Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-12
HAVE DIVISION
LEADER IN VIEW
SECESSlONlSTS HAVE DESIGNS
ON ONE MAN
ls Kept ignorant Of the Part He Is
Expected to Play Until Plans
Are Completed for Or
ganlzation

An organized movement having for
its object the creation of the state OF
Southern California will, It is confident-
ly expected, be launched before the end
of the present week.
Leadership of the movement, which
promises to be the most popular ques-
tion that has ever come before the peo-
pie of the southern section of Califor-
mia, is the only thing lacking, and IL
the plans of number of division en-
thusiasts are carried out the movement
will have the necessary leader and one
in whom the general public will have
the utmost confidence.
without the knowledge of this in
dividual an address has been prepared
and is being signed by every one to
whom it has been shown, and it is con-
fidently expected that the pressure
which will be brought to bear upon
him will be so great that he will be
compelled to accept the honor, which
will necessarily involve large amount
of work.
The suggestion of concerted and or
ganized effort has come from every
quarter and the efforts now being made
to decide upon some one man for
leader are being made by those who
have expressed themselves as being
heartily in favor of organized and sys-
tematic work in behalf of state division.
Have Sentimental Objection
Practically the only opposition to the
plan of creating the state of Southern
California comes from native sons, and
1t has been demonstrated that even a
large number of these, while regretting
for sentimental reasons the suggestion
of dividing California, admit that for
practical reasons the state should be
divided.
1t is said that Native Son parlors
throughout the state are holding meet
ings almost nightly for the purpose of
discussing the question of state divis-
ion and of adopting some method by
which they hope to stem the tide of
popular sentiment in favor of separat-
ing the southern section from the
northern portion.
Some opposition to the agitation of
division has developed by reason Of the
belief that in order to bring about the
separation of the state it will be neces-
sary to secure an amendment to the
constitution of the United States, but
this theory is combatted by lawyers
who have made close study of consti-
tutiona1 questions.
One of these, Milton K. Young, yes
terday pointed out the fact of the sep
aration of what is now the state of
Maine from the then existing state of
4 Connecticut, one of the original thir-
teen states, and the admission of Maine
as state as late as 1878
Texas Can Be Divided
The fact also has been pointed out
that when Texas was admitted to the
Union congress entered into a compact
providing that at any time the people
of Texas should so decide the state
could be divided into four common
WealthS.
1t is declared by able constitutional
lawyers that the provision of the con-
stitution prohibiting the creation of
states within the jurisdiction of other
states was to guard against the crea-
ton of petty governments which might
be opposed to the general government,
and that it was not intended that
states should not be permitted to be-
come divided if the people of the COM
monwealth should so elect, with the
consent Of congress and where the COM
monwealths were still to remain a part
of the United States.
The point also is made that while the
division of Virginia was a condition
arising from the Civil war it could not
have been done constitutionally if the
provision of the constitution quoted as
prohibiting state division really was
intended to operate in that manner
rather than merely to prevent the crea-
constitutional lawyers claim.
Finds Sentiment Unanimous
One of the most enthusiastic advo-
Gates of state division is Lyman
Stewart, president of the Union Oil
company who said yesterday:
''I have heard no one express an OBJ
lection to the proposition of state sep
aration. Everyone with whom I have
discussed the matter is strongly in
favor of it.
1.-The interests of Northern and
Southern California are not identical.
The class of people who have settled
in Southern California is not the class
which is willing to be governed by the
same influences which predominate in
the north.
1--WE have climate, capabilities of soil
and mining interests which are no part
of Northern California. Our interests
and conditions being entirely different,
demand different government.
IF the division is made Southern
California will become in much greater
measure than at present the ideal
state in every particular. Her growth
would be such that people from the
whole world would hasten to identity
themselves with our state of Southern
California. 1t should come"