Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-14
TAFT DECLARES
HE WILL WORK
FORSTATEHOOD
ARIZONA WELCOMES CHIEF
EXECUTIVE
PRESIDENT TRIES TO RlDIcULE
OKLAHOMA
Declares Governor HaskslI's State Is
Geological Garden of cranks.
Makes Journey to Grand
Canyon
[Rx Associated Press. ]

in which he sought to impress upon
them the necessity for deliberation In
framing a state constitution.
He declared that all such constltu-
| tions should follow the simplicity OF
the constitution of the United states
| and should be merely fundamental
| laws with simple rules of limitation.
Mr.. Taft urged the people of Arizona
to profit by what he termed the mis-
takes of Oklahoma in constitution max
| ing.
stitution as "a geological garden OF
cranks.
The presidents train was whirled
along at breakneck speed today through
scorching desert wastes of sagebrush
and cactus.
At times the alkali dust stirred up by
the rusning cars filtered in a cloud
through ventilating screens and closed
windows and was well nigh stitllng'
Those Jagged Peaks
The sky was cloudless and the sun
shone with torrid intensity.
Throughout the day the horizon was
lined with the Jagged rusty peaks of
sun baked mountains shrouded in an
/ azure haze. Occasionally, however, the
| train rushed through a veritable little
garden spot of fruits and flowers where
| the touch of water had worked It's
wonders.
Altogether the president had typical
| glimpse of the far southwest.
| At Phoenix and Prescott, where ne
made his principal stops, and at each
| intermediate station where he appeared
! for a moment or two on the rear plat
form of his car he was greeted by the
| cosmopolitan people of the territory
The anachronism of Indians in their
primitive blanket wrappings standing
/ So 1F n1Rt1-
powered modern automobiles became
common before the day was over.
| The territorial officials, headed by
| Governor Sloan, met the presidents
train at Yuma before daylight and will
continue with him until after his visit
to the Grand canyon tomorrow.
| Postmaster General Hitchcock JoL-ed
the party today. With him was Victor
Mason, who had charge Of the Republ-
con national headquarters in New York
during the campaign of last fall.
Another Republican
Another prominent Republican who
greeted the president today was HoVal
| Smith. the territorial chairman who
had charge of the campaign here. Mr.
Smith talked with the president for
some time.
In his principal speech delivered at
Phoenix today President Taft said: ut
| is a new sensation for me to talk TO
! the people of a territory and l may
say thus far it is very pleasant sensa-
| ton.
| 'I want to congratulate you on nav
ing such a territory, such energy and
such enterprise as has called forth from
the Republican party pledge that you
| shall have statehood, and in order to
| establish my relation with you early
7 want to say that so far as / am con-
| cerned, I am going to help carry out
that promise as far as can.
Sometimes it is better to postpone
| the marriage and everything else IN a
novel to the end, but always nave the
! habit of looking through to see whether
| it ends all right before I begin, and
am inclined to think that the ladies
before me generally follow that course.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, for L
| don't know whether you are going 10
| let the ladies vote or not and l speak
therefore with due consideration, you
are anticipating statehood; you are
| anxious to show what you can do as
an independent government, and am
afraid YOU are anticipating the pleasure
| of that independence without fully un-
| derstanding or at least realizing now
the RESPONSIBILITIES of it and therefore,
If after having made this announce
ment, I point out some of the difficult
! ties that you are going to have, you
will excuse me.
Their Constitution
"You have got to formulate a con-
stitution after the congress says you
shall come in, and 1 want to say
word about the constitution.
i "In SAYING so I give you an earnest
knowledge Of the seriousness with
which say that I believe you will be
made a state.
laving down fundamental limitations
i upon your legislature and your exec
4 utiye. Now If you think that in that
i constitutional convention you ought to
l Law down all the limitations that are or
Il dinarily included in a statute you are
| going to make a great mistake.
"The greatest constitution that was
= ever made is the constitution of the
United States, and you can go through
! that in a very short time. You take
the last constitution that was made.
: II is the constitution of Oaklahoma
and it is a geological garden of cranks
! 7 don't mean to say that it has no good
I ideas in it--it has
"But the idea of tying down legis-
lature which is an experiment, so to
sneak. with the laws that are to be
adopted to new territory, with long
! discourse imposing all SoItS VI lili-
ations is a mistake which you ought to
profit by"
"Your assumption of statehood
throws upon you a responsibility that
will not enable you thereafter to charge
II all to the federal government When
Won get into difficulty out here and
have bad officials, or your legislature
gets YOU into it in a county or city,
Won cannot say it is all at Washington
because washington does not under
stand it.
Their Own Fault
"rhen the fault will be on your own
head. [ have no doubt that you will
, stumble and fall, as other people and
other states have stumbled and fallen,
but you are Americans, you are come
OF a race used to self-government, used
to taking hard knocks in the school of
| experience and profiting by them.
"And if by a caution l can restrain
the desire of those most progressive, II
[ may use that expression, or most full
of the idea of having limitations on
government-can restrain them from
| making the constitution other than a