Arizona silver belt., 1905-08-17
RIGHT MOVE AT LAST
APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE
Equivalent to An Election il the Matter
is Handled Correctly by the
Committee

Several copies of the following
petition have been sent to the post
master in each city of the territory
urging upon Congress to grant us
single statehood or leave Arizona as
she is indefinitely. The petition should
be placed before every voter in the
territory.
To the Congress of the United States:
We, the undersigned, residents of
every municipality and political sub
division of ella county, Arizona, having
reason to fear that at the ensuing
session of congress an attempt will be
made to enact law providing for the
admission into the Union jointly as
one state the territories of Arizona
and New Mexico, we therefore, re-
spectfully but firmly represent to the
congress of the United States that we
are unalterably opposed to the union of
Arizona with New Mexico and we do
earnestly protest against the enact
ment of the proposed law by the con-
gress of the United States, or of any
measure which has for object the ad-
mission of Arizona into the Union as a
part of any other state or territory;
some of the reasons of our objections
are:
Because we feel just pride in the
history of our people, their prosperity,
development and high civilization. and
confidently look to the future for the
realization through the development
of our wonderful resources and by
reason of the splendid energy and
character of our citizens, of still higher
civilization and more general prosperity,
when our qualifications by reason of
our wealth, population and develop
ment to single statehood must in due
time be recognized by the whole people
of our country. We entertain for the
people of our sister territory of New
Mexico the kindest feelings and sym
| pathise with them in their efforts for
admission as a state of the Union, yet
we sincerely believe that the union of
the two territories as one state would
be inimical to the best and highest in
terests of the people of both, and be-
cause of the conditions of our history
laws, customs and races, and because
of the geographical divisions which
naturally separate and divide us such a
union would be particularly harmful to
the people of Arizona.
We believe that the complications
which would result from an attempt to
adjust impartially the burdens of the
debts of the territories and of the
various counties and municipalities
thereof would result in irreconcilable
differences and that the prosperity and
welfare of the various territorial in
stitutions, educational, eleemosynary
and reformatory would be injured and
their usefulness destroyed
We further believe that it would be
| impossible to adopt such code of laws
that would meet the conditions in each
territory and yet which would be Just
to the whole people of the proposed
state.
We further represent that political
autonomy is the dearest wish and hope
of our people and the stimulus Of much
of our work, labor and effort in estab-
fishing institutions which have for their
object the education of our children
and the care and maintenance of the
unfortunate, in the Improvement and
growth Of the material interests, and
in the development of our distinctive
type of civilization that the loss of this
autonomy would destroy our hope, dis
courage effort, confuse our purposes
for the future and permanently injure
us as people.
To be compelled against our will and
desire 10 lose our identity and to be
merged into the proposed state in which
we would have so little voice wounds
our pride and violates our sense of JUS
tice and fairness.
Therefore, as a patriotic and law
abiding people we confidently appeal to
the congress of the United States to
avert the disaster that threatens us,
and rather than enforce upon us this
opposed union to allow us to remain a
territory indefinitely.