The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1905-02-08
Oklahoma And New Mexico
States OF The Union
SENATE PASSED THE BILL
Proposition TO Admit Arizona the
Apache Territory Was
Eliminated I.

WASHINGTON. Feb. y. - After a
continuous sitting of almost nine hours
the senate at $40 o'clock last night
passed the joint statehood bill. AS
passed the bill provides for the admis-
sion of two new states-0klahoma to
be composed of Oklahoma and Indian
Territory, and New Mexico,-according
to the present boundaries, with Arizona
eliminated. The long session was char
acteriZed by exciting incidents and
many surprises. Beginning promptly
upon converting, the senate proceeded
to consider the various amendments
which had been suggested by the com
mittee on territories and which had
been passed over. One of the first of
these taken up was the amendment
prohibiting the sale of intoxicating
liquors in what is now Indian Terri
tory for the next ten years, and this
was displaced with a substitute offered
by Mr.. Gallinger, which extended the
amendment to the entire state for
period Of twenty-one years, and this
was adopted.
The first surprise of the day came
when the committee accepted Mr.. Fora
kers amendment providing for a sepa-
rate vote by each of the territories of
Arizona and New Mexico on the consti-
tuition to be adopted by the proposed
state of Arizona That provision had
scarcely been made a part of the bill
when Mr.. Bard presented his amend
ment, which had been originally Of
fered by Mr.. Patterson and which pro-
vided for the admission of New Mexico
as Il state without the addition of Ari-
IONA. This amendment proved to be
the point around which all the subse-
quent proceedings of Importance re-
volved. 1t was Mt first adopted by the
close vote of ~ to 40. This vote was
taken while the senate was sitting in
committee of the whole and was re-
versed in the senate proper by the tie
vote of 80 to 3S.
Subsequently the senate decided by
a vote of 80 to SO to entirely eliminate
New Mexico and Arizona from the bill,
and this result had hardly been an
nounced when Mr. Bard In slightly
changed form renewed his proposition
for the admission of New Mexico as n
state, and this to the amendment pre-
vailed by the vote of 40 to 81. One of
the affirmative votes was. however,
cast by Mr.. Beveridge, in charge of the
bill. for the purpose of moving the re-
consideration of the vote. He was
prompt in entering this motion as soon
as the result was announced. but the
motion was laid upon the table by
vote of 80 to 3S. The effect was to elm
mate Arizona from the bill and to es-
tablish state of New Mexico and an
other of Oklahoma and Indian Terri
tory. In this form the bill passed.
The defeat of the Bard amendment
in the senate after il had been adopted
in committee of the whole gave rise to
some interesting incidents. Mr.. Bailey
intimated that there had been trade"
regarding the adoption of an amend
ment adding a portion of Arizona to
Utah.
The Mormon question also received
an airing during the day. While the
provision for a separate admission of
New Mexico was under consideration
Mr.. Burrows, chairman of the commit
tee on privileges and elections, an
nounced his opposition to the bill and
stated that it was due to the practice
of polygamy in that territory to such
an extent that he considered 1t unwise
to take the administration away from
the federal authorities. Mr.. Dubois,
Mr. McComas and Mr.. Plat Conn re-
ferred to the question Of polygamy and
to the revelations before the commit
tee.