The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-04
Admission of New States,

Admission of New States. p,
Senator Nelson for the senate committee
on territories reported yesterday as a sub
stitute for the house bill, a bill admitting
Oklahoma as a state, but saying nothing
| about Arizona or New Mexico. ~. r.
The house bill provided for the admis
sion Of all three territories, and there is
some danger that ultimately this may be
the action Of the senate Senator Nelson
and five others OF the republican members
Of the senate committee will oppose. the
admission of Arizona and New Mexico, but
the friends Of these two territories will
make a strong fight for their admission.
Mr.. Nelson and those that stand with
him on the committee are in the right.
| Oklahoma Joined with Indian Territory, as
| the senator's bill provides, would make a
| good state. The area is substantially that
| of Kansas. Oklahoma has population
enough by itself to justify admission as a
state, but the size and shape Of both taken
together make it desirable that these two
| territories be admitted as one.
| 1t is by no means sparsely populated
area; according to the census reports of
1900, Indian Territory contains 1892, 06O peo-
pie, or 1875 per square mile; Oklahoma
! 99S333, or 1913 to a square mile. Accord
ing to the reports of the Governor Of Okla
homa, that territory by itself has now a
population of $4,000 people, and the pop
| ulation of Indian Territory is doubtless
| larger than when taken by the census EMU
merators in 1900. At all events, the COM
| bined population would entitle the new
| as well as two senators.
The disparity between a new state Of
that kind and Arizona and New Mexico is
not fully suggested by population figures,
although on that ground alone the con-
trast is great. New Mexico, for instance,
has a population Of only 1876, $40, according
to the census of 1900, and Arizona 1872, 9S1.
Neither: Of them has gained materially
since the enumeration two years ago: In
Arizona there is IL person per square
mile; in New Mexico 1.6
I But aside from the paucity of popula-
ton, the character of the population, par
ticularly in New Mexico, is much inferior
to that in Oklahoma and Indian Territory:
AS Senator Nelson suggests in his report,
a very large part of the population Of New
Mexico still retain the use of the Spanish
language and cannot read or speak Eng
lish, so that in the sessions Of the legisla-
ture, in the courts and in other official
proceedings, it is necessary that the rec
ords be kept in both languages and that
an interpreter be in constant attendance.
| Not only are the New Mexicans so
largely unacquainted with the English Ian
guage, but their social status in many
cases is scarcely above that of the poems
or serfs of Mexico. Something of the old
Spanish family organizatio of society still
exists in New Mexico, where title to
property covering large areas is in the
name of the head of rich Spanish family
while the occupants Of the land are in the
relation of dependents, holding their
ground by sufferance of the nominal own
er and sustaining the relation OF depend.
ent to feudal lord. This medieval state
| Of society, of course, does not qualify fol
element which might easily be made 8
dangerous factor in any: political opera
lions. - -. q So ~. /.
This is not true to the same extent il
Arizona, but Arizona has not population
enough to entitle her to one representative
in the house of congress, and of the 1921 Ol
people with which she is credited, 26,0Ol
are Indians of very low, grade of intelli
gence. There are only 5000 whites in thu
territory.
The attempt to couple Oklahoma, India1
{ Territory included, with these two ex
IRENE southwestern territories is an injus
tice to the former and places such a Low
estimate upon the dignity and value o
: statehood that the effort to bring in Ari
5 IONA and New Mexico along with Oklaho
ma can be accounted for on no othe
2 ground than an effort to gain political ad
< vantage in congress. That is no reason
!, why any territory should be admitted as
state &.