Arizona republican., 1912-06-19
The First Legislature

On the passing Of the first Arizona legislature it will be proper to write it's obituary. It is an adage that noth- ing but good should be said de mortuis,' and we are not going to say anything very bad
 The legislature has agreeably dis appointed those of us who feared a general tearing up of things by the roots. It was swept into place by a rising tide of radicalism but which has since happily shown signs of d recession promising that calm which Arizona had so long enjoyed and which seemingly habituaI repose had invited the cooperation of capital with the citizens of the territory for the development of its great resources.
 Capital had good reason to believe that conditions in the new state were shortly going to become unfavorable. It was almost openly menaced by those in authority. It was told in truculent tone that it would be pro tected if it would behave itself
 There was a disposition. more than disposition, to embrace all the fol- lies of the time; there was more than tendency to enter upon all sorts of wild experiments. The chief advisers of the administration were those who have been dwelling in the land of Utopia and proposes to annex Arizona to it. They had lived in a country where there is no need of capital; where there is no need of develop ment; where there is perfection on earth.
 The appeals of the administration were directed to socialism, not to rational socialism, but to that social ism of the dreamer, the ignorant. the the dissatisfied.
 The legislature has checked much of this folly and it has gone far to- ward the restoration of confidence in Arizona. The house has been chief " instrumental in the application of the brakes. Nearly all the proposed radical legislation originated in the senate or in the handful of the ad- ministration supporters in the house of it. though in all legislatures, as well as in the congress the upper house" is recognized as the balance wheel Here, the house early became the balance wheel
 Tn minimizing are apt to measure the usefulness of a legislative body the wise measure a legislature by it's success in having prevented the en- actment of harmful and foolish legis- lation. Considering the inexperience and even the ignorance of many mem- bers of any state legislature it must be expected that there shall be a some ridiculous. It is more essential that these should be suppressed than that really useful Ieeislation should be enacted.
 The house of the first Arizona legislature has generally been suc- cessful in the work of suppression and at the same time, it has had time to enact some really good legis- lation.
 The Republican cannot, of course, approve all that the house has done. No legislature has ever yet met the full approval of the majority of all the people and no legislature has avoided wholly the doing of unwise things. Legislatures are made up only of humans.
 The senate while not lacking the native or trained ability possessed by the members of the house sur rounded itself with unfortunate cir cumstances at the outset. It entered upon politics rather than legislation It imposed upon itself the herculean task of supporting the administration a load under which it has since groaned. The house assumed nc such burden. It was it's freedom from this handicap that left it the more efficient of the two bodies and ono result is that it stands higher il favor, not only with the party tC which a majority of the member: belong, but with the people of thu territory regardless of party.