Arizona republican., 1907-06-20
PHOENIX ARIZ., JUNE 20, 1907.
AS TO INSTRUCTIONS. "

The view expressed by The Repub- lican the other day relative to the ac- tivity of certain persons in endeavor- ing to secure an instructed delegation from this territory to the next national republican convention. has so far as we have learned. been generally con- cured in by the leading republicans of the territory.
 It is reported from certain sections that the movement so far as it has gone has commanded no respect and no following and that pledges will not be made in favor of anybody or any thing until the proper time comes. Such pledges as may be decided upon then will be incorporated into the platform of the territorial convention and untrammeled and trustworthy delegates will be appointed to execute them.
 The instruction" movement so far as can be ascertained is confined among a very few over enthusiastic federal officials and a few who would like to be federal officials. The dis position of a large majority of the party leaders. and. we may say, of the rank and file of the party, is to leave the matter open as long as possible; to leave Arizona in a position of in dependence at the national cOnven- .I.,,, to let a few political manipulators make advantageous terms in advance of the convention; to secure for them selves political or pecuniary benefits in which the people of the territory could not share. In other words it would be better for the territory to trade itself off than to be traded off.
 As we have before stated. we are consistently opposed to instructed del egations, It may be conceded though. that there may be circumstances in which instructions would be entirely proper. There might loom up from amid the ruck of candidates before the convention one who stands for every thing Arizona desires. There could be no impropriety in instructing in favc- of such a candidate.
 But there can be no sense in q movement now in behalf of any can didate We do not know how any of the gentlemen named stand with re- spect to us or how they stand on any national question which may be the dominating issue of the next presiden- tial campaign. They have had no op- portunity to declare themselves, for no issue has yet become dominant
 Proper as it might be to instruct in such circumstances as we have de- scribed above. il can easily be seen how improper it would be to instruct in other circumstances. For instance, there is possibility that joint state hood which became an almost nationai issue in the last congress. might as. sume the same prominence again. We will suppose that the handful of busy bodies who are trying to arrange an instructed delegation, should happen to hit upon Speaker Cannon as the beneficiary of the instructions; if not Speaker Cannon, some other candidate whose notions on the subject of state hood may be as oblique as those of the speaker. Would the republicans of Arizona endorse such a candidate, or would they endorse any candidate wno might afterward turn out to be as unfriendly to the territory as the speaker has shown himself to be?
 h all circumstances it must appear the wiser plan to leave trustworthy delegation free at the convention to measure the candidates and ascertain which one would fit Arizona the best.