The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-11
Indecent State. making.

If the Washington correspondence of
the Philadelphia Press and Inquirer is
| to be believed, all is not as 1t should
be in the house committee on territor-
les, of which Representative Scranton
is chairman. On Thursday. by vote
Of to 4. that committee decided to re-
port favorably the bill to admit into
the union the territory of New Mexico.
Mr.. Scranton's vote carrying the meas
ure through. The Inquirer correspond
ent says Of this action: "This territory
has been knocking at the doors OF con-
gress ever since 1t was purchased by
| treaty from Mexico, as the result Of
the Mexican war in 1S47. 1t has been
earnestly pressing its claims for state
hood for over forty years. During all
this period 1t has made very little pro-
gress. and its population has not in
creased to the extent which entities 1t
to rank as a state. Its population Is
not a desirable one, as a large major
ity OF them are Mexican half-breeds.
There are certain railroad interests at
work to secure the admission Of New
Mexico to statehood, and there are also
some political reasons behind the NOV
ers of the scheme"
| The Press correspondent, after point
Ing out that a reconsideration of the
Arizona admission bill is expected to
carry that measure through In COM
pany with New Mexico, notwithstand-
ing that the committee by a vote of &
to 8 has already decided to report ad-
versely, remarks:
If Mr.. Scranton had voted against the nd.
mission of the rotten borough of Arl-
| zona. as a state, that bill would have been
effectually buried. But Mr.. Scranton has
been very hard at work for some time,
arying 10 set these bills ,favorably re-
ported, and will work equally hard 10 try
and get them through the house. The
| national Republican committee RECON-
mended that Arizona. New Mexico anu
Oklahoma be allowed six delegates each
In the national convention. If this IL done
there will be eighteen votes in ali from
1 these three territories I'm the national con.
vention Mr.. Scranton hopes to get these
votes against Mr. Mckinley by working
through the statehood bills. AT least that
/
persons. and unless there was some IN
terest Of this kind, there is no conceivable
reason why ArizOna should be admitted
as u state, when 1t has less than One-third
Of the population necessary to entitle 1t to
| a member Of the house. Admitted as q
state, 1t would send two senators for the
| free coinage Of silver to the senate, and
thus about $4,000 people would have as
much influence on the currency question
In the senate as 100000 or more people
In Pennsylvania. The addition OF two
more silver senator's from Arizona and
two more from New Mexico who might,
and probably would, act In the same
way as Mr.. Cannon, recently admitted
from Utah, In voting to kill the reform
measures that did not provide for the
free and unlimited coinage Of silver, would
be very disastrous to the country. But
Mr.. Scranton and the representatives OF
some other presidential candidates seem
oblivious of that fact, az long as they can
secure the votes of a few delegates In the
national convention.
There IT,, 80 far as we can discover,
no urgent public reason why either OF
! these territories should be admitted at