The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-10
ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO.


on the conditional admission of Ari.
zona and New Mexico to Statehood,
The conditions are such that it is
curious TO see them insisted upon, be-
cause there is no way in which Con-
gress can enforce permanently the CON
ditions specified. In each case the
prospective State will be entirely at
liberty after Statehood to put its con.
stitutional provisions back precisely
where they are. This boing clearly and
admittedly the case, it is astonishing
to see the insistence of President Taft
and Of members of Congress on the OBJ
struction which they put in the way,
an obstruction that is necessarily only
temporary at best, or at worst, as the
case may be.
In the case of New Mexico, the OBJ.
lection stated in Congress is, that the
constitution as at present framed makes
it too difficult to amend that constitu-
ton. Practically, it is urged, the con"
stitution as now formulated for Mex,
leo must remain the constitution in
definitely, or perhaps for ever. Any
disability, however. which would ensue
upon this state of affairs, even grant
ing them to the full extent as stated
by the opposition. would fall upon the
people of New Mexico, and not upon
the people Of the United States in gen
eral. And, since the people of New
Mexico want it the way it is, it is diff
cult indeed to see why people outside
of New Mexico should put up this obiec
tion. However, New Mexico will doubt
less accede to the demand of Congress,
the amending of the constitution easier
than as proposed. And this itself will
facilitate the putting back of the con
stitution to the condition which the
New Mexican convention originally
placed it. That is, the very change
that Congress insists upon will help
New Mexico, after it eliminates the
provision objected to, to restore that
provision.
AS to Arizona. the opposition turns
upon the adoption in the pronosed con-
stitution of the State, of the initiative,
referendum, and recall, the application
of the latter to judges being especially
objected to. It will be easy for the
people of Arizona, in order to obtain
Statehood, to eliminate all of these for
the time being. Then, after Statehood,
If the Arizopians wish to restore those
provisions to the constitution, they can
easily do so; but, without putting them
in the constitution at all, they can be
established by statute, So, it is diff.
cult to see what the members of Con-
gress, OF President Taft, or both com.
hined, expect to gain by insisting upon
the temporary and empty triumph
which they are about 10 reap in the
elimination of those clauses from the
Arizona State constitution.
The two States may be said. there.
fore, to be admitted to the Union with
a string to the admission. That is. they
must amend in two particulars, even
though the amendment is merely tenn,
porary, and though the people can re-
store the constitutions as they are, or
get along very well without the pro.
visions in the constitution by passing
statutes that will amount to the same
thing. The action Of Congress as well
as that of President Taft, in this
matter appears to be petty, temporary,
and Of such a mere meddlesome char.
acter that it is impossible to avoid the
conclusion that craftsmanship has been
lost sight Of altogether in the dis
cussion of these two Statehoods.