Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-06-29

the bill did not pass both houses.
Ia the house of representatives III the
closing hours of the 4Sd congress there
was general agreement among the mem
bers, upon both sides of the question of
politics, that both these territories should
be admitted into the Union. A motion
to suspend the rules and admit Colorado
into the Union was carried by three or
four more than the twe-third vote re-
quireu to suspend the rules. similar
motion was at once made in regard to
New Mexico, and, Notwithstanding that the
house was nearly two-thirds Republican,
that motion only failed by two or three
votes of the necessary two-thirds to give
recognition to New Mexico at that time.
ut was believed by everybody, or near
ly everybody, in congress that those two
states should come into the Union to-
gether in 1875; and congress at that time,
although both branches were Republican,
had done everything it seemed possible
to further the admission of New Mexico,
the bill having passed both houses by
large ma ority, and nearly every Repub
lican on that side of the house at that time
time voting in favor of New Mexico COM
ing into the Union. But owing to the
necessities of the closing hours of the
session, when it required a two-thirds
vote to pass it under a suspension of the
rules, it failed.
'In the 50th congress bill was passed
by largo majority in favor of the ad-
mission of New Mexico. The Republican
senate rejected New Mexico. A confer
ence committee was called, and that con-
ference committee was instructed by
vote of this house, on the motion of the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Cox to
eliminate New Mexico from the bill, and
although but few Democrats voted for
the measure, all the Republicans at that
time voted to eliminate New Mexico
from that bill. We believed then that
New Mexico was entitled to be admitted
into the Union, and after the house had
instructed the conference committee the
committee promptly obeyed the instruc-
tion and brought in a bill admitting the
two Dakotas, Washington and Montana,
and that Democratic house passed the
bill in the closing hours of the session
and it was signed by Mr.. Cleveland before
the expiration of his term.
" The 51st congress, which was Repub
lican in both branches, admitted the
states of Wyoming and Idaho into the
Union, neither of which states has one
half of the population that New Mexico
has Today and had at that time. On this
side we voted against the admission of
those two states for the reason that we
believed that Arizona and New Mexico
were equally entitled to admission. and
desired that the four should be admitted
instead of the two. Now we plead again
for justice; we plead for justice which
has long been denied New Mexico. We
have already admitted Arizona, and we
ask that justice be done New Mexico be-
fore the house adjourns. Let US admit
New Mexico into the Union now and do
that which we should have done twenty
years ago."
Mr.. Washington of Tennessee said:
"The committee on territories of the 51st
congress positively refused to consider
the bills for the admission of Arizona
and New Mexico, and the only reason was
the political one that they then had Dem
ocratic delegates on this floor"