Arizona weekly citizen., 1896-05-16
STATEHOOD FOR ARIZONA

to be no other pea for those who are S
 unjustly preventing the conference o
 the dignity of statehood on Arizona.
 It has been held, both by the conRres
 and the courts, that there should be n
 unnecessary delay in conferring citizen
 ship and statehood upon the territories
 The territory of Louisiana was acquired
 from France in 1894, with the sam
 pledge gwen as to citizenship, and th
 whole of the vast acquisition, compris
 ing over 700, 900 square miles, was made
 into a territory in 1S05. The entire
 population h 1910 was only 76, ,566, bu'
 in 1872, only eight years after it's acqui
 sition, the etats of Louisiana was creat
 ed. Florida was acquired by treaty ir 1921 aud made a state with less thar
 3O,0Oo population Tn 1S45. And its pop.
 ulation at that time was more largely of
 foreign than of American birth or par.
 entsge.
 In reporting upon the admission of
 Florida the committee said:
 'The whole policy of this government,
 and all the principles upon which its in-
 stitutions rest. gre adverse to the long
 continuance of 8 territorial government
 over any portion of the citizens of the
 country. The fight and the duty of
 self government are fundamental max
 inns of the political system of America. The territorial organlzation, for purpos- es of local police over such portions or the local domain as are occupied by
 population too weak to maintain the forms and exercise the prsrogatlves or an independent and sovereign organIza- tion, is never designed for other than tenn porary purpose. It is contrary to true policy, as we'll as to republican propriety, that 8 supreme and despotic rule should be held by this government over eny portion of the freemeu of the land; and if, from the necessity Of the case, the government has been obliged to prescribe regulations for. and exer- else con trol over, the inhabitants of ter rltories not included in the limits of any one uf the sovereign states, it has been with the design of raising them, by it's fostering care and protection, With as little aelsy as pose ble, to condition In which they may be able to assert and assume that high privilege of self gov ernment which is the right of all men, and take their place as an independent community in the union 0f American states. It is abhorent to all the feelinge and cherished principles of this repub- he, that there should exist within its limits, for any length of time, or for any time not demanded by an unavoidable necessity, 6 community of free citizens, who, without participating in the con duct anu the control of this government, should be com pletely subject to it's will and dictation. Now is it compatible with the feelings that should actuate every American to submit for one mo ment longer than necessity obliees to government imposed by the will of otn- CTS, and in the form and conduct of which the govern ed have no other di- rection or voice than is allowed by the permission or favor of the governors?"
 Ex-President Harrison, when 8 sena- tor, said in report upon the admission of Dakota:
 "The right of a people of a territory of the United States to form constitu- tion and state government, republican in form, and be admitted into the union Of states, is so self evident that it will not be questioned by any enlightened citizen of any state, providing the re- quisits conditions for admission hereto fore recognized have been complied with and exist"
 Chief Justice Fancy said:
 "There is certainly no power given by the constitution to the federal govern ment to establish or maintain colonies bordering oD the United States or at a distance, to be ruled and governed at its own pleasure, nor to enlarge its territorial limits in any way, except by thexadmission of new etatee. That power is plainly given. But no power is given to acquire territory to be held and governed permanently in that character"
 Tn 1921 Missouri, part of the terri tory of Louisiana, was made state with 66, 600 inhabitants and per capita of not over $50. Iowa was admI, ted in l846, with a population of 43, 900 and valuation per capita of s95, and Wisconsin with a population of 31 600 and & valuation per capita of S70. Arkansas was admitted in 1886, with 30,OO0 population and s60 per capita Michigan in 1887, with 3D. 900 population and per capita valua- tion Of $50.
 It ie more than forty-elght years more than 6 generation since Arizona became sn integral part of the United States, and it is still territory.
 Arizona presents itself with 80,0C0 in habitants, with a valusti of S335 per capita aud a total valuation (assessed) in 1895 of S27, ,5lS.33l. This is dou ble the assessed valuation of Delaware in 1850; larger than that of Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arkansas and California in the same year; larger than that of Delaware, Florida, Minnesota and Kansas in 1860, and four times as large as the valuation of Oregon in 1860 after it was admitted. ]
 Why should there be objections to the | admission of thls territory?
 The reasons given by most of those | who oppose statehood for Arizona are, first and foremost, ''thBt as state It would send silver senators to the con- grNss of the United States and thus de- feat the wishes of the people" and "thst | 1t does not contain the requisite popula- | ton and that what population it has IS mixed and hybric race unfit for self gov 
 Now as to this opposition we take an extract from the New York Commercial Advertiser as an example of what Is said. Speaking of the senate, 1t says:
 Nobody in his senses pretends that tbe senate, which iusolentIy basketsd the house tariff amendments. represents either the popular intelligence or the