Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-09
Joint Statehood Not Popular
in New Mexico.
RODEY CONTRADICTED
GOV. oTFRo OUTLINES THE SEN
TIMENT IN THE TERRITORY.
Political Conditions Not Encouraging
-Illiteracy Of the Voters-The
New Delegate to Congress.
By WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the Chieas'
Record Herald.

Bpecia Correspondence Of The Star and the chicago
Record Herald.
ALBUQUERQUE. N. NJ. July 81. 1903.
have not been able to find anyone down
here who Is in favor of Joint statehood WIN
Arizona. except Mr.. Rodey. recently oeie-
gate in Congress from New Mexico "A larse
number Of people are willing to agree 10
union as q makeshift-as Hobsons choice
In order to secure admission, but they wouid
prefer to have the two territories remain
distinct If they could get statehood Dill
passed on any terms. Joint statehood IL
a Washington. not New Mexicah' iue''
1t was originally proposed as a. compromise
in the United States Senate to satisfy those
who were not willing to have four new SEN
ators from these parts, and did not think it
advisable to give Arizona and New Mexico
as large a voice in legislation as New York.
Ohio or Illinois. Hence somebody suggest
ed that the two territories be united and
admitted as one state which would re-
duce the evil and the danger by % per cent.
But. as l have said, nobody down here, SO
far as l have been able to discover, wants
Joint statehood and nobody considerers IL
wise Nevertheless, those who are eager to
be admitted to the Union are willing 10
accept anything they can get.
Mr.. Rodey's Statements.
Mr.. Rodey, who has been very more ac-
tive than anyone else In promoting the joint
statehood proposition, told me the other
day that everything was settled; that the
territory committees Of the Senate and the
House. the republican steering committee,
Speaker Cannon and the President himself
were all pledged to the passage of the Bev-
eridge bill admitting the two territories as
one state that the people of New Mexico
were unanimous on the subject and that
the people of Arizona were coming around
very rapidly. Sixty per cent of them, he
declared. had already expressed their as
sent. the other 40 per cent would be con-
verted within the next few months. and by
the time Congress assembled all the people
in Arizona and New Mexico. hguratively
speaking, would be marching down the
aisle, arm in arm, to the marriage altar.
Joint statehood leagues, Mr.. Rodey said
were being organized In every town and
were educating public sentiment to the adj
vantages of joint statehood upon the basis
proposed by the Senate committee, which
includes a gift of twenty-fo million acres
of land by the federal government to the
infant state: five million dollars In United
States bonds as a school fund and ap-
preparation of $4,000 to pay the expenses
of organiZa ton.
He is entirely mistaken. No pledges have
been given by the President or the Speak
er or any one else in Congress concerning
Mexico. Some of the most influential men
in New Mexico, including Gov. Otero, are
determined In their opposition; public senti-
ment in this territory against joint state
hood is increasing, and on the very day
that Mr.. Rodey was giving me this infor-
nation convention of delegates from
every county and every political party in
Arizona met at Phoenix and unanimously
declared that they would never never,
never consent to the joint statehood bill
They passed resolutions appealing to the
President to intervene in their behalf they
adopted remonstrance to be submitted
10 Congress and appointed committee to
go to Washington at the beginning of the
session and enter their most solemn pro-
test against joint statehood There was
not one dissenting voice in all Arizona. The
people have unanimously Endorsed the dec
laTations of the speakers at the conven-
tion-that, rather than be admitted Jointly
with New Mexico Arizona had better re-
main a territory forever.
Opposition to Joint Statehood.
Gov. Otero OF New Mexico, may be con-
sidered the leader of the anti-joint-state-
hood faction-if it may be called faction
and his sentiments may be learned from
his Official as we'll as his private utter
ances. In his last report he said:
There is no doubt that the great aior-
lty OF the people of New Mexico are on
posed to joining New Mexico and Arizona
INTO one commonwealth, is proposed by
penang legislation, Even the small per-
consolidation prefer single and separate
statehood for each territory This is not
que to any innate animosity between the
W. territories, but to the inherent differ
ences In population, in legislation. in fndns
tries, in contour. In ideals and from AN his
toric and ethnologic standpoint-uot to
mention that the consolidation of two com
noh"ealths like New Mexico and Arizona
tory" -'- ieai his
nave questioned nearly every person
l nave met In New Mexico on this subject.
alone. everybody has taken the Same nosi,
tioh as Governor Otero. Many denoi,nne
the JOINT statehood proposition In severe
1 1 as an outrage offered to a helm
people Dy members of the United
states Senate who do not know ara a.
not care anything about conditions In this
territory. but are willing to pass the Joint
. ,ra''ti Dill In order to get rid of a
troublesome problem.
senator Beveridge has no friends in this
part OF the country. The people resent his
reports and his speeches, and both condemn
ana ridlcule the part he has PLAYED i'm the
statehood comedy. Beveridge pretends tn
nave made personal investigation oP con-
aitlons In New Mexico and Arizona, but If
the statements of the people here are true
he absorbed most of his information from,
the atmosphere through the pores of his
SKIN. Ihey assert that he spent only three
or four days in New Mexico: scarcely left
MS car during that time, and did not see
more than dozen or fifteen men-mostIv
poi!uclans and others who have a person.
al interest In the bill. These statements
may be exaggerated. for the prejudice
against the senator is intense but at the
same time. he could not have seen any
thlng or the territory or learned much CON
corning conditions during such a brief and
superficial investigation he made.
Population of New Mexico.
whether New Mexico is fitted for state
mood depends upon what is required for a
state. There is something to be said on
Doth sides. So far as population is con-
cerned there are already more people here
than lived In two-thiris of the states when
they were admitted. Taking the lowest
estimate there must be at least 700 :n-
habitants. while Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska.
Colorado, North Dakota and every one of
the states west of the Allegheny noun
tainS, with one or two exceptions had a
smaller population than this when they
were taken into the Union.
At the last election, November 1904
43.Olf votes were cast. of which Andrews
the republican candidate for delegate re-
ceived 22.305; Money. the democratic can
didate. 1I.125; Rodney. independent 34l9
and landon. socialist. 162. The following
table giving the votes cast for delegates
In the years named will show the growth
OF the voting population during the last