Arizona republican., 1903-11-19
PHOENIX, ARIZONA. NOV. 19, 1903
Ire Matter With Arizona.

The matter with Arizona is tco mucl
 politics of the personal. selfish kind
 too many feuds, too many afida
 wits, and too little concern for tn
 good name of the territory. The stod
 dard case is a typical example.
 The fight for the removal of Secre
 tary Stoddard has reached at Wash
 ington the acute point known as the
 affidavit stage" The various charge!
 heretofore made and filed are beins
 buttressed with afIidavits from al
 sorts and conditions of men. Our spe-
 cial dispatches in yesterdays paper
 disclosed the identity of some of thes, afidavit-makers, and it seems rather remarkable that in order to accomplish the secretary's removal it has been nec- essary to invade the democratic camp and drag forth recruits for the last bloody cnslaught-one Of these re- cruits being notorious Mexican "edi- tor of fragrant reputation.
 And, unfortunately. this phase of the contest merely emphasizes a pecu- liar feature of Arizona politics. If any resident Of this territory can remember a time when there was not an official row of some kind on hand with an in cidental exploitation Of territorial poli- tics at the national capital, his memory reaches into the dim and distant past. Whether republicans or democrats were in power, there has always been go- ing on a campaign for the removal of some Of the federal or territorial off, cials and a more or less open effort to demolish personal and official charac- ter.
 Were a president Of the United States to be informed by all his cabinet of flcers that their files were at last clear of Arizona charges" there would be 9 strong temptation for an impulsive ex- ecutive to issue a proclamation of con- graduation to the country.
 That this constant stirring of unsav- ory persc-aI political rows is hurtful as well as discreditabIe to Arizona ir an immeasurable degree, nobody can doubt
 And this is the important part of the whole business. The masses of our cit izens do not care who holds the offices. provided the offices are capably, hon. ostly and economically administered. But they dc regret exceedingly this endless advertising to the world and especially to Washington that a Xiii kenny cat-fght is always going on in territorial affairs. While the fact should be an unanswerable argument for statehood, it operates specifically against our claims to-a seat in the un- ion. So long as these conditions pre- vail there will be a tendency at Wash irgton to regard the territory as d tur- bulent province which can be best gov erncd by officials appointed from the states and taking their orders. directly from the national administration.
 As to the stoddard case, The Re publican is not taking sides" The po- sitioa of this paper is that no official should do anything which could be con strucd as needing explanation. Such difficulties as have befallen MT. stod- dard are largely things of his own creation. We fancy. His best friends must concede that he has acted with bad judgment in certain matters. but it is asserted with force that his official offending has not gone beyond bad 
 But in any event, if it was deemed advisable to have a new secretary, that end could have been achieved With out filling the corridors of the puh. lie buildings at Washington with Ari- zona's soiled political linen. It was not to discredit Arizona or Ari- zCna's people.
 According to all precedents, if the governor of the territory had informed the president that in order to have smooth running of the official machin- cry it was needful to have a new sec retary, and had stated substantial req sons, the president would have trans mitted a hint to the secretary that his rasignation was desirable. And it would