Bisbee daily review., 1906-09-27
VIGOROUSLY OPPO SES PLAN OF JOINT
 STATEHOOD
Prominent Denver Mining En- gineer Gives Views on
 the Subject.

Abner Graves, a mining engineer of Denver, takes western view of the
 joint statehood question. The Denver Republican. either because it regards joint statehood as a party measure or because of New Mexican influence, has ever since the passage of the bill been urging its adoption by the people of both territories. Mir. Graves accord ingly takes the paper to task in the fol lowing communication which that pa per published last Sunday:
 People who are properly posted on conditions in Arizona are puzzled in trying to discern a reason for any western writer publishing the state ment that there is sentiment devel- oping in Arizona favorable to joint statehood with New Mexico when the facts are that, viewed from the stand point of Arizona and looking through Arizonan eyes, there is absolutely nothing rational to be said in favor of joint statehood.
 Joint statehood for Arizona and New Mexico would mean one western state (named Arizona), with a land area greater than all the twelve east ern Atlantic states from Maine to South Carolina, inclusive, in which twelve states there are twenty-four United States senators as against two in Arizona.
 Tt would mean western state con- taining thirty-two counties, the small est of which is several times larger than the entire state of Rhode Island, which boasts its perennial Senator Aldrich. who has long dominated the United States senate and thus con- trolled the United States, until Presi- dent Roosevelt's strong personality pinched his power little. It would mean western state with area so vast that residents of certain portions of Arizona would have to travel over 1000 miles by any present or future feasible route to reach it's capital at Santa Fe. It would mean one western state more than two and one-fourth times larger than our peerless Colorado, which of itself has one little lost (Routt) county up in our northwest corner (without 9 mile of railroad in it) that is eight times as large as the state of Rhode Island, including Senator Aldrich, who don't want western senators.
 "It would mean one western state four times as large as the six com bined New England states, and one having within its borders sufficient arabic land that will be brought into cultivation during the next twenty-five years of the new era of irrigation into which we are now entering, and made to yield fifty times as much available agricultural produce annually as those same six New England states, with New York thrown in with them, and a state that far within that time will be yielding more copper than any other state in the union. Moreover. such joint statehood would be such mon strous injustice to a large, energetic and intelligent western community that no considerable percentage of them can be whipped into voting -for it.
 Neither need Arizona or New Mex ico have any fear that they may be compelled to wait twenty iears to get into the union singly. for the east has been simply running gigantic bluff on the west, and before Roosevelt is finally retired from the presidency both Arizona and New Mexico will have their stars in the United States flag"
 Iuough, SO far as known, MT. Graves is not personally interested in Arizona. he has taken great inter est in the question since the introduc- tion of the Hamilton bill, and he wrote letters to all the congressman he knew urging them either to defeat the bill or to attach referendum feature to it.
 Writing on the subject to R. E. Daggs. he says: T do not know how you stand on the question, but pre- sume that you have good horse sense.'
 Taft still believes he can ba.tep