Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1875-09-25
HOW A TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
WORKS.

Gov. Bennett, of Idaho, is now on {
visit to his old home, Richmond, Indi
ana. A reporter interviewed him OIL
Idaho Territory, and among many othel
excellent things, the Governor puts il
this plea for the Territories:
I promised to tell you something
about the workings of the Territorial
government. I can conceive of nc
greater anomaly in free government
than this Territorial system. The plar
was originally intended as mere tenn
porary arrangement, and as was ex'
pected, the first oeganized Territories
soon became States, so the the hard
chips of Territorial vassalage were Of
short duration. But now, where there
are so many Territories, covering an
area of the country about as large as
the States, and when Congress has pro-
vided that none shall be admitted as
States, until having the population
requisite for representation in the
House of Representatives, to w.t. 132,-
900, it becomes evident that the system
in many cases, ceases to become tempo
rary, and partakes largely of the per-
manent, for it will take many years for
all the Territories to become States un-
der the new rule adopted. In the
meanwhile the people of the Territories
are wholly disfranchised and held in a
sort of vassalage, wholly inconsistent
with the principles of democratic gov
ernment. The citizen of Territory is
with the citizen of State, equally in
terested in all great questions of polit-
ical economy that can present them
selves for discussion and solution. Tar
ifs, revenues, internal improvements,
appropriations, politics, foreign and
domestic; and questions of peace aud
war affect them equally with the citizen
of New England, while in the govern
ment of the Indians, the management
of the public land, the improvement of
rivers, the construction of railroads,
the regulation of mining, and many
other important questions, the citizens
of the Territories have q deeper and
more direct interest than has the 0iti-
zens of the States, The people of the
Territories are taxed for the support of
the General Government precisely as
are the people of the States, and are
compelled to obey the same laws. and
are subject to the same penalties. And
being the sons and brothers of the free
men of the States, certainly loose no
rights by reason of blood. And hav-
ing discarded the lazy ease and unpro-
ductiye contentment of the old homes
in the States, and enlisted in the great
army of pioneers, who, westward follow
the star of empire, plant the flag of
their country in the valleys and on the
hilltops of new land toward the setting
sun, are certainly not less patriotic
than their less adventurous brothers
who are contented to remain forever in
sight of the smoke that curls from the
chimney, in the corner of which they
were born. And having, with brave
hearts apd brawny arms. b!a2ed the
road to civilization, opened the gates to
the great storehouse of gold and silver,
which supply the world, and added star
after star to the great constellation of
States, are surely not less deserving
than those who quietly enjoy the fruits
of all this labor. Yet, the people of
Territories are deprived OF oil voice in
national affairs and are not allowed
even free local government. They
have no vote for President, although
the President exercises a vast executive
power over them, and appoints their
local rulers. They have no full repre-
sentation in either branch of Congress,
although that body imposes on them
taxation, and enacts laws for the regu-
lation of their dearest interests, and, if
not satisfied with this, reserves to itself,
and often exercises the right of annull-
ing the acts of the Territorial Legisla-
lures. And then, when the people OF
the Territories ask for donation of an
insignificant portion of the vast sage
| brush plains, to assist them to build a
railroad, with which to open up to the
world tho immense resources of the
country, and to furnish highway over
which millions of the unoccupied and
starving people of the States and of Eu-
rope could travel to lands " flowing
with milk and honey" they meet with
| the insane cry of "no more subsidies,
keep the public domain for actual set
tiers" And this put into party plat.
forms by vote-hunting demagogu es, is
howled from every stump by men who
are as ignorant of the subject as they
are of the "rule in Shelley's case" and
then echoed in the halls of Congress by
great statesmen who know as little ol
the public domain as the monkey used
to the malaria of tropical swamps knows
of the pure air of the summit of Chin
borazo; men who are so conceited thai
they dare not go to look for themselves
for fear that when they go West the
East will tip. Men talk of this subject
as if they imagined land was scarce out
! West, and that when used for building
| railroads, the owners OF it annihilated
| it or carried it off to some other planei
beyond the reach of the "actual set
tiers" They forget how many millions
L y ~