Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-14
KIDNAPPED Mr.. TAFT
Arizona Governor Steals
Presidents Private Car.
MAKES HIS STAY LONGER
Determined He Should Have More
Than an Hour in Phoenix.
STATEHOOD TALK CHEERED
People Are Warned, However,
Against Such a Constitution
as Oklahoma's.
STATEHOOD TALK CHEERED

| PRESCOTT, AriZ.. October l4-ln the
| deepest darkness that comes just before
the dawn. yesterday morning Gov. oane
| of Arizona and his party hooked their car
| to the Taft train, told the conductor to
beat it, and while the President and
| his managers slept the train speeded to-
ward Phoenix.
| Gov. Sloane had appealed in vain to
! Private Secretary Carpenter in Washing
, ton for an extension of the one hour as
| signed to Phoenix. So he just stole the
train and got it into Phoenix two hours
early. Gerrit Fort of the New York Cen
trail railroad, who is in charge of the
train for the entire journey, was sleeping
| in private car put on by the California
people. He was awakened at Maricopa,
twenty-five miles south of Phoenix, by
the porters announcement that the car
was cut off. Mr.. Fort thrust his feet into
slippers and seized his clothes, and in his
pajamas sprinted across the yards to
catch the presidential train, about to
| move out. He left his bag in the cut off
car. When he mentioned this fact with
| mild protest to the Arizona kidnapers
| they obligingly sent special engine back
from Phoenix to Maricopa for the bag.
Hitchcock Joins the Party.
Frank Hitchcock joined the party at
Maricopa after a wild dash by automobile
across the desert. The other cars broke
down, and at last reports were some
where out in the sage brush
In this Washington-ruled territory the
former chairman of the republican COM
| mittee and dispenser of patronage was
received as enthusiastically and courted
| as assiduously at the President.
n n,
PRESIDENT Taft brought his hearers to
| their feet with cheers when he promised
to DO all he could for separate statehood
| for the territory; but he admenished them
or the responsibility of statehood, par
tlcuiarly in the making of constitution
You are anticipating statehood he
SAID, and I'm afraid you are anticipating
the pleasure of more independence without
fully understanding the responsibilities of
II; therefore. II l point out some of the
dlmcuitles you are going to have you will
excuse me. You have got to formulate a
constitution after the Congress says YOU
shall come in. and want to say a word
about that constitution. In saying SO l
give you an earnest idea Of the serious
ness with which I say that / believe YOU
Will be made a state. constitution is
for the purpose of laying down funda-
mental limitations upon your legislature
| and your executive. Now. If you think
| that In that constitutional convention you
ought to lay down all the limitations that
are ordinarily included in a statute YOU
are going to make great mistake. The
greatest Constitution that was ever made
| is the Constitution of the United States,
| and you can go through that in very
| short time. Take the last constitution that
was made, the constitution of o.. ahoma
| IL IS zoolCg1c &arden. | don't mean to
say that 1t has not good ideas in IT: il
| has. but the idea of tying down a legisla-
| ture which is to experiment SO to speak,
| with the laws that are to be adapted to a
new territory with a long discourse i'm
posing all sorts of limitations is a mis-
/ take which you ought to profit by
Not 1.-The Whole Show"
| At Temp earlier in the morning, prom
Using to work for statehood. the Presi-
dent said: However want to warn you
that I am not the whole show: there are
others who have to go with it,
Autos took the presidential party to
the Central School, to the Indian School
and through the valley that blossoms
where only sage brush grew few years
ago. The roads had been sprinkled, the
committee proudly announced, but the
thirsty lava dust had absorbed all the
water. and when the President finished
his nine-mile drive not even Capt. Butt
could be sure at first sight that it was
the President until the coat of dust had
been removed.
Col. McClntick, who was Roosevelts
senior Rough Rider captain and was
wounded in Cuba. had charge of the
policing arrangements. He had as help
ers militiamen who had been cowboys
and cowboys who had been Rough Rid
ers. In the capitol building in a glass
| case, was displayed the Rough Riders
flag carried through the campaign, and
the enormous reservoir a few miles away
that irrigates this valley is named
Roosevelt.
A drink of water from the Passayama-
pal river was given to the President here.
The Indian legend is that any one drink
ing the water never again can tell the
| truth and must always remain in Ari
IONA. The spokesman presenting the drink
! modified the legend, telling MIR. Taft
that this water came from below the
| ford, and that if he drank it he could
never tell an untruth, and that while it
| would not bind him to remain perma-
nently in Arizona it would insure re
pea. led visits. The President drank.
| The presidential train left here for the
Grand Canyon of the Colorado at I PIN
rSArnrDc rARvnN1