The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-10
TALKING OUT N MEETING.

&AAMAN0 OOl IN N4EaEx IN Us
 Our staunch Republican contem- porary. The Kansss City Journal, has this to say on the subject of Statehood for the Territories:
 admission of Oklahoma and Indian Ter ritory should depend upon the fate oI Arizona and New Mexico. The cases are entirely different. There IS no to the claims Jf the twin territories to statehood, and the people of these ter ritories are practically united upon tne of Arizona and New Mexico are bitterly opposed to joint statehood ana tne ln. justice of coercing them IS so apparsns that the omnibus bIll wouid % nave h.d da,nea not employed all his power to force it through. Although the bill was stamp ed as an administration measure, ana tremendous influence. making personal appeals to Congressmen and using Federal patronage. in it's behalf was only saved from defeat by Democratic weight in the Senate, and when the bill comes up in that body t will un- doubtedly be debated upon its merits and the fundamental principle of self. government which underlies the. ques- tion so far as Arizona and New Mexico are concerned. Tn this event the result ss are that the bill will be amended to conform to the wishes of the people or Arizona, or else it may die with the session.
 Referring to the hope that the Senate will reject, the provisions of the com bined Statehood bill, The Journal looks for the same methods to be used to in- e.-~41~~ &h.4 x.a~a a1apfad aue. cessfully in the lower House. It says that every Republican Senator who dares to voice his convictions in oppo- sition will be condemned as an enemy to the President" and then adds: It is charged sometimes that the votes of Senators are bought with corpora tiou influence. Doubtless that Is true l in individual cases, though 1t is vile islander when applied to the Senate as . body But how much worse IS 1t, as 2 moral proposition, for Senators to pc bought with influence than for repre-. senfatives to be bought with patronage! or more unpatriotic than to control l the votes of the peoples represenl latlves with promises of office and with threats lof death for their own measures, The I Senate; at least, permits all sides or question to be heard. while the House. | or srather, the tyrant who acts as It's | Speaker--shuts of debate, smotnsrs protest, and fegislates according to ms | own Judgment and bias--or. as in the present instance, according 10 tne coni- l mands issued from the White House. From a Republican newspaper, and 1 referring to Republican President and Speaker. this is plain talk. but we are
 not disputing 1t by any means. We have never yet been able to understand why Roosevelt should be so strenuously persistent in his determination to en- force miscegenati5n on Arizona and ! New Mexico, when neither favors it..
 The reason he gfves--that he wants the Statehood question disposed of to make room for more important legislation l is too puerile to be taken seriously. In | the first place, the measure itself is im- portant legislation, and in the next
 even if he is sincere in wanting to get
 it out of the way, that is no defence for
 trying to force the union of two un- willing territories. It would give far less dissatisfaction to those interested 1 to postpone action on their case for the session, even if 1t Is determined to out 1 rage lnulAn leTEALoFy anu oFAA@AitAAS SS l forcing them to be joined. Let the
 other two rest till they are willing tc
 be joined or are fitted for separate
 Statehood.
 But giving the President credit foi announcing his true reasons for de- mandinE the,passage of the House bill
 there is no ekcuse for his method oi
 enforcing those commands. He evi'
 dentIy made 1t to the interest of Speak CT Cannon to side with him-whether he
 did 1t by threats or promises matters
 not--and he and the Speaker. drove theil
 Party followers like sheep to support
 what seems to be a pet measure with
 him. There seems to be no doubt that
 he used his official position to bribe and
 frighten Representatives to carry out
 his wishes in the Statehood matter, as
 we'll as on some other pending meas
 ures, in a way that is not creditable to
 him or to his ohice. It Is some encour-
 agement. to find Republican newspapers
 criticising him in plain language. and
 1t will be much more encouraging fl
 the Senators refuse ito be either driven
 or bribed to obey his orders.