Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-03-08
FROM PHENIX.
ARIZONA'S WRONGS THAT MUST BE
 RIGHrED.
The Absurdity of Some of Our Laws and How they Became Such--Severe Criti- cisms upon Legislative Methods Want of Reform--The Playful
 Floods.

PHGNIx, A. T., February, 25 1890. EDITOR ENTERPRISE: It is authen- tically stated and generally believed that certain place, presumably hot ter than Yuma, is paved with good in- tentions which, if true, would indi- cate that have added several large sized slabs to the aforesaid pavement by reason of my intentions, long de ferred, of giving to THE ENTERPRISE and through it to the public the bene- fit of my opinion on the present situ- ation of affairs in this Territory. That the situation is sufficiently lamentable to excite the protest of the most indifferent patriot among us is but too true, yet in my case there was needed the application of a special irritant to stir up the dormant faculties to the point of action and open wide the Hood-gates of righteous indignation. This irritant has at last presented it. self in the criticisms on the 18th, Legislative Assembly by your Globe correspondent, Morpheus Kajones. I think I recognize in your correspond ent an esteemed friend, and if I am correct as to his identity, can certify that he is fully conversant with his subject, although I feel bound to sug- | gest that his criticisms are much too mild. To my mind it seems impossi- | ble that more ridiculous caricature of Legislative body than was pre- sented by the personnel of the aforesaid Legislative Assembly, was ever before foisted upon any civilized community. Nothing presented by the states of the defunct Southern Confederacy in their 1 darkest days of reconstruction when 1 the ignorant freedmen were at the ex- treme heighth of their enjoyment of their new found political rights ever equaled the farcical character of the | deliberations of the men accredited as members of the 18th Legislative As sembly of Arizona. That there were in either house, individual members
 who presented fair average amount of ability as legislators and who would,
 under suitable surroundings, and with
 proper leadership have creditably
 represented their constituents and the
 interests of the public at large, is not
 to be disputed, but collectively and
 as body it cannot be successfully de.
 nied that the general makeup was
 without exception, most remarkable VI failare.
 \ Your Globe correspondent singles Tout for his point of attack, and as I:nlustrative of the utter incompetency ,|of the body enacting it, the law pro I hibiting the carrying of offensive
 weapons, yet he fails to tell you fact
 of which 1 believe him to be fully
 eognizant: that the law, as passed , was the result of compromise with
 the Honorable member from Apache
 who came to the Legislature for the 5 express purpose of passing such law
 and devoted his whole energies and al
 his ssinfleoence" to its passage. Ina
 las originally presented to the House
 and referred to the Judiciary Com E .si-A--.4l,-- l>;n .s 4l.a IIa..--:,,i
 by it's provisions, in effect prohibited
 1.-the earrying of an ordinary cane or
 wooden tooth-pick. The committee
 of course, promptly sat down on the bill
 Every much to the indignation of 1t
 author, and then commenced cours
 of temporizing and placation upol
 the part of the former toward the lat
 ter, and the result we behold in tn,
 law, which is aside from its being silent commentary on the law-mak ing abilities of the body which en s acted it,is nothing more than blot up on our statute book, since It's stric enforcement is not to be thought o and is, in fact, impossible.
 s In this connection, it is perhaps ez l cusable to refer to the fact that tn i policy of laws for the prohibition C carrying of concealed weapons, Ina |, been recently under discussion b : the police authorities and press of Sa 3 Francisco, with a decided bearing tc ] ward the-to me, most sensible-cor s clusion, derived from argument base l on the results of actual experienc . and observation, that such laws serv l only to leave the law-abiding citize - in a defenceless condition in tn s emergencies of unexpected dangel 0 while they have no restraining effec r whatever upon the lawless elemen Il which they are intended to check an control. And will not such reason e ing apply with fully as much, if nc o greater, force to the law now unde t consideration:
 While I haven't the same respec
 for the Arizona bill of rights that you e Globe correspondent appears to entel X tain, yet fully appreciate and partic S pate in his reverence for the const n tuition of the United States, and wel e it not that the law prohibiting tn p carryingo of offensive W eapons conceale > or unconcealed, had met with the a,
 proval of the House judiciary commi y tee-for whose legal opinions I hay r. the most profound regard-I shoul d unhesitatingly pronounce such la
 unconstitutional, as being indiret J. conflict with the 2nd amendment { g the constitution.
 n Aside from the question as to~it e constitutionality, I agree most hearth
 with your correspondent as to h x- other objections to the law, as mu h every other fair-minded citizen wh
 takes the trouble to think at all upo of the subject, and it is to be regrette V that our Territory should ever haN
 been saddled with a Legislative A 5e sembly whose members could so f' d forget their dignity as law-makir
 power and their duty to their consti er uents as to permit themselves to l t, persuaded, coerced or bulldozed | or one of their number into giving tl IT, sanction of law to such objectionab
 provisions. I apprehend that yol is correspondent has waited thus Tor s in vain for public criticism of the ac K of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembl rn for the reason that most of those WI ed have given the matter any thoug
 whatever have found the language 7n their command inadequate to
 justice to the occasion, while othe as perhaps, like myself, have remain y, silent through sheer dispair, supe he induced by past experience at t he thankless and almost hopeless natu re of the task of attempting to awak to- the people to that proper sense of t en degradation to which they have be Ise reduced by the unprincipled maniI ng lations of the so-called and self co lp- stituted party leaders of both polite