Glass F"§ O i Book i V o P8 NEW MEXICO. ADefenceofthePeopleandCountry A Reply of Chief Justice Prince to a Slanderous Letter in the New York Times. [From the New York Times of Feb. 28, 1882.] It was only thi'ce or four days ago that I saw the Times of Feb. 6 contain- ing an anonymous communication dat- ed at Trinidad imder th(! rather inele- gant title, "Greasers as Citizens ;'' and vet I have regretted exceedingly that even that time should, by stress of bus- iness, necessarily elapse before I could express the indignation whicli every one familiar with the facts must have felt at reading the mass of slanders and misrepresentations of which that com- munication is composed. I have re-i'ead it several times in or- der to select the portions which were most untrue for contradiction, but the result has only been to show that the whole is such a string of misrepresenta- tions that it is diflicult to p.articularize any iK)rtion as worse than another. Tlie j motive which cou'd inducer .'uiy man thus wantonly to slander and villify over a hundred thousand American cit- izens seems )nex))licable ; if not ))ure malevolence, it must b*; thai strange enjoj'ment which some )K'rsons seem to feel in, irresponsible newspaper writ- ing, which tlicy consider spicy and smart in proportion as it is untrue and libelous. Tllis tirade ot' abuse has for its text the introduction of a Ijill in Con- gress to admit New Mexico as a State. On that subject I have nothing to say now — it will no doubt be considered in due time — but I desire to confine this letter exclusively to the slanderous statements from Trinidad as to our peo- ple and Territory. The writer thereof, after amiably saying that the admission of New Mexico would be "simply de- testable," proceeds in these words : "Without siatistical authority at hand, I think it not far wrong to say that about two-thirds of the population of the Territory is of the mongrel breed known as Mexicans — a mixture of the blood of Apache, negro, Navajo, white horse-thief, Pueblo Indian, and old- time frontiersman with the original Mexican stock." It is a pity that he did not have the l)roper "statistical authority at hand," for that might have enlightened him considerably. Tiie Unitecl States cen- sus, which is probably Mie best "statisti- cal authority," would have shown the l)()pulation in 1880 to be as follows, not including the Apat.'hes and Navajos, who are not citizens : Whites, 108.721 ; ca>t it is almost strange that these noble (jualities have nol been ultiirly chilhid; hut tiiat sad e.\pci'ieiic(! has only tended to make Iht; Ntnv Mexican, who originally was too conliding and unsusi)icious, beef)me (•ircunis[)ecL as to tlu! character of his lunv acquaintances; jl lias iioi lessened the warmth of welcome In tho^e who (leservt! it. More than tv.o yeai's ago. in writing to ;i metropolitan ne\vspai)er, I said: "■The nati\'e ixjpulation are polite, gen- erous, and hos])'itable almost to a. fault, with no disiil'.e or dislrnst of new com- ers of tiie proper class; but inclined to welcome gooil citizens from whereso- ever they come. Those who choose to make New Mexico their home, and who are entitled to respect and confi- dence, will linil a wcIcoiik; anywheri; in th(! Territory, and need have no fear of being branded as 'cari)et baggers.' " Since then not far from ■3(),0t)() new in- habitants have come into th(! Territoi-y — certainly a sufficient lest — and I can erai)hatically reiterate every word then written. Of course, 1 do not mean thtit the Mexicans admire the desperadoes, roughs, bullies antl "rustler-," who art; apt to be found on the borders of civili- zation, or the ill-mannered and vulg:n", who woukl abuse them because iTieii- mother tongue was Spanish instead of English. L simply mean that n, wor- thy man is as sure of a welcome and recognition here as anywheri; in tiie country, and that no such prejudice ex- ists as your correspondimt suggests. It may be atlded here tiiat the native peo- ple of New Mexico liad an ojjportunity once to show their loyalty to American institutions by somethijig more sub- stantial than words, and that their pat- riotic response in th(! time of the re- bellion was mad(! by furnishing over (i,0()0 men to the union army, a larger numlier in proportion totlui population than could be boasted of l)y luiiny of tlie most loyal states. It is tru(! that the educational condi- tion f)f the Territory is not allogether as we could wish. Two centuries of practical isolation naturally had a bad eflect in tlus res))ect, but this is being rapidly remedied. One (piarter of the entire regular taxation is (hn'oteij to ])ublie schools by law, and there tire ex- cellent educational establisiiments of iiigli grade :it Santa. Fe. I^as Vegas. Taos. Bernalillo, All)U(pier(pie. Socorro. Las Cruces, Mesilla. Silvei- City, and other points. On ihis subject, also, your curresixitnleiil grf)ssly exagger- ates. When he says: "Who](>coiintles might be searched before a man coulii be fo uiid able to giv(! tlie name of the 1^-esident ot the United Stales," lit- simply stales whnt is untrue. I state this uiKpialiliedly from ])ersonai knowledge. The six counties thrf)ugh whieli I am eonst:intly traveling in- clude those most remote from imIuc;!- tion;il cent(!»s and new inlluences, yvt everywhere houses were drai)ed wit'i mourning at the death of (Jcuieral (ia;-- lield and the day of his funeral litly ob- served. 1 doubt whc'ther in any town of its size in the ianii that d:iv was as BV CniRF .lUSTU'K J'RINX'E fully and solennily observed as in Santa respcjct and fallen from virtue, is no Fe. Tlier(! are lo-da.y nearly' forty doubt true; and in a country where no\vsi>apers in tin; Territory, and <)f i large bodies of soldiers linue be(?,n sta- tlieso eight or ten arc; daily. Part are tioned for years, where the foreign ele- l)rinted in English, jiart m Spanish, uient nntirrecently did not have i)erma- -md pai't in both languages. This surely ^ nent homes and families and where Ihe i-^ not an evidence of dense ignorance. ' ))()))idation ;is a rule is poor, there may Where is the ))opidati(>u of similar num- i have i)cen more looseness of this kind !)ers anywhere in the east that supj)orts i!i;in in the settled communities of the so many newspapers? cast. Butthe statement of your corres- Your eorres|)ondent next speaks of,| poudent, as relating to tin' jiopulation the ])olitical charactiu- of the peojilc. I in general, is a slander so vile, atroei- and I only refer to this to cite two ex- ! ous, and abominable, that words can- amples showing how little he really ! not litly characterize it. I1u- man who knows of our peopU;, or else how heed- ' would thus wantonly braml with infamy lessly lie wrd(;s. lie alludes to a man j the wives, daughters and sisters of a being a "Demecratico"' and to the poll- 1 whole people is unlit for decent society (;y or '"the Denincraticos.'' No.v, per- j or tin; creco- | No more liigh-bred, noble, and pure- ])le, but in New Mexico they have no j minded women are to beseen on ('ai'th sucih men as "Democraticos." Possibly i tlian among the Spaniards of New he intendtul to spc^akof "Dcmocratas." j Mexico. They are brought up witli a 'I'hen twice he referred to "whisky'' as : cart; similar to that seen in Europe, the great agent of bribery at (deciions. I :ind which seems :ilmost too strict to n>; I had supi)osed that it was generally j who arc accustomed to the freedom of known that noim of the Latin races girl lifo in gt-neral in the United States, were grciat drinkers. As a matter of j From this difference in etlucation fact. It w^^s an nnUimwn artitdc in New j they are more modest and less stdf-as- I\I(!\ico luitil after the AuHU-ican oc(;u- ! serting than most American girls; but l)ation, and never has become generall.y it he system produces good danghtcn'^ ])()i)ular amongthe people. The native ' faithful wives ami nobk; matrons. Any wjiie which .they usually (lo drink is rme whose (diarsujter givesjhim eutrancd far less dangerous bevei-age. | to the society of the respectable classes This brings me to ai)artof tli(!Comniu- i will lind tins true, both in town am nication to which I cannot alfiub! with- ciuintry, in the itl.-iza and on the ranch, outablusli tlialit was written by a fellow Tlui virtiu! of our fjj)untrywomen is too countryman— that in which he virtually sacred a thing to be tlippantly slandtu- proclaims tlial the entire female native ed, wholesale, by any writer, and least ))opulation of New Mexico are devoid of all by one who is nameless. 1)1 morality, :iml set a money price up- No people have been mor^ misunder- 1)11 their virtue. In his own words: stood in tin; remainder of the country '.It is a ])a1ent, notorious fact, Ijlaz- than tiie^jnativiv* of New Mexico. J'hey oning itself forward with startling bold- have been judged by the few roi.gii ness, that in no other ))art of Christen- characters lirst met upon the bcnnler. (lom are the wonu^a of an entire com- and from