Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-02-15
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UNCOUTH LEGIsLATORs.
The Journal, of Sioux City, conveys to tn
public the information that the legislator
Of Dakota has seriously offended Governo
Howard BY neglecting to accept the invita-
ton Of President Wicker in proper form
through the medium Of his excellency. l
probably would have been more in accord
ance with the etiquette of the occasion t
have taken that course, but we are satisfied
that this formality was unintentionally over.
looked. We are further satisfied that the
governor has taken no offence because OF
this inadvertency. It was his intention to
participate in the excursion, but his car
rage was a few minutes too late for the train
and he consequently failed to make himself
a member of the party. The Journal ex-
plains, in a silly, p%atronizing sort of a way,
how it happens that members Of Dakota
legislatures do not know any better than to
snub an executive. 1t is interesting to read
this portion of the Journals article, because
ii enables US to see ourselves as mot others,
butt the Journal sees us. 1t says:
OF course, the legislature has acted very
discourteouely; but The Journal, with no
other information upon the matter than
what its correspondent affords in his letter,
questions whether the governor ia not undu.
ly controlled by his sensitive feelings. The
legislature of Dakota is composed of men
not oyer and above familiar with polite so.
ciety. Dakota at it's best is not to any par
ticular extent an educator in style. Some
Of these men, with the best of motives and
the kindliest of feelings, might enter the
governors room and salute him with "Old
Hoss," and cit down with their hats on, and
put their feet on his table and under his
very nose, and yet not intend to be offensive.
The governor is fresh from q state quite re.
mote from the frontier and has the advan>
tages Of a drawlng-room education. 1t is
hard to teach old dogs new tricks, and yet
peopl. twho go to Rome should do whatthe
can to dust themselves TO the society they
are in. 1t therefore occurs to us hat posi-.
bly, The legislature has been the innocent
cause of this executive trouble. Gov.
McCook, as we remember, never was snubbed
in that way; and we cannot help but think
that if Gov. Howard had put on jack-boots,
and filled his pockets with cigars, and put
his hat on the back of his head, and been at
the depot on time, the boys would have said:
"How are ye, old fellah l" and never have
suspected that deep down in his heart were
lac rated feelings. II this excuse isn't
good, however, We have none to offer.
The city Of Sioux City, within which the
Journal is printed, and from which it's pure
breeding is acquired, is located about five
miles eastward from Dakota. Being so far
away from the uncouth people who make
up our population, it is of course badly
shocked over the deplorable condition of So
ciety here which has given rise to this event.
The blue blood of tie Journal boilsr over
the reflection that the members of our lesis.
sat're would probably call Governor How
:ta an "old hoss," and would without doub,
put their feet upon his table and be other
wise roughly familiar. The suggestion is fiat
and foolish. There is not a man in the
entire body who would not exhibit the same
decorum in the gubernatorial presence as
would the editor of the Journal or the resi-
dents of any of the states. Our people are
not a race of Doors. They live in a terrific
r.S, TO be sure, but they have NOT always
been upon the frontier. The refining in
~tlaences of the civilization of the far east
have entered into their manhood createdl long
before Dakota became their home. This
they have brought with them.
They have made it characteristic feature
IF public and private life, and whatever
may be their other %failings, the people of
our territory are courteous, g%entlemanly and
the very essence of good breeding. We
deem the foregoing description of our leg
manner an overdrawn picture of a
purely imaginative. 1t will be
uplby papers farther east, trimmed
down, added too and embellished with all
he acute ingenuity of the pa%ragraphist and
lie < we hear of it the entire east will be
over the positive fact that the leg.
Of Dakota call their venerable gov
an 'ssold boss" and that they place their
humber twelve cowhides upon his table and
lick over his ink bottle and mucilaee and
a d%eliciously barbarous time out here
'pon The free and easy frontier.