Arizona republican., 1910-02-21
Six Months Residence.

DIX MOnkns hesioeUSe.
 Our Democratic friends profess per- turbation on account Of provision Of the Senate statehood bill making a six months residence in the territory qualification Of a voter at the cleo ton for delegates to the constitutional convention as well as for the election for the ratification or rejection of the constitution which may be formed by such a convention. We have before pointed out that this proposed cleo ton is surrounded by peculiar circum- stances: that while many of us have been long resident Of the territory, all who may be within its boundaries win be new residents of the state.
 We are asking for immigration. Our boards of trade and our chambers of commerce are flooding the cou try with literature descriptive of tt. ad- vantages of Arizona We need people and capital for the development ' the numerous agricultural and industrial
 
 To the invitation which we have been extending to the world hundreds and thousands of the best citizenships have come and are still coming. They will come in greater volume as the probability of statehood becomes more apparent Thousands Of them will ha, of the elections provided for by the statehood bill. They will be law abiding citizens and taxpayers who will be called upon to assist in the support of the state government Is il not right that they should have a voice in the forming of the funda- mental law of the new state?
 We have already among us many who have lived here from the earliest times and who have been burden on their neighbors. They have been known for a generation only for their vices and their worthlessness. They have contributed nothing to the up- building of the territory to the per lection of it's claims of statehood.
 Is it right that a man who has been an incubus fori a generation should be given preference over one whose six months residence has given a sufficient earnest Of his good and helpful citizenship?
 This outcry Of the Democratic press against the newcomer seems to be in accord with its traditional opposition to our progress.
 The opposition to the six months residence provision is that il opens the door to q fraudulent colonization of voters That is absurd. Whence would they be coionized? Who could have so great an interest in such a pretended fraud as to support colony for six months? If one had such an interest. why could he not maintain q colony for a year?
 It is true that there is a migratory population in the mining camps of Slavs. Lithua nians Italians and Mexi- cans, but it is also true that it is so migratory that a small part of it remains in the territory for six months IL Is not this population that our Democratic friends are afraid of. IL is not the corruptible vote that they fear.
 They have observed for some time that immigration is Republican; that is. that more Republicans than Demo- crats are coming in. and they reason along correct mathematical lines. that the more new voters who can be cans will be silenced.
 six months residence qualification for voters in Arizona is no new thing. From the organization of the terri tory until 1893 the requisite resi- dence for voter was six months. h. that year the law was changed re- quiring d residence of one year. but in 1899 the six months residence quail ification was restored. Two years later the present law was enacted.
 Thus it can be seen that no terri torial tradition is threatened with violation. The hysteria of our Demo- cratic friends over this provision or the statehood bill is attributable alone to their fear that too many of the hnmeseekers attracted by the immi- hence Of statehood will not likely vote the Democratic ticket.
 It was unfortunate for Captain Peary that his ill advised friends sought tn make a rear admiral out of him. The foolish attempt has introduced into the later proposition