Bisbee daily review., 1905-05-25
A PUBLIC DUTY.

Those who go to Phoenix to attend the statehood convention on Saturday will be performing a duty to the ter ritory which is paramount at the present time to any obligation which has ever confronted the people of the territory in the past. The convention at Phoenix has been made a non partisan one by the calling of both the republican and democratic territorial committees together to take part in the work of the general conference which is to be held for the purpose of devising the best methods to be adopt ed by our people in combating the proposition which has been made and persistently pushed to make one state out of the territories of Arizona and New Mexico.
 The important work of the Phoenix convention will not consist of flowery talk or appealing resolutions, as there has been plenty of this character of opposition already in the territory to Ghe joint statehood proposition, but it will consist in the perfection of an organization which shall become ef- fective in every county and city in the territory; an organization which will at once become active in the work of getting signers to petitions and reso- lutions to be presented to congress through our delegate to congress.
 A suggestion recently made by the Phoenix Gazette we consider to be an excellent one and that is, through the efforts of territorial league, sub ordinate state clubs be formed in every county for the purpose of ap- pealing to the senators and congress men of the several states by people who have made their homes in Ari- zona after coming west from these states; the idea is to have a Missouri club. New York club, an Ohio club and so on down the line for the purpose of making ap- peal to their friends in their home states to give assistance to Arizona in it's struggle to preserve it's autonomy and to acquire statehood on the same footing of equal rights as has been granted to all other Americans in the admission of new states. Such line of battle must necessarily be produc- tive of good and win many friends to the side of Arizona in the statehood fight which is now confronted.
 Arizona has been qualified for in- dependent statehood; her people have, under great disadvantages, developed one of the richest states in the Amer ican union; they have subdued the Apache Indian and made every part of Arizona safe for the habitation and industry of the white man; they have provided christianizing influences and educational institutions the equal of those to be found in any state west of the Mississippi river; they have developed the mines and reclaimed the desert to a land of homes; they have showed their patriotism when the country called for volunteers to defends it's rights and honor. Nothing more can demanded as a qualification for separate statehood
 Organization is the main purpose of the Phoenix convention and men should be put at the head of the or ganization who will be willing to de- vote their time and energy to the hard work to be done in reaching the conscience of every individual sen ator and congressman before the con gross shall be called to order this fall. Notwithstanding the fact that some of the prominent leaders of the dominant - party in congress are against the interests of Ari- zona we believe they will be shown the error of their way. Some of these gentlemen have in the past used as an argument for joint statehood the expressed belief that there was but little oposition to the proposition in the territory. Let them be convinced beyond doubt that the people of the territory are unanimously opposed to it and we believe Uncle Joe Cannon will not persist in his effort to force our people into a condition so distaste- ful to them.