Arizona republican., 1902-09-12
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, SEPT. 12. 19C
The Atlas of Pinal.

The democratic inhabitants of the Salt River valley have reached out for a storage reservoir at the risk of hav- ing the valley shorn of some of the glories it now has. Hon. Thomas Weedin, the champion of the San Carlos site, is threatening to remove our ter ritorial institutions one by one. We mean to say that he is threatening one by one to remove them, but he will no doubt take them away by one motion. Last week it was the insane asylum: the week before the capital MT. Weed in, the wielder of the Florence Blade, is of Atlas build, and We believe he is equal to the task which he is propos- ing to cut out for himself.
 Unless he should change his mind he will dump the stately capitol building down in Tucscn. The location of the insane hospital has not yet been select ed by MT. Weedin, but it will be chosen with reference to its altitude above sea level and it's intellectual surroundings. We may inquire: Whats the matter with Florence2"
 Mr. weedin is plainly moved by spirit of revenge. He fancies that conspiracy has been started here to rob Pinal county of a reservoir and he proposes to visit an awful vengeance upon our entire population regardless of age and sex. He will not be content with the elimination of the capitol and the insane asylum, but even the foun- dations and cellars of those institutions may not remain as subterranean monu- ments of our fromer greatness.
 When MT. Weedin's not altogether unreasonable rage has somewhat cooled we would like to put in defense for part of this community. We were not all implicated in the outrage upon Pinal county. The republican party of Maricopa county had no thought to de- prive Pinal of the San Carlos dam. It was not admitted to the conspiracy which was formed al Tempe and which was endorsed by the representatives of the whole democratic party of the county, and had also the endorsement of Colonel Wilson, as the records of the convention will show.
 The republican party of this county. always distinguished for its liberal views, believes that there is enough money in the United States treasury for the building of two reservoirs, and 1t hopes that the construction of both the San Carlos and the Tonto Basin dam may be begun simultaneously. It would please. us if both could be begun at the same hour. say : o'clock in the morning. In the event that either of them should precede the other we would consent that work be delayed on the Tonto Basin dam for half an hour. We do not think there is a man in the valley, that is a republican, who would not be willing to give Pinal county that much of start on the way to the development of her agricultural re- sources.
 We would ask MT. Weedin as a fair minded democrat if anything could be fairer. Now, does he still want to strip us of our territorial adornment? Will he continue to hold us all responsible for the insensate greed of Colonel Will son and the democratic party of this county? We think not.
 But if MT. Weedin is implaoable and is determined to have something; if he needs the insane asylum or if the in- sane asylum needs him; if he believes that Florence or any other town of greater altitude, salubrity and intel lectuality than Phoenix should be the seat of the government of the insane, let him pack off the institution on his Antaean shoulders, but leave us in possession of the capitol and the capital.