Weekly journal-miner., 1909-02-17
lem as to render them barmless.

l Autul do ID luCh
 I am not at all convinced, however,
 that the proposition by the Legislature
 to abolish the Rangers is based upon | the idea that it has not been or that ! it has ceased to be an efficient force.
 It is of course always to be regretted | that partisan politics should be in | iected into the consideration of any | legislation. But it has been injected
 as shall show and I feel that I would
 be dereIict if l failed to notice it. It
 mas been charged by a part at least
 of that particular party of which the majority of both houses of the Assem- ! bly, are members that the Ranger Force has degenerated into political | instrument for the use of the EXecu- tive.
 If this charge be true, the mere abo- lition of the Ranger Force would con
 stitute too mild a rebuke.
 If the enarge be not true, however, it is a gratuitous islander upon as hon est, courageous and faithful a set of men as 1 know, and as Governor of
 this Territory I cannot permit it to
 pass unnoticed and uncontradicted.
 The charge has been made, and made
 by political party, and the passage
 of this bill is equivalent to cOndemna-
 ton. And the condemnation, involv-
 ing as it does the aspersion upon the character of men who at least had the
 right to be heard in their own defense,
 was in disregard of that right. They
 were condemned unheard.
 Depreeating that it has been made political question as much as l may, cannot ignore it nor avoid it. If the force had been charged with the com mission of any other crime or fault it would certainly be my duty, if the charge were untrue to refute it, and because it is charged with being a political agency of the appointive pow CT, it is just as much my duty to de- fend them against that charge, if in fact it be untrue, even though that should neeessitate the apparent discus sion of politics.
 After the election of last fall very many, if not most, of the Democratic newspapers of the Territory demanued in their columns the abolition of the Ranger Force and of the office of Pub lie Examiner as well as of the Assist ant Secretary, and to the reduction of salaries wherever that could be done to harrass and annoy Republican office holders. The reason assigned for this was that these officers had been too active in the preceding campaign. That the election had not gone in every re- spect to suit the party of which the majority of this Assembly are mem bers will easily account for this ex pressed attitude and to some degree excuse these threats.
 That the legislation creating the Ranger Force and providing for its maintenance, the office of Public Ex- aminer. and the fixing of the compen- satiOn for that officer, the Assistant Secretary and the fixing of the com pensation for that officer. was Demo cratic legislation, is of course mat ter of common knowledge. It must be assumed that at the time of its enact ment it was thought by the majority to have been designed for the public good. The first condemnation, hOwev CT, by the majority, as a party meas ure was after the election of 1908, ex- cept, I believe, in Maricopa county alone, where by local Democratic platform the Ranger Force was de- nOunced to have become a political instrument to be used by the appoint ing power
 This is not a proper place nor a proper means to attempt any defense of Republican office holders from any charge of too zealous political activity at the last election, except to say that | they were not more active than they | had heretofore been. It was not the ! 1f Lo haII | CTS but the result of the election that ! irritated the leaders of the Democratic party and found expression in the par ty newspapers
 It would be wholly irrelevant to mo- tiee the attitude of the Democratic | if it were not so immedi- ltely followed by party action.
 At and just befre the convention of this Assembly the Democratic Central | Committee, represented by its prfHei- pal officers, dictated or at least ap- proved the organization of a secret .aueus of the Democratic members of this Assembly and formulated or as- sisted in the formulatioH of certain measures which should be determined by majority of that caucus. Among these measures were the abolition of me Ranger Force, and of the office of Public Examiner, and others.
 As stated by one of the prominent of it, the measures to De de- -ermined by the caucus were ''pOliti cal and not moral. Upon these measures every member of the Demo .ratie majority pledged himself in writing to abide by the majority vote If tho eanGuS
 "A majority of the caucus voted to abolish the Ranger Force and the of ice of Public Examiner. Every mem Der of the Democratic majority of both houses of this Assembly voted for .nis bill and for the bill to abolish the office of Public Examiner.
 Many members of both houses who pledged themselves to these caucus measures have repeatedly stated that they were not in favor of the abolition )f the Ranger Force and that they were not in favor of the abolition of he office of Public Examiner. One of -bnsa ,pamharc yOtc bimSa1f in nrint |