralph c. Ely. chairman Of the
Republican state central committee and
candidate for governor Of New Mexico
has prepared for The Herald a state
ment in which he defines his position.
What he thinks Of present political
conditions in New Mexico. and his
views as to the problem Of taxation.
are among the points enlarged upon.
His statement is as follows:
I During all our territorial dsvs our
/ governor and other territorial officials
/ were appointed for US. Even the dis
| trict attorneys were not elected bv the
| people. Personal politics prevailed in
/ stead OF party politics. No matter what
men called themselves, the great ma
jority Of our people were urged 10 vote
by personal consideration rather than
! by discussions Of fundamental princf-
I-pies. The members of both the Repub
! lican and the Democratic parties had
( traditional affiliations with their mar
! ties in other states, but no national
, issue and practically no state issue
/ could be OF material consideration in
I our elections The same conditions OBJ
/ tanned in our first state election. 1t
was merely fight FOR personal con-
Bosses. Not Leaders.
mo party can long exist which is
not grounded on large principles of
( government, and no man can attain
: real leadership through personal poll
I tics They are bosses. not leaders
Nothing in the life history of Tweed
OF CrOclSer or Platt or Quay or even
Mark Hanna, Of the past generation. or
Of Barnes or Penrose and men OF their
type in the present generation an
peals to the imagination or TO the un-
derstanding Of men as a permanent or
Z ~
{ had their day, marshaled their forces,
welded their influence for the time
and have passed away leaving prac-
tically no reason why the people Of
their country should cherish their
memories They dealt in personal poll
tics.
From the very beginning OF our
country's history, men like Washing
ton, Adams and Hamilton, Webster,
Clay and Lincoln. Sumner, Phillips and
Garrison, Blaine, Window and Mckin-
ley have IN each generation been big
ger. broader and better than the per
sonal pOliticians-the bosses. They
dealt with large principles Of govern
ment. were recognized in their time as
real leaders, and were revered and
Will be revered through centuries yet
TO come because OF their devotion TO
principle. their steadfast advocacy OF
the fundamentals Of democratic gov
eminent, which they saw clearly and
to which they adhered steadfastly.
Personal vs.. Party Politics.
The conflict IN New Mexico this
year is between personal politics and
party politics. At the recent Repub-
lican state convention held in Albu-
querque, the leaders OF two factions
were Jealous OF one another's influence /
and the papers have since Quarreled l
over the question as to who ''bossed'r
that convention That is the point OF I
view Of too many OF our active Repub- 3
lican leaders in New Mexico. It really I
Is OF trivial importance 10 the people I
Of this state whether the Bursum- I
Hubbell faction dictated the conven- !
ton or the Spiess- characterization fac
ton was dominant Both played the
game 10 the same Identical end and
the keynotes OF their aspirations was d
truly summed Up by Mr. Spiess IN his D
exhortation to turn Democrats out and 1
get the jobs,
IN 1914 our party IN its state plat I
form declared for a number OF state +
Among these were reason
able county salaries, the creation OF
a tax commission, and passage OF laws
regulating taxation which would i'm 2
pose the burdens Of government equal
~ and fairly upon all forms OF prop
erty throughout our state. These
questions viii be vital issues in the
coming election The people may like
this man. or that man. or the other
one, according 10 the appeal of their
personalities; but when they pay their
taxes, they want 10 know that they
are paying their fair share and not
one dollar more
AOnNEOAeu small troup.
They believe, and they are right in
believing-that there is a little group
OF active politicians whose influences
are most in evidence at our state con-
ventions and in the Hobbies OF our leg
stature, whose chief purpose IS and
always has been primarily selfish
That these men are very wealthy. and
that their wealth often consists OF
land or vast areas of coal lands and
other natural resources. That they
are clinging TO this property with the
expectation that the DEVELOPMENT Of
Dur country, the increased demand Tor
coal or meat and farm products Will
result ultimately in a tremendous in
crease in the value OF these raw ma
erials or the natural resOurces-Which
hey have often purchased for a song
and which they hope 10 hold for a I
song until this time comes; and they
know that il is vitality important 70
.hese men or interests that they wholly ,
.scape taxation or secure to themselves [
he lowest possible valuations upon I
hem so that they can carry them. Our !
people not only know this; they know (
Who the men are.
"They know where some Of the prop
.rty is, and they know perfectly well
hat every time a rich mans wealth
scapes taxation, some other mans
lurdens are necessarily increased. If
he expense Of government remains
he same The great issue in New
ieXtcO today is equal taxation, ana
nat issue VIII remain the EEedL ISSUE Z
uSt so long as these interests. work !
ng through Mr. Springer, Mr.. Bursum, !
ir. Hawkins. Mr.. Spiess and Mr. Ro- I
nero can succeed in encumbering our
tatute books with such tax laws as 7
7ere passed at our last legislature
Opponents of Personal Politics. T
We like these men. They are good Z
elbows personally; but they have a 7
Nv standard Of citizenship, and they [
re chief opponents in our state Of v
ersonal politics / mention the men q
ather than the properties that are &
scaping taxation simply because the {
me has not yet come to enumerate 81
he properties. but I venture the as s
ertion that the people Of Grant county a
now that, while the taxes OF the
asses Of people are greater than they
an bear. there is an immense prop d
rty in their county that has been O
gislated into practical immunity from p
sxation. I venture 70 say that the a
sople Of Sandoval county can name S
Iore instances than ], where lana d