Arizona republican., 1911-05-26
MIR. CAMER0NS SPEECH
His Advocacy of the Minor ity Report on Resolution for Admission - Points Out Impossibility of the Majority Plan.

The following is the address of Deie- gate Cameron in the house of repre- sentatives sitting as the committee or the whole. in advocacy of the minority report on the resolution for the admis- sion of Arizona and New Mexico:
 MT Chairman. desire to say few words for Arizona and her efforts to gain a place in the sisterhOed ot states I am here in an attempt to remove from her path the last Of the obstacles that have for more than a score O. years barred her citizens from the privileges that are extended to others of their kind living under the Stars and stripes.
 Mr Chairman. your committee on territories has just reported d resOlu- tion for the admission of Arizona and New Mexico. There Is majority and a minOrity report. The majority re- port provides that Arizona be admitted and that. following admission. the mat ter of the recall of judges be voted up- on by the people of the proposed state. Tn other words it requires that the president shall approve of the constitU- ton of Arizona without knowing whether or not it is to contain the clause that is so objectionable to him.
 The minority report, however. takes a different view. It states that Ari- zona shall be admitted. provided she strikes out the recall of judges at the election of her first state officers. It has the effect of virtually striking out the provision of the recall of judges. - Arizona has her choice of striking out this clause or keeping out of the Union But it has the great advant- age of being acceptable to the presi- dent MT. Taft, I believe. will sign the minority resolution. Every indi- cation is that he will not sign the majority resolution. We must have the signature of the President to become a state. We want to take the proper steps to get that signature
 If the minority report is adopted and the measure passes the house there is every indication that it will pass the senate also. 1T it passes the senate the president will sign it, and the mat ter will be finally disposed of If the majority report is adopted 1t will meet opposition in the senate. The bill will come back to this side of the capitol for further action. If the house finally forced its majority report through the senate it would fail of approval by the president and we would be further from the goal than ever.
 Mir Chairman. it is statehood we want instead of the disfranchisement We have so long suffered. It is defin- ite action we want instead of legisla- ton with a string to it.
 It is now two years since President Tafts visit to Arizona. On that oc- casiOn he assured the territory of his friendship and his desire that statehood should soon be granted The plat forms of both parties had declared in favor of statehood There was ap- parently no obstacle in the way In the congress that followed Arizona was for the first time in many years repre- sented by a republican. Congress was republican, the administration was re- publican.
 The result of this combination of favorable conditions was that an en- abling act was passed and Arizona lacked only the framing of suitable constitution to become a state The president had told our people of the sort Of constitution he would approve and warned them against extremes But constitutional convention was called that was entirely dominated by democrats and these men framed the very constitution against which the president warned them. The result was that the territory failed If admis-
 
 gress. The result is that she is still on the outside looking in while she should even now be holding her elections for senators, representatives and state of ficerS
 Now. Mir. Chairman, took the posi- ton with the people of Arizona that the right thing for them to do under