Arizona republican., 1911-01-23
New Mexico's Time to Laugh.

| The constitution proposed for New
 Mexico was ratified by the people of that territory on Saturday by an inn
 mense majority. Ratification was con lfidently expected by all observers of
 the campaign, although the S; e Of the majority may be somewhat surprising in view of the strong organized oppo- sition by the prohibitionists and Q ma jority of the democratic party. For quite different reasons the democrats
 and the prohibtionists opposed rati | Ification. but their combined Opposi- tion did not muster more than one
 third of the total vote.
 It would have been astonishing. in deed, if the constitution had failed
 of ratification In the later history
 of the United States there is not an instance of popular rejection of proposed constitution The people of
 territory are generally so anxious
 for statehood that they are willing to
 
 which will take them into the union of
 states. Congress evidently failed to give sufficient weight to this fact when the enabling acts for the two
 territories were passed. It was quite useless to provide, as congress did. that the people of either territory fr,I
 posed and still gain statehood by framing another constitution and rati- flying it The popular impulse is to accept the first chance offered. And no doubt the situation in both terri
 tories has been complicated to some extent by the failure of many people first constitution proposed would not imperil statehood in any way-that
 the delegates of the first convention
 would be compelled to reassemble,
 frame another set of ordinances and
 submit their work again to the cleo tors.
 | AL dIlN idNtE ANNN 4lNAlNO BibAlibNAs
 jumped at the first opportunity to
 ratify a constitution. just as Arizona
 will doubtless do on the sth of next
 month.
 There is this difference in the status
 of the two territories just now. how
 ever New Mexico has adopted a lcon-,;.,,t;o,, ,-t,;.I, ,--,,rodI,, ,,,;u bc
 promptly approved at Washington:
 Arizona is likely to approve a consti-
 tuition which in all probability will be promptly rejected at Washington. There is humor in the situation
 for New Mexico. Arizona had the laugh on her sister territory when. a
 few years ago. we voted down an offer
 of congress to admit us with New Mexico as one state. The joke was
 on New Mexico. because the people of Arizona had turned up their noses at the New Mexicans as undesirable associates in the government of a state In q somewhat chesty manner we lnNlleu lne WoTlu to NllHeSS our seIf-sacrificing spirit-our preference to remain a territory forever rather than go into the Union hooked up with New Mexico" All mankind was invited to consider the fact that the people of Arizona were eminently su
 perior to the common run of New Mexicans. and that in token of our knowledge of this superiority we had voluntarily chosen to remain terri tory. Arizona got some fine adver- Using out of the deal.
 But "poor old New Mexico" bided her time. It soon will be her time to laugh. and her time to get some ad- vertising that is worth while. She will find the door at Washington swinging invitingly open for her. and will indulge in some jeering. we expect, when the same door is shut against the admission of Arizona. New Mex ico will be quick to invite public at tention to the fact that she has been dufnltleu as ueSHdDle pN the states. while Arizona-the much be- praised Arizona of a few years ago-has failed. in the judgment of Washington. to show those qualities of conservatism and those capdbili ties of self government of which we boasted so much.
 However, we have shown the world that we are for the recall" which possibly will offset the disadvantages of defeat at Washington. It is worth l something-ma advertise to the | world that we have so little confi- | dence in our ability to elect honest | men to office-particularly to the l bench-that we wouldn't give up the recall. even for statehood.