The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-02-01


A correspondent of the New York
Times, writing from Carson, Nevada,
under date of Jan. II. 81, says:
81 have lived in Reconsideration
and state-for twenty years, and l nat
urally take some pride in IFS people
and its institutions, but 1 must confess
that the statehood of Nevada is a ridic-
ulous farce. Here is a state with
apopulation of some GO, 700 with a more
elaborate government than the state OF
New York. The heads of Departments
consist of governor, lieutenant COVER
nor, controller, treasurer, a~ttorney-gen-
eral, suryeyor-general, secretary of
state, and superintendent of public in
struction. There are three supreme
judges, clerk of the supreme court,
state librarian, who is ex-officio curator
of the state museum, governors private
secretary, and a small army of depu-
ties, all at exorbitant salaries. The
revenue to support all this fuss and
feathers has been drawn chiefly from
the tax on bullion and cattle, which in
the past have furnished it literally.
There are fourteen counties in the
state. with equally elaborate govern
ments, which have been extrayagantly
supported from the same sources,
though, of course, all species of prop
erty have borne their share of taxation.
But the flush times have gone by, and,
though the states credit is good and it
has a large school fund from which it
can borrow. it is only a question of
time when the resources will be made
quate to meet the expenses.
All sorts of propositions are being
discussed to avert the threatened dam
ger-amendments to the constitutions
constitutional convention, dissolution
of the state government, etc. In my
opinion, the best thing that could be
done would be to abolish the state and
either to return to a territorial form of
government or attach the territory to
California. 1t is merely a province of
California IS it is, and is ruined by
California capital Under the federal
constitution, if l understand it right,
there is 40 power in congress to abolish
a sovereign state without the consent of
its people. The people of Nevada are
largely imbued with state pride, which
is a very creditable attribute in pros
porous times, but, when state pride
comes in conflict with the pocket, one
or the other must weaken. When the
mines are yielding largely, and cat tie
ranged on a thousand hills, we went
along as though we did not care whether
school kept or not.
This state has been a magnificent
safeguarding country, the bunch-grass
of the hills as summer feed and the sue
culent white sage of the valleys for
winter subsistence making the finest
beef ever seen, and California and the
east affording a profitable market. Like
everything else in the state, the bust
ness of stock-heeding has been over
done. The ranges were overgrazed, and
are now mostly eaten, and the cattle
driven away to Wyoming and Colorado,
where there arc ''fresh fields and pas
lures new.n As a consequence, the
resources of the state are so diminished
that the people will be forced to favor
a%bolishing the state as a matter of self
protection, and, unless something now
unlocked for turns up, the population
of Nevada will diminish one-half with
in the ensuing five years.