Bisbee daily review., 1906-02-11
MARK SMITH TELLS
 HOW IT WAS DONE
Letter to Pinal County COV- CTS Interesting Statehood
 Story

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 of supervisors of Pinal county, be fore the statehood bill passed the House, will be interesting. as it gives a clear statement of how President
 Roosevelt whipped republicans into line on the joint statehood bill: Washington, Jan. IS, 1906.
 Board of Supervisors, Florence, Ariz. My Dear Friends:-I am just in re- ceipt of your telegram against the in famous joint statehood bill, and 1t gave me pleasure and comfort The , fight waged here against us has been unceasing and relentless. Our enc 1 mics have much to offer in the way of patronage; We have nothing.
 The president is leading the fight for joint statehood, and is taking members of the House to account for promising to vote against the bill. He. by his great patronage, has a giants power in his own party and . is using it with the brutality of a giant. He has gone so far as to say there was a corrupt lobby here of Arizona railroad and mining inter- ests trying to defeat the statehood bill This is absolutely false, and said so in a public interview in the columns of the Washington Post, which was copied in the leading journals of the country. Notwith- standing this denial, and the denial of every man here from Arizona the president sees it to reiterate this scandalous assertion.
 only cite this to show to what ex- tent we are being misrepresented and how determined the chief executive is to bind us forever to the exploita- ton of New Mexico. It is the crime of the century. While he is making these charges (and think on the au- thority of MT Beveridge of Indiana) the powers that be-" consisting of MT. Roosevelt and the speaker of the House, have concluded to let a public building bill pass during this session What for? When the Congress met this same power set forth the fiat that no public building bill should pass. Why did they change front? This public building bill is usually
 
 where substance is distributed to keep certain men safe in their dis tricts. While we are charged falsely with having a corrupt lobby here by persons everlastingly proclaiming, if not practicing, virtues, have we not more reason to say that the admins tration is using the corruptest of all hxr public treasury building in some Congressional district to get thereby a vote in favor of the most miserable and damnable bill ever introduced in an Anglo-Saxon legislative body. It is openly charged here, and l believe the charge, that patronage is with held from republican members, even appointments to ordinary offices in their districts, if they refuse to 'foi- low the president" and the speaker of the House, and they are one and the same so far as House legislation is concerned. =-- .-
 Why they marked poor Arizona fol sacrifice I don't know. but 1 have a very strong opinion which l would give you gentlemen but for the fear of raising a question of partisan poll tics in a matter so grave as this. But the real bottom, dead sure purpose Of the administration, outside the poll tics I have referred to, is to limit, while it has the power, western rep resentation in the United States Sen ate. In other words, eastern jealousy mixed with groundless eastern fear Of the West.
 The whole power of every leader on the republican side of the House, headed by the speaker, who can make or ruin a member on his side by showing or withholding favors, make my fight truly a herculean task. If they beat us in the House, as they probably will at the end, they Will find a still harder task to beat us in the Senate. Ia that great brdy the president has less power to coerce, for he must depend on them for con firmation of his appointments to of- fee. and there is no pork barreP to be opened From that body he has to look for favors as well as they to him.
 I offered the House committee to let the bill pass by every democratic vote if they would insert an amend nent giving Arizona right to a sep arate vote on the constitution to be adopted, and if her people refused to ratify the constitution the joint state would be defeated. They refused. That showed the republican purpose here to put us with New Mexico whether we will or not I cannot un- derstapd the injustice and perhdy of legislators who would thus outrage the rights of our people or of any peo- pie of any color.
 In response to your wire I beg to assure you that day and night in season and out of season. and under all conditions and facing every enemy of our cause with 6 fearless purpose, | I am fighting and will fight this bat tie to the end. Yours very truly. MARK A. SMITH.