Arizona republican., 1906-10-07
For Delegate to Congress Wm. F. Cooper

FOR ARIzONIANS TO CONSIDER.
 Few of our citizens have given suf- ficient thought to the higher taxes which would inevitably follow joint statehood.
 Practically all of the public debt in this territory-the debts of territory, counties. and towns-has been taken up by the issue of territorial bonds. This debt, in round figures, stands at $3.1OO,OOO.
 The bonded debt of the territory O. New Mexico, and the bonded debt of her counties-the debts of cities and towns and the repudiated debts of counties not being included-stands in round figures at s3,5OO,O00 according to the travelling auditor of that terri tory.
 As certainly as 66 is more than A, this undisputed indebtedness of New Mexico. would be assumed by the new state Why not? It would be insist ed by he people of New Mexico that, if they must help pay the county debts 
 ty debt over there.
 And the taxable wealth of Arizona, according to the assessment rolls. ex ceeds that of New Mexico by 50 per cent. There is where the shoe pinches.
 Our taxes would be increased enor- mously for the purpose of paying New Mexican debts.
 And that is not all. Nobody knows how much greater the burden would be made by piling upon Arizona's back the city and town indebtedness of New Mexico. More important still. nobody knows how much greater still the bur den would be made by the addition of the repudiated indebtedness of New Mexico's counties.
 This repudiated indebtedness runs into the hundreds of thousands. Some of it was issued many years ago. in the form of county warrants to pay local companies of militia for alleged operations against hostile Indians. For years strong Hobbies have been press ing the New Mexico legislature to rec Ognize and validate these outstanding militia warrants. The owners of the warrants have been unable so far to secure a majority in each branch of the legislature, but who doubts they would find the legislature entirely obliging if it was hown that Arizona would pay the freight?"
 Nobody seems to know the total amount of the warrants except that they total many hundreds of thous- ands of dollars. It is conceivable that the people of Arizona would have to pay more than a millI71 dollars of this wildcat debt, for interest would be in cluded.
 That there would be an effort-and a successful effort to saddle this debt along with the other debts of New Mexico. upon the taxpayers of this territory, cannot be open to question
 The very fact that there exists a stupendous sum of unpaid claims ac- counts for the activity of the advo- cates of joint statehood. The other day, in q territorial convention in New Mexico, one of the most rampant ad- vocates of joint statehood was brok- era dealer in county bonds and coun- ty warrants--whose firm owns bales of these militia warrants These war rants have passed into the hands Of such speculators as this broker for q trifling consideration.
 Is it not evident that he and men like him. would look kindly on the sug- gestiOn that it would pay them to con- tribute literally to the joint statehood campaign in Arizona?
 But two facts stand out clearly in relation to this question of the indebt- edness of the two territories. The first fact is that every taxpayer in Arizona would find his taxes increased hugely by joint statehood through the as- sumption of New Mexico's unquestion- able debt. The second fact is that the burden would as certainly be increased enormously by the addition of the mil itia warrants.
 And third fact should not be over looked-the opportunities for graft are so great that the said opportunities doubtless account for the activity of some of Arizona's advocates of joint statehood.