Arizona republican., 1905-03-24
PHoENIx. ARIz., MARCH 24. 1905,
The Legislatures Mistake.

It is the opinion of MT. B. A. FOw-
 Ter. who returned from Washington
 yesterday, that the Twenty-third leg
 isiature made a 6eplorabie mistake
 when it failed to carry out Governor Kibbey's recommendation and provide for a special election on the joint statehood question. In this opinion Mir. Fowler is not only in harmony with the best informed sentiment on the subject, but his own judgment on the question is of great value. It is the verdict of Senator Bard and others who led the fight for Arizona in the senate that MT. Fowler,s services to the territory during the late session were of inestimable value. Some of them go so far as to say that the Ham ilton bill would have passed in the sen ate had it not been for the unceasing fight made against it by Mir, Fowler. At any rate nobody outside of the senate can be better informed than Atr. Fowler concerning the status of the statehood movement
 Indeed, it is not open. to question that the danger of joint statehood is as imminent now as at any time in the past, nor can it be questioned that one of the strongest arguments in favor or the Hamilton bill has been the state ment, often repeated. that the people of Arizona are divided on the question and that a large number are in favor of uni ing the two territories. Dele gate Rodey insisted on all occasions that he was armed with proof on that proposition. He asserted that he had hundreds of letters from men of stand ing in this territory who were quietly in favor of the Hamilton bill. Sena- tor Beveridge, in his speech closing the debate, emphasized his contention that opposition to the bill came chiefly from the politicians.
 Under these circumstances it is ex- ceedingiy desirable that congress should be confronted with indisputable evidence that our people are strongly opposed to the joint statehood scheme. It would be impossible to furnish this evidence in such conclusive form as by a plebiscite of the Arizona electorate. ! A vote taken at an election wherein no other question was at stake would he unimpeachable. If, as nearly every : body in the territory believes, such an election would result in an overwhelm- ] ing verdict against joint statehood, 1t | would cut the ground from under the |. feet of the senators who believe and ] contend that the proposed jointure is not as unpopular here as represented. After all is said, the fact remains that | the vast majority of the United States senators wish to do the right thin.., ! With those senators nothing would so strengthen Arizona's position as a yer | dict of the sovereign people against ] the merger
 Why the Twenty third legislature failed to grasp the golden opportunity passes comprehension, although the in fiuence which caused the house of rep l resentatives to change front over night | is well understood. The house in com mittee of the whole accepted the gov ernOr's suggestion with enthusiasm | Members competed for the honor of in | troducing bill which would carry out | the recommendations in the message. | In order that no individual might mo- nopolize the honor, it was decided that ] the bill should be introduced by the | committee of the whole. That was | done; the bill was reported to the | house, and the house immediately sus- pended all rules and passed the bill {, unanimously. Thereafter the bill dis appeared from the usual channel of | legislation It never reached the coun- i cil. The records fail to show, we un- derstand, that the bill passed the house. ! It is coincidence that former Delegate | Wilson and other prominent local dem | ocrats were on hand the next day after the bill passed the house, talking | against the measure.