The herald., 1897-09-29
Political Trouble Always Is
Ready in Arizona
m'coRD TO HAVE HIS SHARE
IMPORTANT OFFICIAL ACTS ARE
UNDER FIRE
The Ire of Citizen O'Neill-A New and
Warm Journal for Phoenix
Citizens

PHOENIX, Ariz., Sept. 27-Once upon
q time, so the hoary story goes, an
ancient New England maiden, leaning
from a Pullman's steps, with uptilted
nose surveyed a forbidding Arizona
landscape. What a desolation!" she
observed. II wonder what they can
raise in such placer" A passing native
stopped, removed his sombrero with true
southern courtesy, and answered: well,
mem, sometimes the Mexicans raise
little chilli in the bottoms, an sometimes
he Apaches raise ha'r in the. hills, but
what We mostly raise around here is
aell."
The story, of course, has little applica-
ion to the garden valleys of the south
vest, but assuredly is pat when consid-
sration is given to Arizona politics. 1t
matters little what party is in power
poitica, sheol is ever with US,
gaining added heat, perhaps, from
The fervor of Arizona's summer
sun. Not since the time of
Hoyt back in the early eighties, has
an Arizona governor been permitted 10
do his work in peace. With several gov
ernols the clamor continued till re-
moval, and presidents there have been
who have deeply cursed the quarrel
vome trend of the average Arizona poll
tician's mind. And now, deeply as I
deplore the necessity of chroniclins
strife, war has commenced in the pres
snt administration of Arizona.
APPOINTMENT TROUBLES
There were few days when the white.
lowering pinions of peace seemed visi-
BILE aloft. Governor McCord is clever
politician ard has tact far beyond his
predecessor. He returned from Wash
ington with his commission and from
the vantage ground of success seemed
inclined to deal literally with the van
Quished. A number of serious difficult
ties were bridged and a lull has been
with US for weeks in all things that af-
fected the executive chambers. The
majority of the appointments were re-
ceived without much objection, and a
number Of them with general approval.
But the governor is only finite, after all
His selection Of Ex-Governor Hughes,
a Democrat, though personal friend,
to be chancellor of the territorial uni
versity raised a racket among the par
tisans, and latterly the Southern Pa
cif1c interests have been antagonized
by the selection to be auditor of George
W. Vickers, for Vickers, very pleas
ant and assuredly able Republican, has
till now been an attache of the Santa Fe
Prescott and Phoenix railway.
The most serious of the administra-
tions troubles have come about within
the past few days. There are two of
them-the Yuma canal scheme and the
funding Of the Yavapai county bonds.
WORKING THE CONvICTS
The Yuma proposition Is ore on which
the changes have been rung ever since
Governor Hughes retired from the ex-
ecutive chair.
The story, told briefly as Is possi-
BILE, is that when Governor Franklin as
. sumed office he discovered that the old
board of control namely Governor
Hughes, Auditor Leitch and the Repub
lican member, Myron H. McCord (now
governor) had entered into contract
whereby the inmates of the penitentiary,
$50 or so in number, were leased to the
State of Arizona Improvement company
a corporation mainly consisting of Eu-
gene S. Ives of New York and James
Fleming of Phoenix, and organized for
the purpose of building great canal
to irrigate by means of water taken from
the Colorado many thousands Of acres
lying near Yuma. To the leasing of the
prisoners, that their keep might be so
earned, there was little objection. Yet
even on the moral side of it Governor
Franklin tells he was told by President
Cleveland that it was "step back.
ward" an Arizona movement towards
barbarism. The main roar came from
the fact that the territory's compensa-
tion was to be in the shape of water
rights in the canal, at the rate of 500 an
acre, and this at wage of 70 cents per
day per convict, the territory guarding,
feeding and providing. Governor
franklin and his legal adviser pro-
nounced the contract founded on .ini-
uuity and refused to obey its provisions
when demand for convicts was made
by Manager Ives of the company. In the
district court of Maricopa county, Chief
Justice Baker presiding, judgment was
given for the canal company, the con-
tract being held legally sufficient and
amply provident of the rights of the
commonwealth. The case is now on ap-
peal in the supreme court of Arizona, to
be heard at the coming January session.
NEW DEMANDS
But Governor McCord has chosen to
acknowledge the validity Of the contract
and has made arrangements whereby the
oonvicts Shall be turned over to the
State of Arizona Improvement COM
pany when certain agreements and
subsequent stipulations have been com
piled with by the company. The text of
these demands has never been more than
generally given to the public, but it is
understood to embrace demands that tha
company shall give bonds for the COM
pletion Of the canal within some speci-
fled time, for the employment of the
convicts solely upon the canal, and,
further, that the company, by machinery
or otherwise, shall at all times do twice
as much work on the ditch as shall be
done by the convicts employed, and
shall prior to the initiation of the work
have on the ground machinery to at least
the value of 0,000 A couple of days ago
the governor went to Yuma 10 attend
to turning over the prisoners all other
preliminaries being un6lsrsto 100! t, have