Arizona citizen., 1876-03-25
Seribes and PharIsees

In the United States Senate. on a
 late day, there was presented a petition from 15,00O women and 14,OOO voters,
 of the State of Indiana, praying Con
 gress to pass law on the subject of intemperance, which, among numerous beneficent purposes, was to prohibit the manufacture and sale of alcoholic
 liquors Tn the Territories of the United
 States. We are sorry that this petition
 should have been presented and refer red and have grown cold, before it was
 even heard of Arizona. To think that we, among others, should have been
 inc objects of such kindly soliciudc and charitable device, from 20.OOC
 nearly equally divided as to sex) resi- dents of Indiana and not to have
 known anything about it. How ex- tremely unfortunate. Just to contem-
 plate that from the bottoms of the
 Wabash to the borders of Michigan,
 l5,0OO Indiana women should have
 been moved as one woman, as they re
 placed in the cupboard corner their
 l5,OOO black bottles, and wiped their
 30000 lips with the corners of 15.O00i
 aprons, to VOW with tears in their 3O.-
 900 eyes, and warming glow expand
 ing from their 15,000 stomachs. that
 the people of the Territories should no
 longer be exposed to the temptations
 of strong drink. Bless theIr dear In
 diana hearts. Not these the people toI
 practice that selfish maxim of letting
 charity begin at home. In fact they couldn't make their charity work att
 home. Had they not tried often and
 long t0 cope with the ins,dious foe,
 intemperance, in their own State? Had they not piled it with Baxter bills and prohibitory laws for many q year?I And did they not know that there Was. aS much of the crooked in Indiana tC-I day as ever. What then? They had a mission, and that mission was todbe' perfectly free themselves in the matter. of whiskey, and to take away that freedom from everybody else. If al human being once cOnceives that he has a mission, he will die under that impression. There is nothing more tenacious in life or death. And so these good people of Indiana, being baked in their mission at home and looking abroad for vent, of course espied the unfortunate Territories, and at Oncel recognized the proper field for thelrI mission.
 There is something very peculiar, byi the way, about these Territories. From being the most unknown and unnotice- able portions of the country, they are becoming the very center of attention, study and effort to the whole nation. If man in the States is already Tn public life, the first fruits of his ability and energy are now given to the Terri tories. If he isn't in public life, the whole aim of his existence Is to reach those there, with suggestions in regard to the Territories. If man is in Con gress, he may be wofully ignorant of the needs and interests of his cOnstI- tuents in the northeast corner of Maine or in the swamps of Florida, but what he doesn't know about the Territories wouldn't confuse the brain of a college graduate. It is perfectly wonderful how much the people m the States know about the Territories. They don't know much about themselves. They can't keep their own wives virtuOus, they can't keep themselves sober, they can't maintain their own laws un- broken, they can't make suitable laws to govern themselves, theT physical, moral and financial interests are con ,tantly suffering from imperfect protec- ton, their expenses of local and gener- ll government are constantly and enor- mously increasing, they are absorbed in the most virulent and passionate local and national contests. .hcv are weak, dishonest and criminal. And vel, let the Territories be called. and every man ot them rises into men .al. moral and intellectual strength and And so it happens that he poor denizens of these Territories i've under and enjoy some of the most remarkable laws and regulations ever heard of outside of New York City And the miner on his hillside ledge.
 he ranchman in hIs valley and thcl dweller in these iron : fer towns, will occasionally pause in lis work and mentally recall the bib lcaI scrIbes and pharisees, who bound / leavv burdens and grIevous 10 be borne, md lad them on mems shoulders, but would not themselves move them with !. ,ne of their fingers; who would neither 20 into an inheritance themselves; nor' ,ufler those entering to go in. 4