Bisbee daily review., 1902-12-11
MURPHY AND STATEHOOD

The following interview was print ed in the Arizona Republican last week:
 Are you going to Washington to work for statehood?" former Governor Murphy was asked yesterday.
 Not immediately" he replied. q may be in the capital city later dur ing the session should business call me there, and if the statehood ques- tion has not been disposed of by that time l may assist in the passage of an enabling act.''
 You were one of committee ap pointed at the late citizens meeting to go, were you not?"
 Yes, and I appreciated that expres sion of confidence, but 1 cannot afford to leave my business. I have visited Washington several times officially and unofficially in the interest of state hood, and I am anxious and willing to do what 1 can now, but 1 have cer- tain business interests which require my attention, so that I cannot leave. By the way, wasn't J. Frank Wilson elected delegate? If l am not mis- taken our democratic friends prom ised us during the late campaign that the election of Wilson would insure statehood in fact it was their princi pal slogan. Can it be possible they were wrong? From late dispatches it would seem that all is not serene iM regard to the pending omnibus Gill and war clouds are gathering agail statehood on the senatorial horizan. It is really too bad if Mark Smith was simply playing bunco game when Le % strenuously advocated the election of his warm friend CD Wilson. I hes itate to believe that Mark was insin- cere. I am quite sure, however, that he was mistaken"
 The above is an exhibition of ghoul- ish glee by the ex-governor over his anticipation that statehood will be de- nied by the present congress. He thinks a failure to secure statehood now will give to the republicans some advantage in Arizona and Murphy thinks a great deal more Of politics! advantage for his party than he do s Of statehood for Arizona.
 Murphy is engaging in the same work now receiving the energy of .he representing newspapers of the terri ry-misrepresenting Mark Smith and his position on the statehood Smith stated in plain words that near ly all the republicans in the senate were opposed to statehood for any If the territories and that the only hope of securing the passge nf the state hood bill was by the assistance :: Senator Quay of Pennsylvania, and a dozen or more republican senators from the western states. and the solid support of the democratic senators. Mark Smith never guaranteed state. hood, but did say he would consider statehood hopeless should Arizona re- verse her political faith in the last eject tion
 Does Murphy or the Arizona rep'ib lican press believe that had Morrison been elected to congress Senator Bev- eridge would have left Arizona, after his recent visit, singing the praises of the territory and urging it's admis sion as a state? None of them haz gard such an opinion. but they al are ready to throw the defeat of statehood should it occurr, onto Mark Smith and the democrats, this too in the face of the fact that all the opposition to oui admission comes from republicans.
 If statehood is defeated now it will be by republicans and that party will be held responsible for it by the peo pie of Arizona in future political con tests.