The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-08-17

OF The arguments for and against amendment No. 8 which seeks
which may be levied for school maintenance Portions OF. MI. Whit
, ,ss,,. s s," { "ss,; s1e r ras,s.h ss, 4 ' 10 mattel ! n'1 r. ao. ass - s,1 IT. sao, sa
ton that te amendment i not only unnecessary but unwise and even
these tables, however. de- much more. They prove the utter faisiiy
Of the constantly reiterated charges Of that little group Of prop
president Of the State Taxpayers association, that New Mexico IS q
scene Of political nightmare in the grip Of rotten government and the
victim Of graft waste and extravaganza in the spending Of public
money
State Taxpayers asaeiation is nothing more nor less than a lobby
maintained by the Santa Fc railroad. He says and we agree with
him, that the Santa Fe railroad has a perfect right to maintain a lobby
at the state capital if il considers that lis interests a a taxpayer re-
quire II But Whittier contends that such a lobby, If maintained.
nsmc that indicates the lobby TO be an organization Of and for the
We win go further than Mr.. whittier and say that whether il Is
a railroad lobby or not, the taxpayers' association up 70 quite recently
has dcna a great deal Of very useful work that has been Of public ben
et The organization, beyond question Is supported mainly by the
contributions Of Che Santa Fe railroad and other large corporations
lot Of constructive work in which he saved a lot Of money, both for
corporations and small taxpayers. His successor, Mr. Rupert F As.
plund is equally competent and equally sincere in his effort to follow
up the work that Mr. James inauggrated. James kept out Of politics
Mr Aspluad has made an earnest effort 10 do the same thing. That
he has been less successful than james in doing this is due wholly to
the fact that Mr. lIageruaau. the head Of the organization, has shown
club but also 70 make IL the vehicle for spreading that propaganda
Of destructive criticism against New Mexico which Mr.. Whittier has
SO clearly outlined.
has usurped the place once held by Judge b. S. Rodey as the constant
and unfailng contributor Of lengthy letters to the newspapers. lie.
charges Of indifference against the people Of the state and Of cxtraya-
sance, waste. graft and general rottenness against their government
lie mas VIII fNthtD lhtth tD cunNiNcf ~ people, luht inrN art
being robbed, that their state is a unfit place in which to live and
that such remnant of its credit as is left. is headed for the demniton
bow vows. In this campaign of defamation and abuse Tiagerman has
become the principal editorial writer for that notably constructive in
huence IN our citizenship, Colonel Bronson NJ. Cutting, and has like
wise become the inspiration for the wellknown prophet who is busny
engaged in financing the dawn Of the new day.
Whittier thinks that llagermsns persistent pen and chronic collie
are part Of a program inspired ny the Santa Fe railroad, which seeks
thus to convince the people that they are overburdened, over-taxed
and badly governed, aud through the steady spread Of this impress
sion, fndure them to deprive their children Of adequate schools, so
that the railroad can save its tax outlay.
We do not agree with this view. The Santa Fe railroad, we be-
lieve, is guided by men with too much good sense to back such a
devious undertaking. IL seems 10 us that il is all just liagcrman
running true to form in the grip Of an ingrowing crouch which has
driven him relentlessly in his later years; which drives him with blind
rs that shut out his vision Of everything except the growths On his
own imagination; causing him TO see in these the things he thinks the.
people ought 10 want. from which stage he progresses rapidly On t.
what he thinks they want and thence TO what he asserts they are de-
handing.
Equipped with wealth, exceptional ability, broad education and
personal charm, Mr.. Hagerman had the opportunity to make himself
one Of the most useful citizens of New Mexico. With his vision turned
constantly inward he has failed to grasp amy part of this opportunity
In more recent years he has seemed able TO e only Ignorance, inabil
iy Dr. wrong motives in his fellow citizens TO find honesty of purpose
only in himself; and lately he has reached the unhappy level of a
common Scmd