Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-01-08
The canItal Question.

question: Will the capital be re- moved during the present session? and, if SO, where will it go to2" It then proceeds to discuss the question at length, by stating that there are but two objective pOlnts-PheniX and Tucson. " Very naturally the Expos itor takes the position that PheniX is the favored place, which embraces the sacred ground above all other towns and cities in Arizona upon which the massive walls Of capital building should rise.
 In the first place, says the Ex- positor. Phenix is very near the center of ihe Territory, and there fore the natural place of meeting for it's lawmakers, while Tucson is clear of 10 one side" The primary reason of the Expositor is simply no reason at all. Where is the capital of Cali foraia-in the center of the State? Not by any means. Ii is away in the north part of the State, In the center of population, where il should be. Where are the capitals of Nevada and Colorado-in the center of those Statcsy No. One Is in the extreme western portion of the State, and the other Is in the extreme eastern portion of the State, in the centers of pOpUla- ton. The Expositor could, with the same prOpriety advocate the removal of our National Capital to the plains of Western Kansas or the eastern DOT ton of Colorado. where the geograph- lcal center Of the United States Is sup posed to be.
 The ExpOsitor then goes on to tell us " of the largest agricultural valley in the Territory" while Tucson Is situated in the midst of a vast desert, with no self.sustaining mart at hand. .. We frankly admi. that / is notorious fact that Arizona is not an agrlcul- tural country, and if it were not ow- ing to this fact, and that other and more important interests existed within our borders to induce immi- grafton. the produce of Salt River Valley even would go a-begglng for want of buyers We are glad that our neighbors have little agricultural land; 1t is good thing as far as It goes. But did it ever occur 10 the Expositor that even in the States where agriculture is brought to it's highest perfection, and where, as Tn Illinois. Iowa, Missouri and Eastern Kansas, every county possesses four times as much, and on an average, better producing ground than is found about PnenIx; that the population in the average county seat III these States, notwithstanding they possess many other advantages which PheniI does not now nor never can possess, Is less than 2OO0 souls? The ExpOsitor at- tempts to belittle the arabic land of Pima county, and then consoles us by telling Us that the new county will take most all of our mines away from us. The agricultural land embraced in Pima county is but little if any less than that of MaTicOpa county, while in grazing lands we can show ten acres 10 one, and cattle, sheep and horses in the same ratio. Besides, We fall to see how county lines cut oil mines and their results from a large trading town like Tucson. IL has even been conceded that the mines of a neigh boring State have added untold millions 10 the wealth of San Fran cisco.
 Asto the building of that railroad from Benson to Tombstone which the Expositor says {" will cUt off thIs vast revenue which she (we) now derive from recording of claims and other court work from that sectiOn," il shows how little that journal knows of the true situation. The recording of claims makes To business whatever outside of the Ie~orue-s office. Our lawyers may lose some court business, but the county will actually gain over what has hitherto been collected from Tombstone by division. Our mer- chants have always and will continue Co do 8 good business in Tombstone, and the building of tke proposed rail- road is just what we want. We are not in the bad way the ExpositOr sug- gests, and this ancient, etc. has not @ seen her zenith" but, on the con lrary, we have not passed our teens. Tucson existed and was thriving town before the discovery of the new mines. Her arteries of trade extend in every direction. Without any dispO- sItion 10 belittle Phenix, without any spirit of 5raggadOciO, we venture to say that We have four mercantile es- tabIshmeuts in Tucson, either one of which sell annually more goods than all the merchants of Phenix put to- gether, and, what is best of all, their .trade Is constantly increasing. Hay ing shown up the ilimsy pretext upon which the ExpoSitor bases Its argu- ment in favor of making Phenix the capital, we will endeavOr briefly to give a few reasons why Tucson should be selected instead:
 First-Pima county, in which Tue son IS situated, contains half the popu- lation of the entire Territory.
 Second-She contains nearly half the wealth of the Territory.
 Third-TucsJn is easier of access to every county in the Territory than Phenix, with the exception of Yavapai and Mohave.
 Fourth Tucson possesses better and more healthfUl citrate than Phe- nix.
 And lastly, VIC believe the people want the capital removed to Tucson, and if it can be secured by fair and honorable means We favor it's removal. Tucson Is the chief town of the Terri tory now, and will continue to hold that place whether the capital is re- moved here or not. By and by, if our Territory continues to increase in population and wealth as it has done in the past year or two, it will be ask ing admission as one of the States of the Union, and as the territory now embraced in Pima county will be called upon 10 pay the largest portion of the expenses of a State government 1t would be but just that the capital should be located at Tucson.
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