The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-10-26
For the Jor SSAI
sama;ssrr Sovereignty.

understood. Popular Sovereignty IS the.
absorbing themein the political arena of
this county. on the part Of the Douglas
Democracy, Each. aud every poiiticsl as
pirant needs some newGingled notion or
| hobby on which 10 ride himself, and also
| To- carry the multitude. 4 hue.ahd cry is.
raised, aud it matters little what the watch
word is, or whether its import il at al I'M
derstodd, the guards must rally at once,
tie rank and file must wheel in and march
to wlrater tune is pipcd, whether it be Old
Hundred or Yankee Doodle.
But what, LET us ask, is Squatter Sow
ereignty? 1t is-said to be, ."The right of
of the people Of a territory of the United
States, to make their own laws, and all
ncedful regulations, without the sanction
or appreciation Of Congress"
/ Il must contain the, latter provision,
otherwise there is nothing new about it,
since the people Of the territories have al
WAYS had that right, subject to the sane
ton of Congress. On what new hinge
i then does this question turn! Simply
/ this, Tie power Of Congress to leg5slate
! for Tie teri tories. s.r- ss3
!! Now What is the real position of the
! great political parties on that question.
Tire Republicans claim that the terrific.
rics sustain similar relation to the Fed
3, eral Government, to that CT a minor to his
parent, guardian or protector, and that
Congress has a supervising power over
the territorial goyernmcnt--that,i in fact,
Congress created them, and that tho erea-
ton is not greater tlanthe creator. They
maintain further that this prervgatse OF
! Congress has been recognized and exer-
I cised. ever, since the organization Of our
government .ae-a ,a Il baa.ai 80
4 The Southern wing of tho Democracy
q admit that Congress has the constitution
! al power to legislate for the territories, but
! contend that it lis limited to the protection
of slavery. and cannot be exercised for its
! prohibitions, or its oxterpation. Bat Judge
! Douglas knocks now hole through the
head of this political drum, and proclaims
I the right of every political community
within the bounds of this confederacy, to
4 legislate for itself being amenable to no
higher power nor subject to its direction
any'farthcr than is now every regularly
organized state. Tho Judge tells us, rea
soning from analogy, that the territories
stand III the same relation to the general
Government that tho colonies originally
stood to the Mother Country. But he
does not tell us that any territory has, as
yet, declared her independence from and
7 Of the Federal Government. When he
does this it viii be time enough to consid-
er the nature and application of his COM
parison. Till then, tho presumption is
! that no such declaration has been made,
and that, on ths other band they not on
" claim, but are entitled toprotection I'M
! der the common flag of our country;
hence the comparison of the very learned
/ iurist and able statesman amounts to moth
inc but an idle sophi.u. Further, it will
not be donied that each organized terrific
ry is represented III Congress by dele
!, cato chosen by the people; and although
I. he has voice. directly in making or sane
. tioning laws, the very fact Of his being
there. is presunptive evidence that the
!, peopo of the territories concede the right
of Congress to IegisIate for them. But it
remains for Judge Douglas to proclaim to
the benighted psopla of the territories OF
these United States, that they neither
know or appreciate their political rights;
and it remains for the followers of this
venerable Judge to ring the tocsin to
awaken the people Of the states to theun-
askcd-for, and uncarcd for rights and priv
ileges of the people of the territories
Wonderful man. His days will doubtless
be short and full of WOOL Wonderful
sympathy, and wonderful philanthropy,
also, On the part of his followers; they
would compass both sea and land to make
one PROSTATE to the Douglas theory, tread
inc upon the necks of five millions of
American slaves without ever drea ming
that Mey possess any rights which q white
man is bound to respect!
But let us follow this new tangled the
cry = little farther. How is a territory to
be first organized, except it be under the
/ pro, isions Of the general governments
And when organized, who is TO determine
what shall be the incipient or the military
step to its becoming, or being endowed
with all the rights and immunities OF