Arizona silver belt., 1888-11-17
CONGRESS- ATTITUDE TOWARD THE
 WEST

late on many national questions by
 reason of their gross ignorance eff DOT tons of the United States ether than
 thelr own or, perhaps, two or three adjoining States, and therefore can not appreciate the necessities of sec tlons remote from their own, and the
 value to the Nation of public enter- prlSes which to their unenlightened vision are sectional in scope.
 Mr. ONeil's suggestion eff making it incumbent upon Congressmen to travel and acquaint themselves with every portion of Uncle Sam's domain in order that they might legislate intelligently, and that the Govern ment defray their travelling expenses, while probably spoken in jest, never theless, is deserving of serious consid- eration. The Representative from Missouri, in the speech referred to, said: 1t (traveI would change mar velously not only the judgment of members, but their speeches. If gen tlemen had personally visited the re- zion in question here, there are very few who would require any appeals to them to vete for the pending measure.
 In nearly all measures affecting the
 West, and especially in the matter of appropriations, unreasonable preiu- dice upon the part of Eastern Repre- sentativeS IS met with, and is so diff cult to overcome that our great sec
 tion, with its vast resources-requir-
 ing Government aid for thelr better
 development-ssldsm receives justice.
 There are 325 Representatives in
 Congress apportloned to the several
 States, according to population, thus
 giving to the more densely settled
 commonwealth of the East and South
 the controlling voice in legislation. Nineteen States-the farthest west
 being Alabsna-together have a ma jority 166) of votes in the lower
 house. Nineteen is exactly one-half of the whole number of States, and
 from this standpoint it may seeem just apporhonment, but look at map
 of the United States and you will be
 impressed at the small space which those nineteen States occupy In reality they comprise only about one fourth the area of all the States in the Union, and about one-slxth of the entire domain excluding Alaska.
 In a country of such vast extent as ours, few men have a comprehensive idea of the needs of all sections, and of the relative value of public enterprises deemed by their promoters expedient for the Nation. And especially IS this so in the old Southern and East ern States where there is httle migra- ton and where ths soil has been in possession of the same families for fif- ty or an hundred years; they spend their lives on the old homestead, and die with the conviction, almost, that the sun rises and sets on the confines of their native State. They know no other people than thelr own and feel little interest in the progress of the Nation, so long as their demands are satisfied. Men reared in such an environment, with selfish, sectional ideas instilled into their minds from childhood, can not be ex- pected to hold liberal views on uues- tions of public polity. And yet we find many such men in Congress, l whose brilliant attainments, perad- venture, render their prejudices more pernlcious, and difficult to overcome.
 This is one of the chief forces oper- ating agalnst the progress of the West, but one which is gradually les sening. There are broad-minded men, also, in the halls of Congress, repre- senting Eastern constituencies, who recognize the value of the West, and l the importance to the whole Nation of having its great and varied re- developed, and aided by their votes and influence we may hope for more favorable legislation. Then, again, the admission of three or four Territories te Statehood, which will certainly follow the return of the Re publican party to power, and what is still more important, the re-apper- tienment of representation, after the census of 1890, will so increase the in- fuence of the West at Washington, that her importance will receive mer- tied recognition, and her just demands be aeceded to.
 The joint meeting of the Butchers MI | Il---