Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-11-30

support to the constitutional movement,
though perhaps not SO heartily as it
would had it been advocating public ac-
tlon more in its own interest, now ad-
vIses the state makers to halt where they
are and let nature take it's course. 1t
gives utterarce its disapproval of the
consummation of the plan upon which
the advocates of statehood have en-
barked, and announces that division and
continued territorial vassalage is good
enough for the press. That paper says:
The radical state-makers, under the
leadership OF Hugh j. Campbell, are en-
gagged in canvass looking toward the
assumption of state government for
southern Dakota, whether congress says
SO or not, despite the emphatic renun-
cation OF such scheme by the consti-
tutlonal convention. An emissary of
the movement has visited Sioux Falls
for the purpose of seeing how much sup
port he can muster here, and OF course
the mission was fruitless, as it deserves to
be.
BY the wording of the Press para
graph the impression is conveyed that
this movement in behalf of absolute
statehood is a secret movement. There
has been no effort upon the part of
those who have adopted the earnest
course to conceal their movements. If
any one visited Sioux Falls in the in
terest of the plans of the state makers
he probably went there in broad day
light and transacted his business
openly. If state is created it will be
by the efforts of those whom the Press
writes down as radical state makers"
There can be no other species of "state
makers" All others are merely playing
at the game, with a well defined inten-
tion of falling supinely on their backs
when the crisis arrives and accepting a
sop as substitute for the substantial
nutriment they feebly ask the nation to
give them,
South Dakota has held its convention
and unanimously adopted consultation.
The people have ratified that
constitution at the polls by
an overwhelming majority, have elected
state, congressional, judicial and leg
islative ticket and it's legislature has
been called together for the purpose OF
choosing two United States senators.
All that has occurred has been consum-
mated in earnest good faith What is
the next step? Under the pledges of
the constitution and the constitution
makers, by the understanding which was
conveyed to the individual voter before
he went to the polls, by the compact be-
tween the agents of the people
and the people, signed and de-
liyered and sealed with the seal
of twenty-five thousand ballots, there is
but one thing to do-assune the func-
tions OF state government. Do this or
stop where we are and declare the acts
of the past to have been mere di-
version, a little drama in political life in
the nature of a burIesque. We are re-
quested by the Press to say, after all
this evidently in earnest work, "that
division will satisfy u.s." AS though
south Dakota, in the pursuit of division
and the organization of another terri
tory, required state, Congressional, Judi
cial and legislative officers of it's own
making.
The scope and nature of
the movement up to the
present time assures us that the people
of south Dakota went into the conven-
tion and into the subsequent election
with the fixed purpose of creating and
establishing the state OF Dakota. They
went into it with full understanding
of the difficulties to be encountered and
the attitude they expected to assume
and maintain, They did not undertake
it with purpose, after full perform
ance of their constitutional and legal
rights, of making to congress the cow
ardly concession that they don't care
much about atehood-division is all
they want. III this is all they are to
contend for there is little need of calling
the Legislature together at Huron. The
farce might as well end with the declar-
atiOn of the Sjary Falls prepe