Arizona republican., 1906-09-23
STATEHOOD QUESTION
 OBSCURES POLITICS
The Tour Os Mark Smith In Northern
 Arizona.

St. Johns. Ariz.. Sept. IS. = Special correspondence to The Republican.)-I Mark A. Smith opened hIs campaign here last night. and the manner of its opening was the strangest in the his 1 tory of campaigns. Not a word did he say against the opposing candidate, not a word against the opposing party, not word in favor of his own party, and scarcely a word in favor of him. self. The whole of his talk was against the one great issue of jointure.
 In opening he wondered how the old | time Indian fighters would feel were | they to know that those who live in Arizona now would give up the identity Of Arizona, and in passing he gave ] Senator Depew lick for abusing the Mormons and Senator Beveridge an- other for abusing the Mexieans that | eastern prejudice might be melted against these territories.
 He told of the great empire that lies in a crescent from the Mississippi river | to Canada which the east would put off with but ten senators while little rocky New England would have twelve He asked how much the people of Apache county communicated with the settled portion of New Mexico. and | showed how on either side of the Con l tinental Divide. a different system had | grown up, so that they could not now l agree. so when we fight where is the court in which we can get a divorce?" He called the Anglo-Saxon race the Joshua of creation, and told how many | of the American people had come to ! him and said, Do not be afraid of the Mexican people. we will put an educa- tional test on them and disfranchise them" and he warned the Mexican people that there was a lurking danger in the Hamilton bill that would pace them where the negroes of the south are today.
 MT. Smith then recalled the promise that congress made that when Arizona had 6O,OOO people it should be admitted to statehood, and recalled that the inn mortal Lincoln signed that bil and he pointed out our great wealth that he estimated at $500 100000, and asked if ! tax equalization would be helped any by joining us to a territory that could not collect more than 53 per cent of it's taxes after they were properly assess ed and ready for collection. as was the case in New Mexico. He said we could tax them as well alone. without having to give up part of the proceeds to oth- CTS who would rule us and not do their share in bearing the expense of govern ment.
 The great growth of the territory was alluded to. and MT. Smith told his hearers that in four years Cochise county would have 5OOO0 people while many other parts were building up as fast as this. and he asked that the citi- zens wait till we could command state hood and not add a star to the flag that meant only degradation.
 During the afternoon, before the raj s ly. the local jointist paper had circu- lated a number of questions over the town for the ostensib1e purpose of con fusing Mark. and among others was one asking why he did not get any public building for Arizona. He re- piled that it was because he did not want any, preferring to wait until by the help of two senators a good sized one could be had. But I will tell you what I did dol kept my promise and went there and stood against iointure as my platform said. while Delegate Andrews and McGuire did not, but let Beveridge and Cannon run over them"
 Another of these questions was one in regard to the $175 a mile tax that the Santa Fe railroad was paying. and the speaker said that the boards of supervisors in all the counties through which the road passes petitioned him to have it pay $15O a mile tax but tha he had held the matter up until the road had to come up to the s175 a mile. which was $25 more than the boards asked. He then took a vigorous slap at the interrogator for not signing his name, called the sheet a pop gun, and the one who got the questions up a , coward who fought from behind the brush, which denunciation met with the most vigorous applause.
 Q In closing he entreated the people ot l the county not to be less patriotic to , Arizona than the other people were , going to be, and warned them of the danger. He spoke kindly of Mr Coop 2 CT, and said for himself he left his fate . with his neighbors and friends. but if Arizona was to be turned over to New Mexico he was ready to take up his blankets and leave
 b Henry D. Ross accompanied MT !. Smith up from Prescott, and he made the opening address. He dealt witt t facts and figures to show that the money and lands it was proposed tC give Arizona the Great would not b. l enough to put our schools, our pubIi, r institutions, nor the state governmen ' where they now are since New Mexic, \ has more to be done and less to pay . for it than has Arizona
 GEORGE H. CROSBY.
 -O-
 AFTERWARDS