The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-05-21
oklahoma city's sohpistry
(Tulsa World

(IulSa WOrld)
In it's fight for the state capital
Oklahoma City should at least stick
to the issue and not add an insult to
Inc voters intelligence in addition to
the injury 1t steadfastly proposes to
60 him. The following appeal to pre-
Judice, taken from the Qklahoman, 10
calculated to cloak the weakness ola
the capital location scheme:
There are some things that the peo-
pie Of what was formerly the Indian
Territory should remember in this
state capital location contest.
They should remember that Okla
iona City was from the first and al
ways al the front in the battle for
single statehood, and Guthrie was not.
Oklahoma City business men gave
financial aid toward the conduct OF
THE campaign for single statehood.
Oklahoma City newspapers constant
IL championed the cause of single
statehood
They should also remember that
Guthrie newspapers and Guthrie poll
ticians from first to last opposed sin
Gle statehood and declared that In
dian Territory's people were almost
entirely of the illiterate and criminal
classes.
VIII the people of the East Side
forget these slurs?
| We hardly think So
Granting that al the Oklahoman
here AYERS is true i can not proper
ly have any bearing on ohe present
capital location scheme, which Is OBJ
Elected to, not on the grounds of favor
to one or preindice of another OF the
contestants, but because the scheme
lis: 4
/. A breach OF good faith, in that
/ 1t proposes to controyert that pro,
vision Of the constitution which locat-
ed the state capital at Guthrie until
1918.
g. The most dangerous piece of
| Legislation ever proposed to people.
in that it bears on its face deter
n'ination TO raid the state treasury,
establish reign of graft. destroy one
community, not for the benefit Of the
state or any tax payer, but for the
further enrichment of single section,
and to tax the whole expense, not
against Oklahoma City property own
crs, who would be The sole and only
beneficial les, but against John Jones,
OF Ellis county: Dick Smith, of OF
tawa county, Bill Brown, of MuCur-
tain county, and every other small
land owner in the state.
Outside of the precincts of Okla
homa City this capital location fights
addresses itself to the voter in these
terms: aaa4
|. Is there any public necessity for
the state capital to be changed at
this time? II SO, what is that neces-
slty?
2. VIII /, as tax pyaer already
burdened to the limit, be benefited in
proportion to the cost?
3. Guthrie has been assured of the
capital until 1918; it is so written in
the constitution. The constitutional
convention spoke for the entire state
and can |, as citizen of the state,
vote now to repeal what is made i'm.
possible of repeal, without doing vio
lence to my own integrity for no 9th.
er purpose than to remove the can.
ital less than fifty miles, further bur
cen my own property, and do an in.
justice to one community for no 9th
er purpose than to further enrich an.
ether community?
And the conclusion being reached
by nine out of every ten voters nor
allied with oklahoma City in SOME
way is just this:
The present capital buildings at
Guthrie ae costing the state not a
cent, Guthrie erected them and plac-
ed them at the disposal of the state
Tree of cost Therefore there is no
necessity for a change at this time.
! viii vote against the whole propo-
s'tion, leaving the question open for
unpreiudiced consideration at some fll.
lure time when my interests may be
more carefully safeguasded.
And great majority of the votes
: will be cast along that line.
As to Guthte having fought single
statehood while Oklahoma City fav-
cred 1t there Is just this to say:
Guthrie was then the state capital and
was conducting selfish fight. The
OILY reason that Oklahoma CITY threw
its influence TO the side of single
| statehood was because Oklahoma CITY
did not possess the. capital and
thought by so doing 1t was advancing
its selfish interest.
VIII Oklahoma City or the Okla
homan pretend that it was actuated
. by patr'c''sm?