White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1925-05-22
State of Lincoln League
Formation Here Is Urged

COT1udt1Ou here Ii OrSCO
Observation-Disclosures here OF
the State of Lincoln League for the
purpose Of making fight in the spe-
cial November session Of the legisla'
ture for 49th state composed OF
easter nWashington and the Panhan
die of Idaho is urged by Attorney
James Emmett Royce.
Attorney Royce has pledged his
support to the formation Of such
league by announcing that he Will
"be gla a to meet with any group OF
citizens who will get into the game
and put this project over"
His plan provides that Eastern
Washington legislators be immediate
ly put on record as favoring the new
state.
ri have read with great interest re-
cent newspaper articles and inter-
views criticizing Governor Hartley's
veto of the bill which would have
given relief to the wheat farmers OF
the Big Bend and the approval Of his
action by the powerful senate major
ity. While my sympathies are entire
ly with the stricken ranchers, feel
this is not getting at the real seat Of
the difficulty" Royce said.
II am satisfied Governor Hartley
acted in entire good faith in the mat
ter-according to his lights. But a
Puget Sound administration can never
come any closer to approaching the
problems of Eastern Washington than
we could to solving the difficulties Of
Florida or Texas.
'This is not new development. 1t
is simply getting closer to the last
straw. Personally believe it is the
last slap in the face Eastern Wash
ington ought to be expected to take"
1--WE simply have nothing in com:
mon with the Puget Sound country.
Their salmon fishers and Jap traders
simply can not trot in double harness
with our grain ranchers, timber work
ers and fruit growers. The Columbia
and the Cascades are more than mere
physical barriers. They divide, as
well, all the ideas and viewpoints of
the people.
"Over in Idaho their situation is al
most exactly parallel. The Panhan-.
die has no more in common with the
south half Of the state than If they
were in different countries. And
South Idaho, with the bulk Of the
population and political power, has
the north counties almost at It's
mercy. Witness the recent progress
in the attempt to emasculate the state
university at Moscow!
"But the Panhandle of Idaho is twin
brother to Eastern Washington. Their
interests dovetai1; their people think
and move alike.
For years we have been talking
about a union of Eastern Washington
and Northern Idaho by the creation of
the new state of Lincoln. Now is the
time to stop talking and do something.
''The thing is feasible and 1t is de-
sirable. It can and should be done.
Think of state with an area com
parable to Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio,
West Virginia, Maine, South Carolina,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachu-
sets, Connecticut and Rhode Island
all put together. A state with Spo-
kane as its capital and sister cities
like Occur d'Alene, Wallace, Lewis.
ton, Moscow, Walla Walla, Colfax,
Colville, Wenatchee and the rest. A
state containing the largest body OF
white pine timber dn the world; with
the Palouse, the richest grain growing
land in the Union; with unlimited
water power; with the tremendous
ore deposits of the Occur d'Alenes and
the bountiful orchards of the Walla
Walla, Chelan and Spokane valleys.
"The thing Is really simpler than
1t looks. Our basic law and legal ma
chinery are 80 much like Idaho's that
framing a constitution should be easy.
We would have, already established
oIaI0 .NOAAO60 oI ! uAAAAdA oAu q 6tdL0
university at Moscow, with normal
schools, asylums, state prisons and
other institutions already functioning.
Heretofore we have been magnify
ing the difficulties. True, we need
the consent of the Washington and
Idaho legislatures and the approval
Of congress. We have been told con-
gress would object because It would
mean the creation of two new sena-
tors. Why should that be an objec-
tion when the new senators would be
practically bound to be members Of
the political party already holding a
majority there?
1.-THE first thing is to get busy with
our legislature. It will meet again in
November. Let's put every member
Of 1t on record right now for or
against the plan. II they are against
it, we can make change of personnel
at the next election"
Cooding Attacks Rates
~