The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-13
NOW MORE HOPEFUL
OF JOINT STATEHOOD ARE ENCOURAGED.
Senator ForaAxer of Ohio Has Joined the Insurgents and On HIS Amendment Hinge the ! te
 of the Bill.
nv ALFRED J. STOPPER.

| The strong delegation of fine looking men who came to, the capital during | the early part of the winter from Arizona to implore Congress- not to present territories or Arizona ana New Mexico. feel very much encour- aged since Senator Foraker has champ l toned their cause. These men rom Arizona belong to both political par l ties and are standing shoulder 10
 shoulder in the fight which will end probably within the next month probablv in two weeks. There is a difference of opinion as to how many Republicans will follow the Ohio sena- tor and vote for his amendment which will be offered to the joint statehood | bill that passed the House, which had the unqualified support not only or the Republican managers of that body, put was earnestly backed by the Presi- dent.
 The story of the house insurgents is well known to newspaper readers Not I as many Republicans in the popular branch of Congress stood by their con- yictions as promised MT. Babcock they would not finch when the big battle opened. Some were whipped into lfhe and others claimed that they saw new I light Senator Forakers amendment \ to the bill provides that in the case or I Arizona and New Mexico the vot- CTS of the two territories shall have I the right to decide whether or not they wish to be taken into the union under | the terms of the Hamilton bill that passed the House.
 | If majority in either territory de- eide that they would not like to enter 1 into the arrangement that settles the question for some years at least State l hood for one or both territories may l possibly be postponed indefinitely. or until Republican insurgents are more numerous, or until both branches or i Congress are controlled by the Demo cratic party.
 | Only one Senate Democrat is known | to be in favor of the House bill--Mr. l Clarke of Arkansas. It is estimated | that if thirteen Republicans support I the Foraker amendment 1t vii be aoop- ted The friends of the Arizona propo- sition are reasonably certain they can count upon sixteen Republicans. They appear to be so certain of this that no obstructive tactics are encouraged, and I the chances are that after few strong
 speeches are delivered on each side the vote will be taken. ct is also ex- pected that the statehood question will be disposed of long before the discus
 sion on the railroad rate question gets | we'll under way.
 I MT. Foraker Is one of the most in- Ifiuential men in the Senate. He has represented Ohio in that body for over nine years. and his importance on com
 mittees counts for a great deal, even were he not generally recognized as
 one of the most forcible speakers in
 body noted for it's rHne orators He also has a fine presence, and there's no
 trimming on the part of Ohios senior
 senator. He can be found in the open always and that is why he stands as
 well in his own party and has the re-
 spect of his political opponents, even If the latter hated him royalty while gov ernor of the Buckeye state. Times
 have certainly changed and men evil dently have changed with them when h. B. Foraker and Democrats can be
 found supporting the same proposi- ton.
 Few senators have as important committee positions as Mir. Foraker. He Is a member of yne following: Chairman of Pacific Islands and Porto Rico; foreign relations-having the
 reciprocity and other treaties in hand ! that have caused such fiery discussions | this session: Interstate commerce-the l committee that is wrestling with rail-
 road rate regulation; military affairs
 which has to deal with everything per l taining to our growing army; Judiciary; and privileges and elections--that has the celebrated Reed Shoot case in hand This is the time of the year that the | distribution of seed by Congressman is | liveliest, and to comply with. all the re- quests Is simply impossible for the 1 average member. The people do not 1 seem to understand this seed business. | The Government does not undertake to supply vegetable seed to citizens gen | eralIy To do that, Congress would have to-make enormous appropriations. | Under the present limitations, Con- gressmen are allowed a quota of seed, | five varieties to the package. which is placed to the credit of Senators and Representatives at the Bureau of Plant | Industry at the Department. The ai-
 lowance is not near enough to go to
 every voter planter, gardener or hor- | ticulturist, and far too small for pro | miscuous distribution. The real object l of the distribution of seed by the Cow | ernment is to encourage the growth and cultivation of improved varieties of vegetables and flowers during a given | year, with the expectation that the I growers will report results to the De- | partment of Agriculture, and save their | own seed for another years planting. The average Congressional District l contains a population of about 2O0.00 l The number of white registered voters,
 generally speaking, is about 25,000. This l omits from the calculation many adult | farmers. both white and colOred, SO tar
 as the Southern States are concerned,
 whom a Congressman would like to
 supply with seed If it were in his power. | The seed allowance to each member of