Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-08-09
POLITICAL MORALS.

Ex-Governor H. j. Hagerman is out in letter
addressed to Will Robinson of the Roswell News
which, being worthy of most careful perusal, is
reproduced in the journal today. We advise all
readers to study it,
Mr.. Hagerman takes what some will construe as
side-sap at the direct primary His comment
upon that subject is only incidental We construe
his observation to mean that, like the Journal, he
does not believe the direct primary TO be cure-all
He probably agrees with us in feeling that proper
primary law will aid the people in keeping the power
in their hands, Or at least, render more easy
the breaking up, from time to time, of the bands of
usurpers who gradually sieze the power.
considerable part of the article referred to
deals with the short-baot. All of his arguments
are valid when based upon the assumption that no
mistake is made in the selection of a governor That
presumption, however, is rather too violent for us
accept it, A bad choice would work our utter
four years unless the defect of the governor
were improbable.
We wish. only, that the gentlemen advocating
this reform would agree upon some reasonable re
calr clause which would permit to support their,
otherwise, most commendabe proposal.
However, what we just now want to call the
readers attention to is such clauses these in
Governor Hagermans letter:
What the people beginning to look
for in their public servants is clear-seeing,
dgnified, unabashed independence ana cour-
age-not Impotence and intolerance Of either
the radical the reactonary type, but just
plain horse sense--combined with a touch of
spiriMality-and everyday, open, frank,
camouflaged straightforward honesty. When
they find it in a in office they much
likely than they few years ago
to stick to that man, whatever be his party.
"Of course there still a lot of in
your party and a lot of men in my party whose
only idea of political worth is political label,
che, ,N1it,+ yrrhar
of the many benefits of government its eX-
travagances and abuses are pronounced
that it won't be long before each of will
have to be shown, before vote for man,
what his intentions about this very thing.
If government goes the way it is going
now and has been going in a steadily in
creasing degree for a long time--constantly
increasing unequitably distributed tribute
of Notwithstanding is going to break We
win all go broke, Individually first, then the
system will break and then the reaction will
be than the conditions leading up TO
the break.
I'VE are individually not honest not sin
about this matter of government. We
do not, each one say and do what we know
to be true about it, We let things slide along
when it comes to the pinch. And no fire.
eating radicals. dreamy idealists. tax
payers association, revenue commissions,
no legislators will succeed in doing much more
than administer temporary palnatlNes, transit
tory and fleeing in their effects, unless the
people themselves, the weight and and
majority of the people--the trustees of the
governing company actually want good, con-
servative government management They will
get it if they want it, for it is not very COM
picated matter, If you go straight"
Running government is very practical
business and is in very practical" way. It
is idle dream dreams of the character of the peo
pie becoming ideal When it does the millennium
will have arrived.
Nevertheless, the character of any democratic
government will rise higher than the level of
the character of its citizenship.
Absence of a moral sentiment, which the polit
clans would not dare to ignore, is the of our
present bad conditions of government
~ We need like Ex-Governor Hagerman as
John the Baptist. crying in the wilderness and pro-
claiming to the people the need of attention to
political duties and the nsstance upon the same
moral standards in government which we insist up
in private or business life.
What would outrage our sense of private bust
ness morals should outrage us when perpetuated in
politics
disgust6d lassitude a hopeless acquiescence
in bad conditions Of government is greatest La
bility in New Mexico\
The birth of a new determination to fight our
political rottenness standst is the crying need
in New Mexico today.
Il In putting that determination into practical ef- |
feet we should allow minor objections to a
leader to influence into rejecting his leadership
If he is right the main issue of lettering the |
standards of government
The great strength of Theodore Roosevelt lay
In the fact that he was always an evangelist preach