The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-07-11

West Texas, Sam Houston for East Texas. and
Hogg for North Texas. Another suggestion is
that the state of West Texas be called Pan
handle.
Texans who believe that they have the right
to divide their state up into five parts base that
right upon the terms under which Texas was
annexed to the United States In 1916 At that
time sam Houston was president of the Renub-
lie OF Texas, Arson Jones was secretary OF state
and Isaac Van Zandt was the Texan charge
daffaires at Washington. Houston told Jones to
write Van Iandt letter Of instructions on how
to negotiate the treaty of annexation with the
United States, and sent j Pinckney Henderson
along TO help Van Zandt handle the matter with
the American secretary of state This letter
dated February 25, 1914, emphasized two points
not embraced In previous Instructions, the first
Of which was this. THE number of states into
which the Territory Of Texas shall be subdvided
Il Is presumabe that In the settlements alread,
made there Is sufficient population to const
tute one state, according to the requirements OF
the Federal Constitution, and that the remaining
territory Of the republic is sufficiently large 10
constitute three more at future period
You Will, therefore, provide In the treaty for
the ultimate creation Of at least four states
ana Tor their admission into the Union so soon
as the population Of the respective territories
Shall be sufficient for that purpose-and In the
meantime that territorial governments shall be
established and maintained as circumstances and
the wants of the people residing In those limits
respectively may render proper and necessary"
President Tyler, In his message of December
1914, refers to this same matter. Urging the
prompt and immediate annexation of Texas, he
says, Future legislatures can best decide as to
the number Of states which should be formed
If hat arrft.
deciding that question"
The bill to provide for the annexation Of
Texas to the United States and to restore the
ancient limits of the Republic which was final
" passed, says among other things wThe said
compact Of cession and annexation when made
as aforesaid, to provide further for the future
formation In said territories OF at least two
states. and II more than two, then four states,
and If more than four. then OF six states to be
hereafter admitted Into the United States of
America"
Henry Clay then living In retirement but d
candidate for the presidency, wrote letter.
April II. 1914, emphasizing the fact that Texas
was ultimately to be composed of five states and
declared that only two Of them would be slave
and three of them free
In that fact lies the fallacy of the Idea that
Texas has the right to divide itself into five
states. This Idea arose from d Instrumentation
OF the clause In the Joint resolution of congress
annexng Texas by which the Missouri compro-
mise line was carried to the west boundary of
Texas. AT that time Texas claimed territory far
north and provision was merely being made
that states subsequently carved from Texas
should be slave below the compromise line and
free above. Since the outcome of the War Be-
tween the States settled the question OF slavery.
IL also obyaed the necessity for determining
which Of the five new states were to be slave
and which were TO be free soil
Even though none OF these recent proposals
for the creation of new commonwealth from
those already existing has made much progress.
they have added to the literature OF states that
might have been and have revived the memory
OF other such proposals In the past If "Absa-
roka," "Illiana,' and "Texahomar would look
queer on map of The United States today how
much queerer would 1t look II 1t had pelIsypfa.
polypotamia, MetropotamIa and Chersonesns on
It, Yet there were such names on the maps OF
100 years ago and we might now have states
bearing those names Ii Thomas Jefferson had
had his way about X