The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-15
CAUCUS ON THE
STATEHOOD BILL
House Republicans Determined to
Join Arizona and New Mexico.
VOTE RESULTED 40 TO IS
whip" SELECTED IN THE PLACE
OF TAWNEY.

IEI ASHINGTON. Dec. 1.-THE Re
w publican members OF the house
in caucus today unanimously
declared in favor OF admitting Okla
hCma and the Indian Territory as one
, state ana by. a vote of 10 10 50 de-
clared IL favor of admitting Arizona
and New Mexico as one state Both
statehood questions arc to be contained
in one bill The conference, which re-
resulted in this action, took place i'm
m1diaJely al the conclusion of the Ses-
sion OF the house and occupied an hour
and d half The opposition 30 the pro
gramme was directed against joining
Arizona and New Mexico, and it is UNI
derstooG that Mr. Adams Of Wisconsin
and Mr. Tawney Of Minnesota were the
only speakers On this side.
One Bill; Two States.
The programme OF the leaders was
presented al The outset by Mr. Hamil-
ton, chairman or The committee on ter
ritoTioS. in a resolution which he
offered. il declared it 10 be the sense
Of the conference that one state be
made out Of Oklahoma and the Indian
Territory and one state OF Arizona and
New Mexico, and that the committee
on territories be requested to formulate
this plan IN one bill.
The Hamilton bill. already intro
duced contains the necessary provi-
sions To meet this plan and viii IN
dOubtedly be the measure reported by
the committee Hearings ON this bill,
on the question OF embOdying q cOnsti-
tutiona! amendment prohibiting the
sale of liquor in the two territories,
rr-F
question he bill is practically in shape
TO report. The liquor hearings will not
be hurried, and the plan now seems to
be &c delay reporting the bill until
after the holiday recess. When il is
reported rule VIII be brought i'm for
its iE.mediate consideration by the
house.
Debate Cut Short.
The conference mad not preceded
long when the debate was limited to
fve-minute speeches, and this action
caused complaint by those opposing
the admission OF New Mexico and Ari-
iona.
Speaker Cannon took the floor and
spoke vigorously for the two-state
plan After Mr.. Ames and Mr. TaW-
ney had opposed It, Mr. Grosvenor. Of
Oa+ltr NUtk tlit opportunity 10 itGQ n
number of newspaper clippings of
what he termed ''junket" which
number OF members Of the house had
taken through the territories last sum
mer al which rire tnoy had publicly
stated they would oppose the admis-
sion jointly Of Arizona and New Mex
leo
Questions were asked rs 10 the bind
ING character Of the conference and
replies euphatically indicated that a
conference OF Republican members Of
the house should be considered as bind
ing OH the members participating in it,
Ruling by Hepburn.
Joint statehood was favored by
Representatives Smith Of Iowa.
Powers and LittleaeId OF Maine. and
others. MI Lacey secured the division
of the resolution. and when both its
parts had been adopted Chairman Hep
burn, on being requested to rule on the
result, stated thar the resolution must
be ..alIen 10 have been adopted in its
entirety that one bill must contain the
statehood measure Tor the two states
and that there could be no division OF
the question.
Representative James +. Watson.
Of Indiana, was chosen by the confer
ence as tie Republican whip" to sue
coed AIR. TaWney &C Minnesota.