Williams news., 1904-05-14
WILSON EXPLAINS
Why Arizona Failed to Get State
 hood During His Term
WASHINGTON, April 29, 1904

volving our statehood ambitions was begun, fought through to fin ish, and ended with the adjourn ment of congress yesterday, feel that it is but fair to give a general statement of the whole case.
 At the opening of the first session of congress in November bills were introduced by McGuire, Rodey and myself asking separate statehood for all the territories. Each of us demanded separate statehood as a matter of right, and insisted to the members of the house, individually and collectively, that jointure would be wrong and would be opposed by the people-that it would be ultra radical, revolutionary and un- American. At the beginning there were over eighty republicans pre- pared to vote for our measures on these lines when they should reach the house for settlement. We went before the committee on territories which, at the beginning, announced. through its chairman, that these hearings should not be political, but should be along the lines of merit. The hearings were begun and continued until finished. They were long and tedious, but devel- oped the fact that we were thor oughly prepared as a people for the maintenance of independent state governments; that we had more people, more property, more area, and were better prepared to main tain sovereign state than 27 out of the 32 states that had been here tofore admitted into the union. These are facts admitted by all, denied by none.
 When it was understood that, unless prevented by some strong party check, the house would pass these bills, perhaps without divis- ion, the republican machine in the senate and house, headed by the president himself, began the work of obstruction to the popular will that was demanding separate state hood for the territories. The ma chine continued its work until a majority of the committee deter mined on the jointure policy. The committee held its executive ses- sion and when the roll was called on the two policies, jointure and separate statehood, the result was a strict party vote, the republicans voting for jointure and the demo- crats for single statehood. This was in February last. It was then un- derstood that this policy was going to be forced by forced party eau GUS and the gag rule cutting off de. bate, which was finally done. This being seen, I felt it my duty to bring about a conference of the demo crats of the house and senate, anC Therefore went to John $. Williams the minority leader of the house and asked him to secure confer ence through Senator German, the minority leader of the senate. Re member that this was in February last. Williams addressed letter to Senator German asking for thil conference. The senator replied eonsenting and named the time fo the meeting in his committee room over the senate chamber. Th' steering committees of the two houses met and discussed the mat ter, and every democrat, excep Clark of Arka ansas, lined up on th' policy that the bill should be de feated in the senate On that al adjournment was had to await de velopments. A week passed and l was found to have been determined by the majority in the house com mittee that nothing but jointur should be reported; and that. un less they could obtain caucu , binding the ma jority. the bill woul' not be reported at all.