Arizona weekly citizen., 1894-02-03
SHALL ARIZONA BECOME 4
STATE?


For the following timely endorsement
of ArizoDa's claims for statehood the
public is indebted to the Real Estate
Record and Building News, published in
Boston, under date of Jan. 20.
The paramount question with the
people of A rizona today is that of state
hood. Arizona has the population and
the taxable property TO entitle her to
the right of self-government. Her
people have passed through the ordeal
of conqueFing this territory from
savsgery to civilization. Less then a
quarter of century ago the entire
territory was in the hands of the A pache
Indians. Now, after a struggle of many
years, il which a large number of
pioneers, and many of their families
were sacrificed, thousands of families
have established homes in her mouuta ms
and valleys. In place of the war whoop
the voices Of children in the school
house are heard, and on the Sabbath
the churches, whose spires point heaven
ward, resound with the same songs of
praise and devotion as ascend from the
churches in the eastern states. All
kinds of humanizing influences have
taken hold upon the territory-com-
mercial, educational, reformatory and
religious. TIE arid plain is made to
yield to the industry OF the farmer, and
is dotted with gardens and orchards
everywhere. The Indian gees on his
raids no more, but is gathered into the
reservations, and in place of plying his
trade with the scalpir g-knife and deadly
rifle, he is engaged in filling the soil.
and his children are being educated in
the schools. Many of the states admit
ted during the last forty years had no
greater population than Arizona has
now, no more developed, and much less
undeveloped wealth, not as many
school-houses, churches or refining
agencies. Her people have trodden the
winepress of suffering in order to reach
that promised hope written in the con-
stitution of our country-self-g govern
meut.
1t is claimed that Arizona is q silver
territory, and that, as state, her vote
would be given in the interest of silver
as against gold. This claim is likewise
an error. Arizona is today more of
gold thnn silver producing territory.
Her gold production was more than
treble her silver production last year.
From the present outlook her yield of gold
will be ten times greater than that of
silver this year.
No one who looks at the condition of
Arizona with impartial eyes, today, can
fail TO acknowledge her rapid approach
to the condition of prosperity of the
older states. Her advancement is of
that character which is the best gu8ran-
tee of permanence-gradual, steady,
solid. Side by side with her material
progress is her intellectual, social and
religious. 1t has been shown that
dining sixteen years the sum of 4,000,-
00G has been taken out of her mines,
and the fact that during the present
year her gold output will reach the
sum of 100000 demonstrates that
her gold mining industry never
looked so bright as it does
at this time. The development Of
agriculture and horticulture is equally
The extent of the new
enterprises will be seen by a
reference to the report devoted to that
subject.
To turn from the material TO the
social, moral and religious:
For the support of public schools they
pay more than $4,000 per annum.
The liberal salaries paid to teachers, an
average of S79.77 per month, secure for
the education of her children talent
equal to that of any state in the union.