Arizona republican., 1904-12-16
ARIzONA'S PROTEST
OnCeMOre eReCOrdedAgainSt
 Statehood JOinture
Startling News Received Yesterday Morning Prompts Board of Trade to Vigorous Action.

The special dispatches of yesterday
 morning. on the status of the joint | statehood question, sent by MT. E. A. ! Fowler to The Republican, created considerable excitement in the city yes- terday The subject was the principal theme of conversation among those
 who are wont to discuss public mat ters. A dispatch similar to the one re- ceived by The Republican was also
 sent by MT, Fowler to the president of
 the board of trade, J. A. Marshall, the text of it being as follows:
 "Crisis at hand. Joint statehood fav- orably reported tomorrow (Thursday). Brodie resolutions good New arouse immediately California commercial
 bodies, city governments and press. Arizona is California's ward"
 President Marshall called, a special meeting of the board of trade at once and at 10 o'clock they convened and took very prompt and vigorous action. The first step was to dictate a reply to MT. Fowler's telegram, in the fol- lowing language:
 Phoenix and Maricopa county board of trade emphaticalIy protests against any alliance that would unite Arizona and New Mexico as one state. P-o- tests from other Arizona and CaIifor- mia bodies to follow"
 The following telegram was then or dered sent at once to the chambers of commerce of San Francisco and Los Angeles:
 Phoenix and Maricopa county board of trade, with all citizens of Arizona, emphatically protest against any alli- ance that would unite Arizona and New Mexico as one state. Crisis at hand. Will California business men aid us in this fight? ?"
 The board then ordered Secretary Van der Veer to send letters of similar import and requesting prompt action, to the mayors of Flagstaff Prescott. Tucson, Bisbee, Nogales and Yuma, and also to the boards of tTade or chambers of commerce in Tucson, Yu- ma and Nogales or anywhere else in Arizona where organized commercial bodies are known to exist. The orders were promptly carried out by the sec .retary.
 Although it was expected that the senate committee on territories would report the bill favorably, 1t was not thought, until a day or two ago, that the report would be made until after the holidays. Congress adjourns on the 21st instant until January 4th, and it was rather expected that no report would be forthcoming until the vacan- cy on the committee caused by the death of the late Senator Quay had been filled. The full committee is com posed of eleven members-seven repub- licans and four democrats. The pres ent membership comprises: Senators Beverige, Dillingham;, Burnham, Nel- son, Bard and Kean, republicans, and Bate, Patterson, Clark of Arkansas and Newlands. democrats. It is known that Senator Bard is opposed to the bill. and it was assumed that the dem ocrats would vote against reporting the bill, thereby making a tie in the com n1ittee until the Quay vacancy was filled.
 There was much curiosity, yesterday, | to know how there could be a favor | able report. under these circumstances, | it being assumed that the democratic | members would vote against the bill | in committee It appears, however, l that this assumption, based on the as- surances given out by Delegate Will son and Delegate-elect Smith, was not | well founded. Special dispatches the 1 last few days have reported that dem | ocratic senators were taking little in terest in the statehood question, and | few of them were disposed to fight the | bill. Senator Patterson, for one, was not present with the committee yes- | terday. He is in Denver, busily engag- ed in defending democratic election | thieves.
 Mark Smith, who was expected to go | to Washington and accomplish won ders, is reported by the Tucson Star to | be at home, taking things easy"