Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1884-12-23
HARRlsoN eoa oAkorA.

| ceus0 " s9onAtOE vests lolo0n0oQ0 70.
sarding Dakota.
HARRISON F0R Dakota.
The Speech Of the senator from Indiana in
Behalf Of the Admissisn VI the STATE of
Dakota aud the Creation of the Tsrriesry
Of Lincoln.
The senate. % in committee Of the
whole. having under consideration the
bill u. 1852 to enable the people of that
part of the territory of Dakota south OF
the forty sixth parallel of north latitude
to form constitution and state govern
ment, and for the admission of the state
into the union ON an equal footing with
the original states, and for other pur.
poses
Mr.. Harrison said:
Mr.. President: It perhaps ought to
be assumed, when bill has been read ct
length % this has been, that the senate
is sufficiently possessed of the details of
the bill TO make unnecessary any further
statement of its contents. think, how
ever, that this presumption, 10 in our
ordinary experience here, perhaps Q little
violent. Therefore, with the hope that
it may reach some OF those who have not
gathered from the reading of the bill its
tenor aud eject, I shall proceed to make
brief statement of what the bill is and
what II proposes to do.
The bill proposes to divide the exist
ing territory Of Dakota upon the forty
sixth parallel OF north latitude, being
very nearly an equal division of the ter
ritory. It proposes to organize into q
state that portion of tho territory lying
south of the forty sixth parallel, to con.
tinue for that portion of the territory
north OF that parallel the present terri
torial government, and to transfer to it
the officers of the present territory of
Dakota. It gives to that part of Dako-
to which retains territorial organiza-
ton the name of Lincoln. As to the
state. it provides for . constitutional
convention, aud that the constitution
framed by it shall be submitted to q
popular vote. II the constitution is
adopted, and is conformable to the re-.
qulrements of the bill, which are those
generally found in these enabling acts,
the president is then. required to make
proclamation of that fact, and the state
is to be thereupon admitted into the
union on equal footing with the other
states. 4lf57i. 7af 5}i
As to the land grants which are con.
tained in the bill, they are substantially
those which have been found, almost
without exception, in all of the bills sd.
mitting tho organized territories of the
country into. the union of the states
They are grants chiefly for school pur.
/ poses. There are one or two smaller
grants to the state for the purpose 81
erecting public bulldogs, and one grant
which has been already made BY con
gress to the territory as y territory j,
revived and vested in the new state,
The movement for the admission of 4
new member into the sisterhood OF statel
should originate with the people to be
Affected BY it. Such . movement should
not have its impetus outside of people
Il OF the state to be constituted. I do no,
need to say that this discussion, if 1t il
kept upon the plane to which it belongs
can not degenerate into q partisan dis.
cussiOn; that We can not divide upon il
ON party lines; becauss to consider the
i application OF this people for admission
to the union in its relations to the snc.
cesses or reverses Of q political party ID
to consider it from level altogether be.
low that OF craftsmanship.
n The movement for the admission oI
south Dakota into the union had the
origin that I have indicated % the
proper origin. 1t originated in Dakota
The desire of that people for admission
into the union has been brought to thl
attention of congress repeatedly in thI
last four or five years BY resolutions anl
memorials from the legislature of The
territory, by the expression of populal
conventions in the territory, ORGANIZED
without reference to party, and BY thl
repeated declarations and resolutions O
the political conventions of both partie,
from year to year. gF
The legislature of Dakota as esrly q,
1870 memorialized congress for the divi
q sion of the territory, using this language
Your memorialists would further rep
resent in evidence OF this, our petition
!! that while the said new territory 10 Re
mote from the main line Of travel II
southern Dakota, and 10 separated there
, from by broad extent OF unoocupiet
and wild country, yet the Northern
! Pacific and Saint Paul and Pacific rail
roads will traverse the entire length o
the proposed new territory, giving i
direct and easy communication will
Minnesota and other states. by means o
which several thousand people hav,
already settled in the valley of tbs Re-
River valley of the North and other DOR
tions OF the proposed new territory, i,
which are established towns At distsno,
Of fifteen hundred miles by the nsases
travelled route from the capital aut
courts Of Dakota.
III This memorial and request for 4; tllyi
sion of the territory, for the organisation
of the northern part into O separate tor
ritory, was repeated BY tho Legislature .
! the session Of 1928, at the session 8 8
!, TlS74.75. and ct other sessions since. 3 .
In 1882 . popular convention W
asse mbled to consider the question: o
| the admission of southern Dakota a.
state. the proceedings Of which wer
submitted 10 the committee on terri
tories of tho, senate. The convention
assembled at Canton on the 21st day o
june, 1889, aud among the resolution
lsdopted BY it was the following: IGi
!. 0sso!ssds That. it is the sense of, thi
COD nyention, and vei believe it to ibs th,
!, general wish of the people Of thia tor
. ritory south Of the fofty.sixtii parsllei d
l north latitude, that the, north bounlSr,
Of the state Of Dakota be the forty. .sixti
parallel, the other boundaries remainiol
% they now srs.i rsss-;s1 .lggo-aa
iis This con sention 1as very largely at
tended Representatives, being preseu
. from Aotne twenty five organized cour
! ties u south Dakota. sIl3 ne aia1i
, etiTbS Legislature OF Dakota 10 1888 pss,
edA bili;prosiding for o. coustitutiras
eonyentien TO sbe assembled, 10. .soat
Dakota for tho purpose OF prepsFin
} and submittinr I'd cf,noresa a nm sfSf Z