Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1893-07-29
THE ADMISSION OF ARIZONA.

Under the foregoing caption the San
Francisco Call discusses the probability
Of Arizona'5 admission by the Fifty
third congress. After enumerating he;
shortcomings it sGys: Notwithstanding
all which if congress has time TO take
up thu subject, the chances are fair that
both 1t aud New Mexico may be admit
ted as states by the Fifty third congress.
The unwritten law on the subject,
which was so often referred TO in the de
bates over the admission of northern
territories, was laid down in the con-
gressional discussion of the case Of
Maine in 1920. Maine implied with
the constitutional provisions governing
the admission OF territories. 1t had a
republican constitution and it had the
assent of the parent state from which ii
had been Offset. 1t was therefore he d
that it was rot discretional with con
grass to admit or exclude it. The terri
tory had an absolute right to admission,
having more than the population re-
CURED by the apportionment of that
day. And though the contention led to
debate, the upshot of the latter, which
was the joint admission Of Maine and
Missouri, went to establish the rule that
territory could demand admission as
a right. The doctrine was affirmed IN
the debates on the admission of Kansas.
It was amDliiei and extended in tie
controversy over the application Of the
Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Washington |
and Wyoming. The action of congress
tacitly affirmed the right of territory
to admission whether it did or did not
contain population enough to elect q
member of congress. Under the appOr- |
tienmant of 1888, which was in force till
March 4 of this year, the proportion of |
congressman TO population was as one
to 151,9 lL. Yet on February %, 1889, |
Montana was admitted with pnpula- |
ton of 49,, 159, and in July, 1896, Idaho |
was admitted with a population of |
1885, and Wyoming with population
OF 60,7O5
1t would thus appear TO be the law |
that il Arizona has a constitution con-
form3ble to democratic principles it |
cannot be excluded because ii contains
only 10000 people, and because in the
ordinary course of events it does not |
seem likely to increase the number OF
lis inhabitants. 1t is not cons; steDt
With thu spirit of American Institutions
that part of the soil of the nation
should be occupied by communities
which are not self-governing. Satrapies
have no proper place in our system, and
territory whose governor and whose
Judiciary are appointed at Washington
is nothing but a satrapy. 1t is funda-
mental principle of our political system
that the people Of every separate entity
should make and execute their own
laws and should bear the responsibility
for the conduct of their public affairs
When the constitution was framed il
would have been absurd to confer state
hood on Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Ken
lucky or Tennessee, for the simple rea-
son that they were one and all Inhabited
by q handful of white trappers, sur
rounded by communities of Indians. 1t
was therefore arranged that they should
go through preliminary apprenticeship
in a territorial condition. AS soon as
they could show moderate white pop
ulation they were admitted, without re-
gard to the volume Of that population.
Nebraska was admitted with 10000,
Ohio with 1880 and Illinois with $4,000
If the principle which guided con-
gress seventy years ago, and on which it
hes since generally acted. be applied TO
the case OF Arizona today it seems diff
cult to conceive reasons on which its
admission can be resisted.