The Arizona copper camp., 1920-10-23
GILA COUNTY'S
FAMILY FUSS IS
Menace To STATE

GLOBE, Oct 22.-Gila county's
family quarrel" dragged before the
state for settlement with the initiation
of the county division. measure, has
taken on a new angle Miami inter-
ests, who launched and have vigorous
ly supported the measure, have openly
declared that if the measure is de-
feated at the general election, they
will Immediately start a movement to
change the county seat from GioEe to
Miami.
The county division measure has a
history far more eventful and COM
plicated than any other measure that
will be voted on November End It's
ancestors date back to 1914, when Mi
ami interests sought to divide Gila
county. By a large majority, Gila
county voted against this plan. Since
then Miami interests, led by Cleve
Van Dyke, owner of the townsite of
Miami, have repeatedly threatened to
attempt to make Miami the county
seat.
When the county division measure
was first launched, it received strong
support in two districts in the state
Miami and Mesa. Under it's provi-
sions both districts would be able, cas-
lily, to withdraw from their present
counties. Inasmuch as Gila county
has already voted against county divi-
sion, the initiated measure was
framed to change the laws of the
state SO as to take away from an en-
tire county the right to vote on coun-
ty division and give it only to voters
within the section that might want
to withdraw.
Confidence that the Evan Dyke coun-
ty division measure" as it is gener-
ally known, would be adopted at the
general election was strong in Miami
until the early part of this week, when
word was received that o. S. Stapley,
conceded to have been the head of
county divisionists at Mesa, had an
nounced that he was opposed to the
measure Mr.. Stapley, for many years
a leader in the affairs of the southside
Of Maricopa county, said that, al
though he favored change in county
division laws, he was opposed to any
county division measure that would
take away the right of all the people
in county to vote on the question.
When this report was received in
Miami, county divisionists there, who
are said to have relied strongly upon
the probability of Mr.. Stapley and
other residents of Mesa supporting the
Van Dyke bill, announced, through a
Miami newspaper that has led the
fight in favor of the measure, that if
the county division measure were vot-
ed down, action would be taken to call
an election for removing the county
seat of Gila to Miami
This new attitude will not affect the
fight t'eing waged against the meas
ure by the State Anti County Division
association, according to it's chairman,
Farley P Greer.
"The threat Of putting Gila county
to the expense of a county seat re-
moval election unless the Van Dyke
measure is passed doesn't worry us"
"That is an affair that concerns only
Gila county. But the attempt to put
over this county division measure
concerns the entire state, because it
would take away~the right to vote Of
every county as a whole in Arizona.
The Van Dyke interests may some
day succeed in taking away the county
seat from Globe, but 1 don't think they
will ever take away the right of
thousands of people in Arizona to the
ballot"