Arizona republican., 1909-10-14
Taft on Statehood.

President Taft is heartily with Ari- zona in her aspirations for statehood. This fact was made clear by his speech at the city hall plaza in this city yesterday. With all his earnest ness he said. facing the vast gather ing of Arizona citizens:
 'I want to congratulate you on having such a territory; and on hay ing such energy and such enterprise as have called forth from the Re publican party the pledge that you shall have statehood. And in order to establish my relations with you early. I want to say, that SO far as l am concerned I am going to help carry out that promise so far as I can"
 The pledge to which the presi- dent referred was made in the plat form adopted by the Republican na- tional convention at Chicago in June. 1S0S-the convention which nominated MT. Taft for president-and reads:
 We favor the immediate admis- sion of New Mexico and Arizona as separate states in the Union"
 In declaring for immediate" state hood. the convention bound the in- coming administration and the in- coming congress to favorable action on the statehood bill at the earliest practicable moment. It was not prac- ticable to deal with the statehood question at the special session of last spring. the tariff bill being the sub ject of that session, but the state hood bill must be passed by con- gress at the long session which be- gins in December next, or the Re publican party will stand convicted of violating its solemn pledge. As MT. Taft stated here yesterday, he proposes to do what he can to carry out the promise.
 That the president will succeed in his efforts to have congress do it's share, and that a bill admitting Ari- zona will become a law before the end of the coming session, appears at this time to be a practical certainty
 MT. Taft himself evidently believes that we are finally at the point of entering the Union. His entire ad- dress supported this interpretation of his opinion With much solemnity he addressed himself to the responsi- bilities which confront the people of Arizona. These responsibilities all attach to statehood.
 And this portion of MT. Tafts speech is full of wise counsel. Not only did he have in mind the freak ish gathering which formulated the constitution of Oklahoma. but it is easy to suppose that he also had in mind the -25th legislature of Ari- zona-that law making body of this year, which succeeded in attracting the attention of the whole country by its extravaganza and its narrow and bitterly partisan legislation. MT. Taft might well fear that if the con- stitutional convention is to be con- trolled by the spirit which controlled the late legislature. Arizona may have a ringer" for the Oklahoma constitution.
 Happily for Arizona. however, MT. Taft's warning reaches a receptive and reasonable people. As everybody knows. the late legislature in much of its work failed utterly to repre- sent public sentiment.
 But it will not do to assume that Mir. Taft's warning is unnecessary Politicians having nothing at stake but the question of their getting of flee can easily frame up deals which will land them as delegates to the constitutional convention, if the people do not determine in advance that the convention shall be truly representative. It is not too early