The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-05-24
oklahoma city's sohpistry
Tulsa Worla)

(Tulsa World) @
IN It's fight for ihe state capital
Oklahoma City should al least atick
to the issue and not add an insult 70
TIE voters intelligence III addition %
ihc injury il stoadfastly proposes TO
90 him. The following apppal TO pre-
iudicc, taken from the Oklahoman, y
calculated 10 cloak tbs weakness pS
the capital location schemeagt .s..
There are some things that The peo-
pie of what was formerly the Indian
Territory should remembcr in This
state capital location contest
They should remember that Okla-
roma City was from The first and at.
ways at the front in the battle tor
single statehood, and Guthrie was not.
Oklahoms City business men gave
financial aid toward the conauct Of I
The campaign for single statehood W
oklahoma City newspapers cons aft
~ championed the cause Of siHglea
statehood
They should also remember that
Guthrie newspapers and Guthrie poii-
tieians from first to last opposed sin
ple statehood and declared that In
dian Territory's people we've almosl
entirely OF the illiterate and criminal
classes.
win the people of the East side
forget these slurs?
We hardly think So
Granting that all the Oklahoman
here AYERS is true it can not proper
ly have any bearing on the present
capital location scheme, which is OBJ
iected to, not on the grounds Of favor
to one or prejudice Of another OF the
contestants, but because the scheme
is:
/. A breach of good faith, in that
Il proposes to controyert that pro-
vision of the constitution which locat-
ed tho state capital at Guthrie until
1919.
2. The most dangerous piece OF
legislation ever proposed TO people,
in that II bears on its face q deter
Dnation TO raid the state treasury,
establish reign Of graft, destroy one
community, not for the benefit of tho
state or any tax payer, but for tho
iuther enrichment of a 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
aoma City this capital location fights
add esses itself to the voter in these
terms
|. Is there any public necessity for
1.-The state capital to be changed at
this timer II so, what Is that neccs-
sity?
p Will /, as a tax pyaer already
burdencd TO the limit, be benefited ia
proportion to the cost?
). Guthrie has been assured of the
capital until 1919; 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 VIC.
lenee 10 my own integrity for no 9TH
or purpose than to remove the cap
ltal less than fifty miles, further bur-
cen my own property, and do AN in-
justice to one community for no 9th
or purpose than TO further enrich au-
cther community?
And the conclusion being reached
by Gine out Of every ton voters not
allied with Oklahoma City In some
way IS iusI CHS: '.s---'
The present capital buildings at
q Guthrie a'e costing tho state not a
cent. Guthrie erected them and plac-
: cd chem at the disposal of the state
free of cost Therefore there IS no
r necessity for change at this time.
: | Will vote against the whole propo-
stion, leaving the question open for
J unprejudiced consideration at some fu-
tire time when my interests may be
q more carefully safeguarded.
And great majority of the votes
4 viii be cast along that line.
AS to Guth'ie having fought single
, statehood while Oklahoma City fay
; cred IL there is just this to say
Guthrie was then the state capital and
/ was conducting a selfish fight. The
OILY reason that Oklahoma City threw
its influence 10 the side of single
! Statehood was because Oklahoma City
I did not possess the capital and
/ thought by so doing il was advancing
) it's selfish interest y.
/ Will Oklahoma City or the Okla
boman pretend that il was actuated
+ by patriotismg