Yankton daily press and Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1875, 1875-07-03

should always remain on our statute
books, as a provision against,.the re-
currcncc Of tie grasshoppef plague.
Other northern states and territories
would undoubtedly cooperate with
Minnesota in tlfs sort OF legislation.
But while tlis duty of sell-protcction
would dcyolvc primarily on the east
crn states themselves, and the ma
chinery of the state government and
of the county and town ,administra-
tiens, would be necessary to carry the
system into operation, it is plainthat
rthe expense ought to be borne. liy the
general government. For the frontier
states and territories which are cx.
posed TO the first visit of the invad
ing hosts of armed ls,naclitcs OF the
desert, would, if the expense OF their
obstruction was borne by them ex-
clusively. pay the ecost not ouly of
saving their own crops from dcvasta-
lion, but Of the states beyond and
around them. Thus, Kansas, Nc
braslSa and Dakota would stand guard
over Iowa, Missouri and Kansas, and
these latter over the states farther
eastwood, so that clearly these, states
aud territories which guard the frontier
from the invading hordcs of rcd-lcgs>
ought not to bear alone the expense
tof protecting the harvests. Of, the
whole northwest. Moreover the
whole United States is dependent up.
on this group Of the wester states for
their bread and meat. Its the great
tide of cereals from the northwest
pouring through the channels Of trade
which keeps oil the wheels Of com
-mercc-in-mnlinn-:L which redress S the
unequal balance Of our foreign trade;
which gives the cities their business,
.thc railroads and ships their lricgh,s.
t,r o.!e-eetsiaaetss.- ,therciurc,in:
Iterested IN the PFotecTi0ll- Of the W t1rut t
and corn crops Of the west from the
destroying hopper. But we not put
the argument for tic action of con.
gress on this ground, which might be
emplcyed as a plea for aid from tic
national treasury iii case OF amy local
calamity which involved the ,les,,ue-
tiomof theastaples of commence, except
as an incidental! support TO the main
argument. We put it on the ground
already mentioned tia, where a wide
spread calamity is avcrted from sew
Eerul states at the cost of those most
Immediately exposed. the cx.
pcnsc of protecting the whole
.lrcatenea region ought not to be
borne By the states and territories
III the front, and tint therefore as the
==only-naenns of c4nal!zing the burden
it should be borne by the national
treasury, mainly for this reason, and
incidentally because the interests in
volvcd concern the whole country.
! Congress should, OF course, do this
for the territories; because the ter
Iitories are the wards Of the general
government, and it should do it for
4 the states for the above reasons
i should, therefore, e,aet-a a law OF
uniform application TO all tie states
j and territories, providing for the pay
mcnt OF bounty from the national
treasury OF, say % cen,s per bushcl
for dead loc.,s,s under regulations pre-.
scribcd by the state or territorial leg
islatures, with proper guards against
fraud which it is easy enough to de-
wise, though it is not always easy te
prcven, fraud when money is to he
gained hy cheating. Under such a
law Of Congress the whole popnla.
.tTtiou of the western states and terri
. tories. in the event OF a grasshopper
). raid, would he enlisted ii. "a ewar- OF
!. extcrmina'ioil, and it is pretty certain
that with each recurring visitation
their numbers would grow less, till
as population advanced westward
they would disappear almost entirely
from the continent. at any rate they
! would cease to be an agency of dc
struc,ion or cause of alarm.