Arizona republican., 1910-06-28

estly and courageously to secure state
 hood for the territory. That they were
 not successful must not be credited against them, for their efforts, though
 not immediately fruitful of success, ad- vanced our cause by educating con
 gress and the nation as to our fitness ! and the iustness of our claim. The ef | forts of Governors Murphy, Hughes. Franklin, McCord and Kibbey, and the | efforts of Delegates Smith, Murphy and Wilson should not be forgotten in this hour of glorious realization. Then, too, the efforts of our delegates to the national conventions, beginning with | 1888 to obtain recognition by the two
 great parties of our claim to statehood must not be overlooked or forgotten The constant hammering away of our territorial press, and the constant preaching by countless numbers of our citizens, in season and out 0f season,
 have had their effect. But especially should we remember the men and wOm- en whose industry and good citizenship
 covering fifty years of history have
 made us fit for statehood by build ing up this splendid civilization we see about us today. In fact no one man
 
 or men or group of men can justly claim an exclusively credit for state hood.
 Then, too, in this hour of triumphant realization we can afford to look with tolerance and good nature upon some episodes connected with our struggle for statehood, which. when they Oc-
 cured seemed almost tragical. and ixxrni inl r., fpI
 pitch of indignation and sense of
 wrong. I think I can with propriety
 at this time, and with entire safety re-
 fer to at least one of these episodes, if for no other purpose than to express our appreciation of the faithful aid rendered us in that great crisis. think, perhaps, being so vitally interested in ! the matter we were not and have not
 been in a position to judge with any degree of justness those motives and views which lead to the suggestion of the union of the two territories and their admission as one state. It may perhaps never be known who was re- sponsible for the joint statehood move
 ment and perhaps it is just as we'll that that fact remains in obscurity. It. how ever, became in some way an adminis- tration measure and was pushed by all | the energy and tremendous force of that administration. It failed, as we know, because the people of this ter ritory regarded autonomy as para mount to statehood. It is due that great and remarkable man who for seven years was the chief executive of this nation to acknowledge here and
 now his breadth of view and sense of | justice, which prompted him when the
 result was known, to cheerfully and at
 once acquiesce in the result, and to
 publicly declare that joint statehood
 was no longer an open question, but that hereafter he should use his ef-
 forts and influence towards the admis- 1 sion of both territories as separate
 states in the Union. It is now an open
 secret that one of the disappointments which came to Theodore Roosevelt in | the presidential office lay in the fact
 that he was not privileged to sign bills
 for the admission of Arizona and New
 Mexico as states in the Union before
 the end of his administration. It is fit ting and proper also that we remem- l Der with gratitude at this hour the aid and invaluable service then rendered
 us by two men, one of whom has passed to the beyond. and the other no longer in public life. I refer to Senator Quay of Pennsylvania and Senator Foraker of Ohio. In mentioning these
 men it is not my purpose to minimize
 or overlook the services of other men | in congress at the time, nor to over | look the efforts made by our then dele gate in congress, Hon. Marcus A.
 Smith. It is also due, and I think fit ting and proper that I should at this time mention the invaluable service
 rendered by one who is present with
 us tonight. It is no easy thing for a
 man occupying the high office of gov | erner of the territory to stand out
 against the wish and policy of the ad-
 ministration to which he owes not only | the office, but ordinarily the obliga-
 ton of cordial support I say ordinari- ! ly, for the time may come, as it did ! in this instance, when the governor has a right to stand out against the ad- ministration, when he is convinced and 1 believes that it is right and proper and | ir the interests of the people whom he represents that he should do so. I
 want to say now and here that the at i titude of Governor Joseph H. Kibbey
 was heroic, just. proper and right, and
 he deserves the thanks and gratitude
 of us all.
 The closing act of the drama of
 statehood may be said to have opened
 during the summer of 1908, when the