The copper era. (Clifton, Graham County, Ariz.) 1899-1911, 1906-07-12
RANDOLPH GIVES REASONS
FOR OPPOSING J0INTURE.
He is an Arizona Man and Looks at the
Question Entirely From an
Arizona Standpoint.

by reporter of The Citizen if ne
had read an editorial in the Arizona
Star calling upon him to state his
reasons for opposing the merging of
Arizona and New Mexico in state
hood. The colonel had read the ar
ticle but. it did not seem to impress
him very seriously. He was more
disposed to laugh than to argue.
''There are so many reasons why
Arizona should decline political part
uership with New Mexico" said he;
"that it seems almost useless to re-
count them. One good, substantial
reason is that an overwhelming ma
jority of the people of Arizona are
opposed to it and 1 believe that the
sentiments of the majority of my
people should rule. Another reason
why 1 am opposed to jointure with
New Mexico is because am not will
ing to turn the government of the
commonwealth over to ma iority who
can neither read nor write the Eng
lish language. 1 am also opposed to
| jointure because New Mexico has
more people than Arizona, and Ari-
IONA much more taxable resources
than New Mexico. Would it not be
natural that the majority should lay
the taxes most heavily on the re-
sources of Arizona?
"Another good reason why Arizona
should avoid jointure," continued
Colonel Randolph, sis the well known
fact that nearly all the counties of
| New Mexico are overwhelmingly
burdened with debts in all stages of
decomposition, and it goes without
saying that the New Mexican ma
| jority would compel the new state to
assume all that indebtedness.
81 am an Arizona man," continued
Colonel Randolph, land L view mat
tiers from the Arizona and not the
New Mexico standpoint. 1 want to
keep the capital at Phoenix, the
University at Tucson, the peniten-
tiary at Yuma, the asylum at Phoe-
nix and the Normal schools at Tempe
and Flagstaff. 1t is all very nice to
say that the New Mexican will be
kind and good if we join them and
that they will not denude Arizona
proper of its institutions. But 1 am
not disposed to take any chances. If
Arizona had $4,000 people and New
Mexico only 100000, don't we all
know that we wouldn't let New Mex
leo have anything that we could take
away? What reason have we to
suppose that New Mexico human ma
ture is superior to ours?
"The New Mexican majority would
govern the state and they would be
chumps if they didn't. Our people
should understand this and they
would be chumps if they submitted
their whole future to the will of the
New Mexicans. There is not a
doubt in my mind that when Arizona
can show by federal census that she
has as many people as the average
Congressional district in the old
states, that she will be admitted to
the Union in her own right. The
future of Arizona is safe and assured.
She has people of the right quality,
and will soon have them in sufficient
quantity, her resources are ample,
her industries are prospecting, her
population is steadily increasing and
the newcomers are from the old
states born and bred in American
traditions and citizenship. No one
should doubt that Arizona will be ad-
mitted to the Union in her own right
in the near future. Whether New
Mexico will have such good fortune
| is not our business to contemplate.
The duty of patriotic Arizonans is to
safeguard their own commonwealth
and let their neighbors take care of
themselves.
1T is amazing to me-" said Colon ell
Randolph in conclusion, "why any
really honest, intelligent and. patri-
otto Arlzonan should for a minute
countenance union with New Mexico.
Arizona is flourishing and prospecting
to greater degree than any other
section or political division in
the country. The mines and farms
and ranches and forests are yielding
abundantly. The people are happy
and contented. Why should we seek
to change these conditions by taking
a desperate leap in the dark? There
| is very little in common between
Arizona and New Mexico. They
would not make a happy and con-
tented family. The law practice,
for instance, is different. New Mex
leo has the common law and Arizana
has a code of her own. This would
create intense confusion if there was
nothing else seriously in the way of
the union. But 1 have no fears tor
the future. 1 know the people of
Arizona pretty well and 1 have not
doubt that they will reject the joint
state proposal by an overwhelming
majority"
A Hard Lot
of troubles to contend with spring
from a TORPID liver and blOCkaded