The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1883-11-24
nlnrma NEwc NorES
UiUhih MEMO NUlED.


WASHINGTON, Special Telegram, Nov ID
doy. Ordway is in the city, and has been en-
sagea 70 deg in reading the proof of his an
nual report He discovers that the wires, in
transmitting a synopsis of ii, have changed
some words, giving 1t o meaning entirely diff
eereht from what he intended. For instance,
he ''so-called constitutional convention. "
was made to read scattered constitutional
convention According to his report. his esti-
mate of the wheat crop in Dakota was fifteen
10 thirty bushels per acre. The total school
revenues are $500, 600. instead of $125, 600
The following important suggestions in re-
gard to county organization have been added
TO the report
The act of congress for the organization and gov
eminent of Territories evidently did not contem-
plate imposing upon the governor such important
varied and extensive duties as the Legislative as
sembfy os Dakota has ilnpasal@ Among the most
important and difficult is that imposed By law 10
The organization of new counties. Chapter Il OF
the political code provides that whenever fifty or
upwards of the legal voters IN an
unorganized county shall petition the
governor, he shall proceed, in case he
Is satisfied that there are fifty or more legal and
qualified voters in the county, 70 organize 1t by ap"
pointing three persons residents thereof as county
commissioners. These commissioners. after hav-
ing qualified. are a law unto themselves SO FAR as
the government Is concerned, and are authorized TO
appoint ali of the county officers, locate
and fix the county seat, and are
vested with almost unlimited powers.
There is no provision of law authorizing the gov
ernor TO suspend or remove either the commits
sionars whom he has appointed. or any or their APP
~pointees acting as county officers. All or these
officers hold and continue IN once untl the hext
general election, which occurs once liz two years;
hence officers appointed shortly after a gen.
eral election hold nearly two years. and have
ample time. through their Appointees, to so
mold and shape the affairs OF the new county that
designing men can fasten themselves and their sat
elites upon a county at subsequent elections. In
short, everything depends upon the faithfulness
and fidelity of the first or appointed county COM
missioners. Shortly after assuming once,
/ undertook TO decide these cues
tons early. but q bitter experience
in organizing the county OF Douglas satisfied me
that a sufficient delay. in order TO develop the
character of the persons representa- g the different
factions in a new county, was almost
to which 1 have referred, after two weeks
Investigations commissions were issued
for the parties In the petition under
the belief that a vesy competent board had been
secured. flew months later Information came to
the executive that one OF the parties TO
whom q commission had been issued had
not qualified; taat another was a myth
in the company, and that the one who had pre-
sented the petition, ana the member of the council
who recommended him, had deliberately deceived
the executive with a forged and ~perjured petition,
and sese issaihg and selling fraadnlent warrants
and school bonds issued against the company TO 0
very large amount. Sufficient evidence having
been produced to me. proving that but one
Of tie parties to whom / had originally
issued a commission for the organization of Doug
las county had pretended TO qualify, l took the
responsibility of reorganizing the county with a
competent and honest board of commissioners.
who refused to recognize any OF the frauduient
warrants or bonds pretended 10 have been Issued
BY the first board. The legislative assembly
approved my action, and passed a law
making it a penal ofense for any officer OF Douglas
county to recognize or pay any of these fraudulent
claims against the county, and In this way Inc
county has been saved from financial ruin and Is
rapidly filing mp with an excellent class Of settlers.
In one or two other instances | have
been deceived by the pressure for
hasty action. In none of the counties
whe ample time has been taken for careful investi-
CATION, and also to enable the early settlers to be-
come better acquainted with one another, have
there been any serious frauds perpetrated The
clsmor, however. for early organization = %constan,
and exceedingly annoying. The las legislative
assembly enacted strong refunding bills for the
regulating county Of Yankton and the
enormous bonded indebtedness Of Lawrence
county, and also for several Other counties, whereby
the rate Of interest has teen so much reduced that
no reputation of comfy debts Will be likely to oc-
cur in Dakota.