Bisbee daily review., 1906-06-24

the act for the registration of voters ana the making Of the needful and proper preparations for the vote to be taken upon delegates to the constitu- tlonal yention. Then it provided that the convention might remain in sas- sion under pay for a term of sixty days In the work of framing the constitu- tion: that they should not be Ieuulred to meet until the fifth Monday after they had been elected, and that there should be a reasonable and proper time given for a vote to be taken upon the adoption of the constitution.
 That was amended by the adoption of an amendment which I offered sO as to insert in the provision as % the vote on the constitution that there should be majority in favor of the constitution in each of said Territories That amendment was offered without as careful consideration as should have preceded it. When the matter came up this year there had been more time for consideration, and instead of offer ing that amendment, I offereI the amendment of this year, which pro- Vided that there should be, as first step in determining whether or not 1 there should be joint statehood an election at which every qualified cleo tor in the Territories should have a right to vote directly on the question of point statehOod-for it or agaiusG il. The provisions in other respects ere very similar to those fthe preceding year.
 When the conference report of a few ! days ago was brought in it provided That within twenty days. instead of within thirty days. after the act should
 be approved by the President the gov elnors of those two Territories should issue their proclamations calling upon
 the proper officials to make i1gistra-
 ton lists of all the qualified voters in the two Territories. This regisi ration
 was 10 be completed in thirty days
 The election of the delegate; to the
 constitutional convention was 10 be
 held almost Immediately afterwards, on the fifth Tuesday after the act was
 approved by the President. The dele gates so elected were immediately to
 meet in Santa Fe. and they were ~ itn-
 III thirty days thereafter to frame and
 submit a constitution.
 It seemed to me. in other wurGs. without specifying furthcr. that there
 was an undue hastehfng of the FrGced- ure all along the line, Inl then, what
 was more obiectional still. was the
 fact that ii provided that there should
 not b any vote directly on the question O. joint statehood, but only a vote on
 the question of adopting the consti-
 tuition, and if there should be a failure
 of a majority in either Territory upon
 the question of adopting the consti
 tuition statehood should be defeated
 but not otherwise. That amendment.
 for the reasons I have indicated, was
 nOt satisfactory. but there was an
 other reason still. I have contended
 all the while, as other Senators have,
 that if there was to be joint statehoCr
 of these two Territories, with the
 protests against it coming up to us
 which we have been receiving from
 Arizona, the people of those two Ter !itories should not only be allowed to
 vote on the question. but if they were to be allowed to vote they should De allowed to vote before thei- repre- l sentatives were required to meet to- gther in joint convention and frame
 constitution. They should not be e.
 qUired to frame a constitution III til
 they knew whether or not they were going to need it. It seemed 10 me to
 be an illogical sort of an arraEgement. with the feeling existing. with the op- | position on the part of the people CT
 Arizona, not to say on the part of
 good many people living in New Mexi-
 co. according to my adTices. to re
 uUire them to meet and frame a e1Esti-
 tuition before they had determined that they needed one. O. -.-- Therefore I was not satisfied with that report. I accept this report, Mir.
 President, because it gives thirty GGys after the passage of this act rnd the
 approval of it by the President for the issuance of the proclamatiol.s of the governors calling for he election 0f delegates to the constitutional con
 vention, and that election is to be held
 ten weeks after this pill becomes law and then when the delegates as
 semble in convention, If they ever do,
 they are to be allowed sixty days l twice as much time as vas given under the other report--in which Co do the very important work Of framing an or sanic Jaw. The time will prove none
 too long, imagine. judging " the ex- 1 perieuce We have had in our Sta'e in making constitutions. We have tried il two or three times, and we have
 never been able to finish i'll anything ike that period.
 |. Now, in addition to everything e'se' , We save the expense of special cleo
 tion, for the provision of this conier- ! ence report is that the vote is to be
 taken on the question of joint state