El Nuevo mexicano., 1916-07-27
Ely Sticks Few More
BandefilIas Into COP.
Invisible Government
IN ANSWER TO HERALD EDlTO-
RIAL CHAIRMAN INSISTS PARTY
CAN BE REFORMED FROM
WITHIN #s
fcopy OF letter BY Republican State Chair
man Ralph G. Ely TO lAIbuauerque Herald)

forul' the GangLor Beat 1t" published in
YOUR edition Of Saturday, July III, is one
az the best editorials which YOU have ever
written. But it is written from the stand
point of a Democrat. and the cure which
YOU suggest is the very natural one which
is uppermost in your mind,-a Democratic
victory. NAs
beg the privilege Of your columns in
|reply to this editorial, and in the very be-
ginning wish to say that I agree with you
that 'the cure for the Invisible Govern
Ement is to administer to It a defeat that is
severe. convincing and final; o beating
which will record the determination OF the
people Of this state to run their own af-
fairs, or to have a hand and voice there
in.p
But the Invisible Government is not a
thing of parties. Your premise is absolute
~ wrong when you say that the Invisible
Government and the Republican machine"
are one and the same thing. They are not.
The formal organization Of the Republic
can party in this state does not even in
clude some Of the most powerful men who
constitute the Invisible Government. Their
names do not figure in the. Organization
in the machine. But they are none the less
powers in its councils. The Invisible gov
ernment Is made up of that little clique or
circle of men who are powerful III hnanciai
interests in this state, who vote any par
~ticular ticket that happens to appeal to
them and affiliate with any political party
that suits their convenience. They have
contributed alike to the campaign funds OF
the Republican, Democratic and Progressive
parties, directly and indirectly, and the
principle Of the party is as nothing tofthem
compared with the preservation or the
advancement Of their financial interests.
The Invisible Government works with an
equal certainty and with an equal lack Of
conscience upon the members OF the or
ganization Of all parties. 1t has no CON
science and 1t knows no patriotism. 1t sees
no end other than the exaltation Of its own
power and the satisfaction OF its
greed. It is the same shameless thing in
New Mexico, in New York, in New England
or In California, and whatever its influence
prevails, in state or in nation, patriotism
dies because the atmosphere in which 1t
lives is more deadly than the gases Of the
German army.
1t is true that there are some hangers-on
of the invisible Government who are its
pensioners who are prominent in the or
ganization Of the Republican party. y is
also true OF the Democratic party and OF
the Progressive party and the erstwhile
Progressive League. ,t
Now to the. practical political questions
OF how the people are to free themselves
from the tentacles Of this thing, the sug-
gestion of which solution you pronounce
Silly
The Invisible Government was repre-
sented by notable Republicans and Demo
Gratis alike in the Constitutional Convention
Of our state, working there in secret, with q
meager record of its proceedings, and using
the club Of the popular desire for state
hood as its weapons of defense and OF
Tense. It wrote into the constitution OF
this state in Section Al, Article 4, its pro-
vision for the apportionment of "a mem
bers Of the Senate and 40 members Of the
House Of Representatives. commend the
careful reading Of this article to your atten-
Ition and suggest a compilation of election
returns for the last 16 years in the light
Of it.
The things which the people must have
to secure a fair expression of their wishes
in this state are few. They are not radical
reforms. They are not untried experiments;
they are not new or unknown to the ex-
~perience Of the American people. They
must have a law governing primary cleo
lions. 1t need not be q statewide direct
primary. 1t may be a direct primary by
counties. 1t may be merely q law specify
ing the time for holding Of caucuses, the
method of their publication, the place where
they should be held, the procedure to be pur-
sued and the qualifications OF voters there.
But there must be some rules for the
game. Otherwise Democrats may enter Re-
publican caucuses and Republicans may en-
tier Democratic caucuses; caucuses may be
held by stealth; rightful voters may be ex-
cluded and eaucuses may be packed with
voters who have no possible right to partici-
pate therein. Every single one of these things
has been lone in Bernalillo county within
it's immediate past. Hardly a Republican
state convention has been held to which
contrasting delegations have not come from
Bernalillo county. pleading these outrages
and exposing such a measure Of political
depreciation in some of your leaders as to
be absolutely revolving. 1t is un-American
and metropolitan to permit such things
to continue.
Election Laws
Our election laws must be improved in
order to. prevent bribery, political seduc-
ton, intimidation and fraud; and the agt
ltation of these things is necessary to awaken
q public conscience which lies dormant and
unaroused when two successive legislatures
have un-ceremonious1y dumped Democratic
members and seated Republican members
in order to secure. not merely a Republi-
can control Of the legislative body, but to
entrench and make impregnable the power
of the Invisible Government in the Republi-
can caucus of the legislature.
How is this kind Of legislation to be ac-
complished2
Five years ago the Progressive League
did. Join with the Democrats. It pursued
what seemed to its members to be the best
way of administering = defeat to the In
visible Government and to the Republican
party, II you please, which would be "se-
we're, convincing and final" They made a
good fight. They elected a half Of the fusion
ticket and seated a Democratic governor,
They elected a Progressive to the. supreme
court But the supreme court writes no
laws. The governor has no legislative
power beyond the right of recommendation
i'm his messages and the power of veto.