Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1890-06-04
Reasons Why the Fifteenth Leg lsiaqve Assembly Abolished First Papers.

To HE KEPURLICAS-l noticed sp
 article ID your paper et sad ins, headed,
 This IS ;he Law" Having been a citi-
 zen of Arizona prior to it's being organ. lzed as \ territory, and while Arizona
 vas a part of New Mexico. and having
 been . member of the second, third and fourth councils of the territory,
 will state that this question was always
 knotty question 10 deal with. AS a
 member of the judiciary committee of
 the Fifteenth Legislative Council. l ~ill state thai the committee did investigate and consult with the leading attorneys of the tegfitorY upon the subject, and
 we believe that we were right in passing the amendment al the last session.
 It IS matter of fact that the organic act (,he organic act of New Mexico was made applicable 10 Anzons) was very liberal in it's terms, Section reads {. ''rhat every free white male inhabita n, above the age of twen,y-one years who shall have been a resident of said terri- tory at the time of the passage of this act shall be entitled to vote at the first election and shall be eligible 10 any alice within ,he said territory" The act further states.
 But the qualifications Of voters and
 of holding office at all subsequent cleo tions shall be such as shall be ore scribed by the legislative assembly" IL
 IS possible that congress has passed an
 act allowing persons to vote in terrte- 1 ries upon their first papers. but do not
 beheve ii. l, is true that persons having
 taken out their first papers can locate
 and hold land. Our lands should be
 held and protected as far as possible from speculation and monopoly for the
 rising generation. It IS fact that for nearly tweniy-slx years the governors that have been sent to Arizona have been more like trsmps than governors. AS soon as their terms of office were out they have left the territory. or course any or all of them that are alive are ready to return to lhe terriory il they can be appointed or elected to office. It is also true that judges that have been sent 10 the territory have been in most cases but little better; more especially for the first twenty years of the territo- rial history.
 These first judges were appointed by republican presidents and confirmed by republican senate, but strange as it may seem, these judges nearly every instance saw fit to appoint the liveliest and best workers from among the democrats as their clerks. It was common thing for these clerks to go cut pnoT to election and issue fyst papers. And il has been frequently charged that Mexicans by the hundred have been gathered up near the llne, giv- en first papers hythese democratic clerks and then registered and voted at general election at Tombstone and Tucson. IL. IS a notorious fact that at the election. Of IS76, Clerk of tbe Court Wilkerson, of Prescott. did leave his office and go to the remotest part of Yavapai county, and issued first papers and certificates of registration to over one hundred pre- tended inhabitants. It was a matter of recerd that the canvassiug board of Yayapai county did throw cut such re- turns as illegal, but the little tramp governor, contrary to law. did send for 2 statement of all such votes thrown out, and the democratic clerk did send ts said tramp governor a statement of | all such votes thrown out and counted | them and counted in a democratic dele | gate ts congress. This IS not he only l case, but near one hundred cases of l fraudulent work 10 carry the elections of | the territory during the first twenty years of .he territories existence.
 1t was for the purpose of protectsns tse purity of he ballot box that the amendment ot SsSS was passed
 But for four years past the matter of manipulation has been entirely with the democratic party. There have been no republican clerks appointed by demo cratic judges. That is not the demo cra,ic way of dong business. II.
 PHENIX, May 22, 1899.