Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-12-26

~rEhAs.-s2.co YER YEAR IN ADVANCE.
AS tn time for thcassembling of the
Legislature draws nigh the question Us
to who shah he President of the Coun-
Gil assumes q matter Of more chan local
importance. We have seen I number
OF names mentioned prominently in
This connection, Some Of the parties
mentioned are urged for the reason
that the parties who are suggested are
aminently qualified for the position.
others for the reason that the districts
they represent are entitled to recogni-
lion in this regard. THE HERALD has
had very little to say on this subject
not because il has IC opinion non no
preferences-sbut sin.piY because it is
not "a organ" In looking overtbe list
Of the possible candidates we find
among the number the name of Hon.
r. +. Pcttigrew of Sioux Falls; ma1
whose ability is unqlestioned, whu
was triumphantly elected after the
hardest fought campaign in any dis
trict in the Territory. Not only is Nj
pettigreW qualified for the Office bat Ii
represents a district which the p"opl
Of the Territory should delight to hon
Or. His constituents are men Ct intel
l~igrnce. men of thrift. men of progre,
in short combining all the clemens
chat have built up Sioux Falls an0
maze The ana of Dakota Il EOuSrhoi,
word throughout the Union. OF tn
men who have for years Iabored tor Ia
upNnijdmg OF Il great state within tn
confines OF Dakota. Mr.. Prttigrru
stands in the front ranks. For the las
twelve years we havrhnrn IN Il position
TO know that "nore thln h tlf tn" he
told about him are net true wedo no.
Consider lisa peripct -huunlnitlM no.
est perfectmn-but we do say il ind,
v%ilual merits or locality claims HAY
ANYTHING to do in the determination q
tins question Il. +. Ptttigrrw VIII /
ihr President of the Council at il
Forthcoming session.
Judge Clifford, republican candidat
for delegate in congress from Dakot
received 7O.9O9 votes in the late elet
ton. Wilson. democratic candidate
received 1920 votes. This makes til
total vote Of Dakota on Delegate, So
1871, making Giiford3s majority 65,G3i
Upon the accepted basis OF .uulrulatio
this vote represents z population %
about 4!4.0i2. Astonishing as theS
1gures are. says the sioux City Jou
nal. they are far below the actual popu.
latlpn Of Dakota. The territorial vot
was not full. Even in the states wher
political parties are most evenly divi0
ed and the Offices involved nulnProu
and important, there is ALWAYS Il con
siderable percentage Of qualified voter
who do not &C to the polls on election
day. The PERCENTAGE OF syas-at-hom
voters would inevitably b, large in ID,
ANT> NiiN'1 ~ iNjhbi!N"to u -
overwhelming Il majority, it being thi
year 81 .t3i. Besides, the election il
Dakota lacked the stimulus OF the rx
element over a presidential conte,r
for the reason that a territory has n
voice in that election. The Office o
congressional delegate is not pnoug
TO bring ont afuli vote. especially whrl
the result of the election WAS wei
known in advance. a low cstimat
therefore, would put the stay-at-hom
vote Of $4,000, the indicated population
Of which, added to that Of the.vote casI
raises the actual population of the ter,
ritory to over 100000; but this e~stinlat
makes no account Of the population
not qualified by residence of sntiirien
length to vote. an element which is a!
ways large in Dakota. Dakota has to
day a population Of over half a million
The November election reveals thu
fact that the territory of Dakota has
laryrr population than either of tn
eight states, Colorado. Delaware, Flori-
da. Nevada, New Hampshire. Oregon
Rhode islando Vermont. There wer
cast in Dakota ut the last election 50
$50 voees, while the combined vote 81
the three states, Nevada. Delaware ana
Rhode Island, vas only 7G.5l0. These
shree states are represented in congress
by six senator's and four rp~presentu-
gives, while Dakota has no voice in tn,
national legislature. although her pop
nlation eXceads the population Of either
Of eight Of the smaller states. Thi
may be modern democracy. but is noi !
the democracy Of 1916. The people OF
Dakota have for Il long time sought
division of the territory and the admis-
sion OF the southern half. That they
have only asked for their just rights.
me late election proves most @concIu-
sively. There was no motive to call