Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-01-05
THE PREMATURE ADMISSION OF STATES

The admission of Dakota is again being
discussed. There can be no doubt that all
the affirmative considerations are based on
political reasoning. Indeed it is plain
enough that the premature admission of SO
many Territories to the Union has been
brought about through purely political
agencies. Nevada and Colorado were
neither of them fit to be States, yet they
were made SO because it was desired to give
them greater political significance because
certain politicians wanted to represent
them in Congress because certain other
politicians wanted places in the State
Governments. Self-interest was and al
ways has been the main inspiration in these
cases, and of course is in the case OF Da-
kota That Territory is not fitted to be a
State. 1t has not the necessary population.
1t is doing perfectly well under its Terri
torial Government, and will do so for the
next twenty years. The truth is that the
premature admission of new States is
weakening the republic. What it does
Is to create a number of rotten
boroughs, whence are sent to Congress
men who are essentially non, represent
alive; men who stand for some single
great interest very often, or who have &C.
tually bought their election as a good spec
ulation. These men go to Washington as
free.lances. They have no principles.
They are only nominally affiliated with
some party. They are on the lookout for
spoils of some kind, and they abuse the
powers vested in them, to the great and last
ing injury of the country. The votes of the
tree-lances, however, are as potent in Con-
gress as those of men who represent the
great constituencies of the most thickly-
populated centers. It is sinister and in
sidious change from the original theory of
representation. OF old it was men who
were represented. Nowadays we give acres
representation. We allow handful OF
politicians to put ring fence around a
hundred thousand square miles of terri
tory, containing perhaps from fifteen to
five and twenty thousand people, aud to
call that new State. And then the hand
full Of politicians come along and take their
positions on the same basis lin the Senate at
leastl as the men who stand for millions of
voters. And so the votes of millions
are weakened in force, and they
are sometimes overborne by the
new kind of false representation which
stands for little else than the nakedness Of
the wilderness. The too rapid admission of
these new States tends to foster corruption
in politics. extends the power Of the ma.
chine, supplies fresh spoiis for the rewards
of machine politicians. It is in it's way as
dangerous kind of growth as that which
Slavery was bent upon making. There
ought to be no new States admitted to the
Union until the machine in politics
has been destroyed, and until Civil Service
reform has been adopted as the law and
custom OF the land. And not even then
unless the Territory soliciting admission
can be shown to have at least as much pop.
ulation-not as the abortiye States lately
admitted, but as those which were admit
ted in the old times, before this method Of
increasing and extending the power of the
ssmachine " had been devised.