Albuquerque morning journal., 1921-07-17
GOVERNOR HAGERAIAN'S
REPLY.
Roswell, New Mexico.

Roswell, New Mexico,
July IA, 1921.
To the Editor OF the Albuquerque
Journal, Albuquerque, N. NJ.
Dear Sir:
Your editorial of yesterday, &c
friendly and generally so fair, leads
me to beg the further indulgence
of your columns, not to air my own
views, but to briefly examine the
main thesis of your argument In
the hope that you may see that,
from your own standpoint, a CEN
trail check on school expenditures
is right. Your editorial Is directed
mainly to the proposition that CEN
tralized government with us Is bad
because 1t Is boss-controlIed, and
that the people may be trusted to
spend their own money in their
own way. am not disposed to
deny that any government is bad
II 1t is boss-controlled and the
bosses are bad-but, on the con-
trary, am quite In accord with you
on that proposition. However, this
should apply to all governmental
units equally, for bad bosses with
us are, by no means confined to
state affairs. They get in their
most effective work in precinct,
county and school district and,
when they have grabbed these
lesser units, spread their tentacles
out into state affairs, educational
and otherwise and demand their
pound of flesh. Witness the Hon.
Secundino Romero of san Miguel
county, whose recent activities you
have so Justly condemned.
That the people rule is the basis
Of democracy, that ultimately they
will rule right Ia the faith of its
adherents. Until, with us, that
faith is justified there will be no
real progress in New Mexico. The
stream is stagnant and clogged
and will remain SO until the peo-
pie choose to be led by good men
and not bossed by bad ones. There
Is no more chance of success in
government than In business under
bad management.
If II Is true, as you say, "that
New Mexico Is cursed with CEN
tralized power" and that its af-
fairs have for years been run by
little coterie of men for selfish
ends then the fault lies with the
people themselves who have the
power to change these conditions.
Can they be changed and perma-
nently remedied so that new cap
ital, new labor, new energy will
come into New Mexico for It's sal
walton, by reducing the functions
Of state government to cipher
or eliminating them altogether? Is
that the way out? I think not, I
think that would be the most abb
ject possible confession that the
people are quite unable to manage
their own affairs.
I am no more disposed to ad-
NIT that the State Tax Commits
sion Is indifferent" than that the
men in the state department of
Education or in the county school
organizations are, on the whole
any different from the average
men in and out of office. Nearly
everyone in any office here is to
certain extent, dominated by fear,
fear of the bosses. To the credit
Of the Tax Commission be 1t said
that they are as far or farther
away from that fear than any
group of public men In the state.
And ii is to the governors credit
that when the bosses tried to
throw out the chief tax commits
sioner because he did not show
enough fear, they failed.
think the people can be trusted
it is hardly just to me to say that
the burden of my letter Is to the
effect that they cannot. I think
that IL they can be made to see
that the agitation against this
amendment and the propaganda to