Arizona republican., 1901-10-17

required with the seudtorS anu Tepfe-
 sentatives from that section. The New
 England attitude is very we'll ex
 plained by the Providence Journal: At Albuquerque, New Mexico. on
 Monday, a statehood convention will
 be held. and at Phoenix, Arizona. on l the 26th of the month. a similar gathering will take place. So much in earnest are the Arizona advocates of admission to the union that the gover nor himself has issued proclamation
 calling the convention. The holding Of | two assemblies on so nearly the same | date suggests cooperation between the | two territories and this Is the under standing of the situation at Phoenix. according to a dispatch from that | place. What results can be gained by a united movement that could not be obtained singly 1t is difficult to judge. Perhaps the promoters think that the outcome will be a petition
 asking for the erection of one state 1 out of the two territories, owing to
 the sparseness of their population. This however, does not seem prob able The territories have had defi- | nite statehood ambitions for some years and each has more inhabitants | now than some of the present mem
 bers of the union had at the time of
  could not be kept out of the union in- definitely on the scoie of numbers, | for she has a population of two hun | dred thousand; but the character Of | her population has initiated against
 her. There is a large Mexican ele- ment in it. and many of these "Ameri- | cans are not proficient in Anglo
 Saxon speech and chirography. The
 census bulletin for New Mexico. pub
 !ished in August, does not show how | large the Spanish speaking element in the population Is, confining itself as
 1t does to the division of native-born from foreign-born inhabitants. Doubt less many of the more ignorant in | lrabitants of the territory were born on it's soil. so that the actual condi- ton of affairs cannot be told from n | study of the census office returns.
 The population of Arizona Is less | than that of New Mexico, but 1t has
 ordinarily been regarded as superior in | quality. There has been a large New England invasion of the territory and much eastern capital Is invested there The soil is arid until watered | by irrigation. when 1t blossoms like the rose. In both territories there
 are rich mineral deposits. and where
 water has been introduced by arti- ffcial means the most various crops have been raised The future of both | looks bright. but many of us would | be unwilling to see either admitted as | a state at the present time. when the | inequality of population among the present members of the union Is So startling. New York has more than | 1000. 900 inha abitants. Nevada less than | 43.O00. To say that We let some of our
 western/ states in before they had as
 many inhabitants as Arizona and New Mexico have does not furnish q con | elusive argument in behalf of these | two. Because we were unwise on one
 occasion does not justify us in em- phasizing our unwisdom. Moreover. there is a territory that deserves to be admitted before these aspirants. | Oklahoma has a population of half
 a million and Is far better equipped in all the essentials Of an American
 commonwealth than New Mexico and Arizona
 The suggestion that Arizona and
 New Mexico may be admitted as one
 state is, of course. an absurdity. The
 territories are cooperating because
 each recognizes the manifest rights of
 the other to statehood.
 The Journal is deservedly one of the
 most influential papers in New Eng land. It is edited with exceptional ability and fairness. and for it The
 Republican entertains much respect
 We therefore consider it worth while
 to ask the Journal if 1t really con-
 siders that the mere question of pop
 ulation should be a governing factor in decidfding the question of state
 hood for these territories? The cita- ton of New York Is unfortunate, be-
 cause the, rule therein implied would force a comparison between that state
 and Rhode Island to the misfortune of
 the latter, in point of population and | wealth. Yet no American citizen ques- tions the propriety of a representation of Rhode Island in the United States senate on an equality with New York
 The relatively small population of Ari-
 zona is one of the most unanswerable ! arguments for statehood. As the Jour ! nal knows, this territory has undeve!- oped resources which under a state
 government would speedily make this
 one of the most wealthy and pcpulous
 western states. So long as We are in territorial vassalage our growth will be
 slow-exasperatinsl slow, to the
 minds of our nervousiy energetic and enterprising people. As We have ex- 1 p,ained before, territories are regarded | with suspicion by our fellow citizens of the east; unjustly, it is true. for life and property are as secure here as at
 any spot in the union, and the laws
 are administered with as much ability
 and fairness. But the very word tier
 ritory" raises up to the eastern mind
 vision of the frontier set in frame
 work of lawlessness. A study of the
 history of any western state discloses l. the fact that real growth and pros