Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1885-02-12
DAk0TA'S DEFENDER.
Co'. DOnan's GrandiloIucnt Defense Of
Dakota ana Arrangement Of
Senator Vest.
New YonK, Jan. 90, 1885.

l
L the papers containing accounts of il
> learn by a iettc, from Fargo frie,
lhat Dakota's arch enemy in the Cnit,
states senate, George Vest, If Mlssoul
mas recently seen fit, in his mad crusat
against our territory, to make a yirnlc,
anu lndecen' personal attack upon me.
inc circumstances, as am informc,
arc IN brief, that the Argus, a month {
30 ago, IN one ofits characteristic article
IN regard to Dakota and her conprcss;on
al locs and viliticrs, alluded in its Gus
tomary forciblc, If not altogether COURT,
styIe to Vest. Some supposed bourbo
spy and sympathizcr living IN the terrific
ry sent the paper to the Missouri senate,
ana nc replied in a letter, that has sine
oecn published, saying lie understands
am The editor ofthe Argus, and delugin!
me with filthy, tlshwife cpithcts, of which
notorious liar" is perhaps the most res
LIS attack is as wanton and unpro
VoRcd, as it is malicious and scurrllous
AS every one in Dakota knows, | am no,
the editor ofthe Argus, and have had no
connection with'it, editorial or otherwise.
'or more than two years. | have not
Dccn IN the territory for months, and but
i'ttle during the past year. have not
even seen the article which excited The
ire OF Dakota's chief senatorial nbclcr,
anu have no idea IN what its offending
consists.
l snail not handy vile cpithcls with the
As!ssonrl sl.s. senator. shall not attempt to
chccrfully accord Inn superiority as II
backguard. have long since learned
10 give the road to skunk
Personally, have no controversy with
the senator from the Robber State. In
so far as anything crcditable or honorable
can be extracted from such a source,
deem myself honorcd that he should have
singled me ont as a special object on
which to pour part OF the hatred he and
his fellow bourbons bear our great terri
tory and all who haye her interests at
heart. The bttcrcr and dirtlcr his as :
sault, the greater the honor done me.
TO misquotc slightly a somewhat noted
phrase, esteem myself for the enemies
have made. The highest compliment
Vest can pay any man or measure, is his
hostility and abuse. The discussion he
has provoked rises above all mere per-
sonal consideration. 1t involves the well
fare of the gran,lcst territory OF the union
and the rights of nearly half million
d,sfranchised American citizens. 1t in.
wolves the outrageous a ~ infamous poll
cy of the party, in which he is permitted
to figure as a leader and spokesman, to-
ward one OF the imperial commonwealth
soon to .be Of our new world republic.
lie calls me a liar, hut. .he. DrnYed him:
prucc nc u1sgraccs II, the senate, he do
clarcd, on hls honor rs a scnalor-W hat.
ever that may bc-thnt "Dakota has no,
population enough to cntitlc her to rep
rcsentatlve IN congress-" There IS no
a schoolboy in the country, who does no,
know he he'd when he made that state
mcnt. The territory at the last election
cast Sc, 703 votes, and at least 10000 vot
crs stayed away from the polls because
there was no real contest Add all tn,
thousands o! new. comcrs, who had no
been residents sufficiently long to cntitl'
them to suffrage, and it gives a grant
total of fully 100000 stalwart voters
This, on the lowest possible basis of es
timation, indicates population OF owe
100000. The ratio of representation i
but $50 600. Would not any intelligen
jury, on such showing, promptly aware
a champion liars belt to this senatorla
singer of muck fork rhetoric? And, i
the Annanias style o: sm,tlng liar dead
with his lie in his teeth, we're still il
vogue, would not Mlssouri's barbarian
hordes OF bushwhackers and traln-robber
today be wearing Grape on their pistols
and shotguns for senator dGhi,nnc.nd dhGh, 4 snd N
| Doln.--5..,n1u- vi nOse IlShts auo III
terests he wages this senseless war
filth and falschood, is the largest an
most important territory over which tn
starry banner of the union floats. Wit
its 1000 square miles of area, 1t
greater in domain than all New Englant
New York, New Jersey, Delaware an
half of Pennsylvania comblncd-almo'
equal to the whole country from the 5
Lawrence to the Potomac, and from tn
Atlantic to the Alleghenles. 1t IS 3o,ot
square miles, or nearly 100000 900 acre
larger than all great Britain and lrelan'
' AS denscly populated as Connecticut,
would maintain II, ,o65 900 people; and
: densely populated as England, it wou
y have $5S, $50, 900.
: Its resources are as rich and varied {
c lis area is vast; and within Its borders |
y the grandest grain fields and gold min
10 on the globe, while its millions on m
lions of acres of pasture lands are une
cellcd beneath the sun. 1t is an empl
= more glorious than many old world kin
doms and princ,pallties. Rich beyond
-. comparison in soil, healthful in clima'
~ ~. and blessed with population of unsu
. y passed intelligence, industry and cnt'
prise, Gods star-gemmcd skies ncv
domed nobler realm, or one more fit
ouccnly membership in the great Ame
Nv can slsterhoOd of states.
W In spite o. congressional, senator
s. and newspaporial foes and maligners,
'e growth ha sheen unparalleled in the hist
IL of the world. Less than fifteen years
rs il was officially pronounced can unlnh'
" liable desert" and but eight years an
ea half ago, Custer and his battalion W
& massacrcd by the Sioux just over
ry western border, and savages and
nd beasts rcamed undistnrbed over its br
lar plains and valleys.
of In that brief period, scarcely a Gle
70. tick IN the worlds long march OF a!
Ike hundreds Of tlourlshIng cities and to
have sprung m, like magic exhalati'
M from the wild prairie grass. Elec