Arizona republican., 1905-08-16
PHOENIX, ARIz.. AUGUST 1e, 19C
An Outrage and 8 Folly.


 The telegraphtc letters which Mr. William P. Curtis. the Washington correspondent of the Chicago Record Herald, has been sending from New Mexico to his paper. are already bear ing good fruit in the east. The Hart- lord Courant and the New York Snn. two of the most influential papers in the United States. take NJ. Curtis letters as a text and emphaticailv Ge- clare that it would be an outrage tc admit Arizona and New Mexico to the union as one state. Says the Courant:
 ''Fhe talk about the four -in-hand statehood bill-a Quay lega cy- .as started up again. A New Mexican newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal, has the news that this winter will see the Indian territory permanently an nexed to Oklahoma, and Arizona to New Mexico by act of congress. Since it has become settled beyond perad venture that we must go in as one state or remain out indefinitely, all elements of doubt have been elimi- nated,' says this New Mexican news paper. and when the proposition comes up to the people it will be ar cepted. The people of New Mexico and Arizona want statehood, and they are going to accept it just as soon as congress offers it.
 William F. Curtis is in New Mexico just now, asking questions and ind ing out things on the spot. He has met plenty of New Mexicans who would rather double up with the Ari- Zonians and get into the union that way than not get in at all, but they tell him they don't like the doubling up. Last Friday night he wrote to the Chicago Record-Herald from al- buquerque: T have not been able to find anyone down here who is i'll favor of joint statehood with Arizona ex- cept Mir. Rodey recently delegate to congress from New Mexico. and he. according to local parlance, is H hot air artist."'
 ''The people of Arizona are praci- cally unanimous against the proposed merger of the two territories in single state. They do not simply dis like the idea; they detest 1t. Their sentiments are perfectly we'll known to the congressman. If permitted to vote separately on the thing, they would vote it down overwhelmingly. But there were only A. .0S1 men of vot- ing age in Arizona when the census takers went their rounds five years ago; 1O,533 of the 44,OS1 were Hitter ateS.'
 The Republican takes occasion here to enlighten the Courant somewhat on the question of flliteracy in Arizona. While it is true that, according to the census of 1900, there were in this ter ritory 1O,553 persons over ten years of age who could not read and write the census figures also show that in round figures about 5000 of these were of foreign birth. There were but ,26O native illiterates in all Arizona. But the figures bear further analysis. Of the 1,26O native illiterates, nearly all were of foreign parentage. There is practically no illiteracy among the American citizens of Arizona. It is to be doubted, indeed, whether there are four dozen illiterate Americans in the whole territory. No state of the union has so low a percentage Of illlteracy in its population. considering solely the Anglo-Saxon race. Substantially all of the illiterates in Arizona are Mex leans.
 The Courant continues:
 There were 55,O67 men of voting age In New Mexico, of whom 15.5S5 were illiterates. The Sun made a re mark yesterday which will commend itself to every fair-minded American. ITO permit it said, New Mexico to vote away for all future time Arizona s independent existence would be out rageous.'
 Outrageous is the right word for it. Besides, why should any sane con- gressman be enamored of the idea of a new state sprawling over 235,6O0 square miles of the earths surface?"