Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1891-11-04
TuR CONSTITUTION AND THE GOV
 ERNMENrs's PROMISE.


 cle which appeared in the JOURNAL
 MINER, October 30th, on the ques
 ton of the adoption of the new Con
 stitution. The JoURSAL~MNEs stated
 advocates of the Constitution arr
 trying to makc strong point Il
 favor of an instrument that is evi
 dently not popular, by telling O
 the innumerable square miles O
 land Arizona will receive on her ad
 mission as State" To this, J. F. W
 says, that the paper in question
 "then warns voters not to be deceiy
 ed by this, for the government ha
 made no such promise, etc. Thu
 is an indirect assertion--or if no
 that, it is an intimation that tn,
 government will do no such thing
 When the Journal Miner makes any
 such assertion, or intimation, or is
 guilty of such reflection, it asserts
 or intimates, or reflects that this
 government is both an unfair and
 partial government. From it there
 can be no escape, because it is a
 matter of public notoriety, is a mat
 ter of reord, in fact, it is a matter of
 legislation, that tho government
 since the admission of Colorado,
 without a single exception or objec-
 ton, has granted to every new state
 on it's admission the amount of pub
 lie lands expected and claimed for
 Arizona by the advocates of the Constitution. Then, this having
 been the policy of the government
 toward other new states all over the enterprising west, as is demonstrated by the enabling acts admitting them. and as may be found plainly now in Barton's handbook, have we not right to expect the same iber- ality toward Arizonai Indeed have We not a right to construe it into an implied promise' If not, why noti The government would be dealing in severe partiality against us, and to the extent of unfairness if it did not aid us on admission, as it has our sister territories. This, our government will never do, for it is just, fair and impartial"
 It will be noticed that J. F. W. does not deny the assertion of this paper, that the government has made no promises of any land to Arizona on it's admission, but simply reasons from analogy and precedent and concludes Ethat it will do so. The same reasoning, however. proves too much. By using the same logic and the same method of reasoning. the Philadelphia man who,proposes to build new transcontinental rail road could go to work at once with the belief that the government would aid him with an immense land grant to build his road. For the | government has done such thing. md II 1t IS not severely partial' it | will do so again. The government | s severely partial" if that is the | erm to use, as can be cited in hun ireds of instances. The importer vho now pays a much higher duty m some articles that he imports md much lower on others than he nd year ago can tell you this. The Tact is that the government of o-day is not the government of CIV years ago, and will not be the overnment of a few years hence, and recedent in the matter of legisla- ion Is not always a safe and sure 'uide to follow. We do not deny hat it is among the possibilities hat government may do all and ven more than these constitution lakers count on for Arizona when he Is admitted as state, but we o reiterate that there has been O promise made or implied, further han that of simply precedent of any hing of this kind. So let voters cast leir ballots intelligently on the mat , T and from the practical standpoint existing facts and not from that , any high flown theory that any le may suggest. But, even admitting for the sake argument, that Arizona will real @ from the general government all , le land that these constitution s akers would have one believe that a e will, they have inserted ause in the constitution which will t as an effectual bar against the ture state realizing to any extent c l these lands. Section 6, of article t of the constitution says: "No nd shall be leased for a period z nger than ten years, nor shall any tI nd be sold for less than the ap- i: aised value, and in no case for less ( an S1O per acre unless otherwise Il ovided in the enabling act J hitting Arizona as a state, nor n all any land be sold or leased in t, y other manner than at public e ction, and in accordance with such les and regulations as may be pre- 'ibed by law" Now is there any c elligent citizen in Arizona, except a; 2 members of the late constitu- u nal convention, perhaps, who does SC know that thousands upon thous- G is of acres of the land which will m naturally received for school pur- p' ses, being sections l6 and 36 of tt ii township, can never be sold for SC 7 such price' Of course in some Il the agricultural valleys the state 10 y be able to realize even greater en