Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-09-23
Give Reason a Chance.

For ten years ana more the state
OF Kansas was a business byword
and a commercial reproach. The
people of the Sunflower state had SO
many isms on their minds that they
had neither time nor thought for
aught else. They knew they were
in trouble. and when fanatical laws
failed TO lift them out of their slough
OF despond they fatuously sought
relief in the enactment of more laws
Of the same kind. Populism was in
the saddle and business fairness and
business sense were sent to the hos
pital.
Then. one day along back in 1896, a
country newspaper man named Will
liam Allen White sat down at his
desk and wrote an editorial on
What's the matter with Kansas"
He reviewed conditions as they were
and showed the people clearly " hat
was wrong. He showed that dema-
gogy had blinded the eyes of the
citizenship of Kansas and that cheap
political ambition, by ringing the
changes on popular passion, had en-
genderod a feeling of distrust and
prejudice that repealed capital dis
.Couraged investment, and bade fair
10 wreck the state on the rocks Of
hatred and ignorance He implored
the people To quit their foolishness
and use little common sense in the
handling of public affairs.
That editorial was read and re-
read in every section Of the United
States. 1t was read in every city
and town and hamlet in Kansas, and
its effects were felt and are still
felt throughout the length and
breadth Of the state For Kansas did
follow Whites advice; and for more
than decade it has enjoyed a PROS
perity equal to that of the most
favored state Of the union
The observing citizen will find a
lesson for Arizona in this homely
bit Of history. For the same class
of people who almost broke the back
.of Kansas are operating in Arizona
this very minute They are short on
numbers but they are long on roiso
and if left to work their will they
viii do precisely the thing that was
done in the older commonwealth.
This class of citizens has formed
a school Of demagogy-a school
founded on distrust It distrusts the
men who happen to be chosen to the
bench; it distrusts all state, county
and district officers; it distrusts the
Legislature; it distrusts the inter
ests," and it distrusts every man
who happens to have made a sue
cess.
It's funny institutions this
demagogic school. 1t invites capital
to the new state and then it sets
a watch upon the man who OWLS the
capital Not satisfied with that, it
sets a second watch upon the first.
Now. we can follow that policy if it
pleases US; or we can do this:
We can do as they did in Kansas.
We can quit raising political hades
and raise more farm products. We
can chuck the blatant demagogue
into the background and we can put
a common sense citizen into his
place. We can throw hysteria into
the discard and give human reason a
chance
For there is no cause to be alarmed.
Despite the hysterical shrieks Of these
demagogic gentlemen the NAV of the
interests" is not yawning for our
homes and our liberties. And if it
is. it is pretty well established fact
that the people Of Arizona are abund-
antly able to take care Of them
selves. There is no reason for this
distrust. There is a fair average Of
honor and honesty here. About all
the people Of Arizona need is the
chance to work out their own destiny
Listening to the Nominations of
this school of demagogy one would
think that the people of this com
mOnwealth are children and that
these demagogic gentlemen are their
duly appointed and legally qualified
guardians. But the truth is that the
people Of Arizona are not in need
OF guardianship. The most reason
able thing to do is to drop this hys-
terra and these warnings" into the
limbo Of forgetfulness and in our
civic and industrial affairs get down
to the basis of common sense.