Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-08-07

| An Open Letter TO Eefretary Bnyard
| lndited by u GracetI III Pen from Da-
kota-Dakota Graphically Described
as a state Dss(rsHeilised-- The Con-
ditfOn OF N vassaI.
| Chicago Inter Ocean.
Hon. Thos. A. Bayard, Secretary of
State-Dear Sir: When it was known
that the president had selected you for
f's premier there was feeling of thank.
fulness all over the country. not SO much
by reason of your conceded ability as
because OF the fact that the people be-
lieved you were honest and moderately
patriotic. They likewise belieyed that
they beid hostages for your good be.
hav,or III the proud and historic name
you bear. Especially were we. the in
Dhbltants of the teIiIturies, thankful,
for the traditional cb,vulry of the
Bayards assured Ds that the weak and
unfortunate would have in you cham
plon.
am the more emboIdeped to make
this appeal from the fact that only two
or three generations ago your fathers
and niue were struggling side by side
against what they believed to be an
illegal assumption of power on the part
OF the mother government.
Did you ever stop to think that Da-
kota has to-day more population than
| any one of the colonies when our
| fathers revoited, and that congress and
the presldent exceriRe more authority
over this territory than parliament and
(feorge the Inird ever attempted to
over the colonies?
ln the British parliament Lord Cam
den, OF the hostile attitude OF the
American colonies said:
| My position is this: [ repeat, I will
maintain it to my last hour, taxation
and represen ntation are inseparabIe.
This position is founded on the laws
Of nature, for whatever ls mans own
is absolutely his own; no man has
right to take it from him without his
concent, either expressed by himself or
representatives; wnosoeyer attempts to
DO 1t attempts an Djury; whosoever does
1T commits hn robbery; he throws down
and destroys the distinction between
liberty and slavery. Taxation and
representation are coeval with and es-
sontial to the constitution. ~ There
is not blade of grass growing in the
most obscure corner of this kingdom
1
ented since the constitution began
there is not blade OF grass which,
when taxed, wes not taxed by the con.
sent Of the population"
Your fathers aud mine applauded
that doctrine as the correct rule, and
pledged there lives to its support.
[ do not mean that when the territory
is incapable of self government by rea-
son of smal!ness of population Congress
may not provide for the collection of
taxes therein as matter of necessity,
although not contemplated by the con-
stituilon. But when the territory has
sufficient population to enlitle it to ad-
mission. then the necessity of taxation
without representation ceases, and
every act of coercion upon your part is
illegal, and consequently revolutionary.
i We shall not rebel, however. but pro-
pose peacefully. while not without pro-
test, to submit to your tyranny.
The recollectioDs Of the late civil war
are fresh in our memories. Thousands
of the hardy settlers of this territory
were union soldiers, who under the
benefoent laws of congress enacted
while the republicans were in rower.
have settled on these prairies. Thous-
ands bear upon their persons, IN the
loss of arms or limbs. evidences Of their
loyalty to the government.
Probably no state or territory, in pro.
portion to it's population, number
among its Inhabitants SO many union
soldiers as Dakota. There are now
eighty. eight G. A. +. posts in the terri,
tory, with On sgl agate membership Of
something like $500.
Your friends have for years sounded
the aaEm of impending imperialism
tha. power was beng centralized in the
central government. Many thonehtful
men feared this danger, eud hoped a
change IN the administration might DOS
sibly arrest this tendency.
Now there is an opportunity for you
and your party to prove to the country
the sincerity of your allegations.
There can be no greater danger of i'm
perinlism than large, richssnd dependent
provinces. Such provinces, when suf.
tieiently populnus, and when their peo.
pie are patriotic and intelligent, are in.
consistent with, and, il long continued,
are destructive to republican institu-
tions.
Rich outlying provinces are, and al
ways have been, the inevitable and most
potent cause of imperialism. The re.
public muat yield to imperialism or the
provinces be emarcipated.
Such a condition was never ooptem.
plated by the fathers of the republic.
Notice how guarded they were in sec.
tion 8 of article of the constitution as
to the extent of the district over which
congress might exercise Jurisdiction.
When it became necessary for con.
gress to provide certain rules for the
protection of property and person in
the outlying dominions of the United
States not embraced within state F.,
liberal, if not q strained con
strnotion was placed upon section 3 O
article 4 to meet the emergency.
: No one, until now, ever had the au
daeity to claim that congress had tn,
legal power to prevent the admission Q
state upon the presentation of creden
tials such as the proposed state of Da
kota has to show in respect of every re
quirement under the constitution.
You may ask why we are SO anxiou
for admission. I would answer for Da
| kota:
{ If with our territory, our population
our productiveness, and our taxes W
were not anxious for emancipation from
, this condition of almost servile vassal
/ age We would be unworthy to become
sovereign state among the states of th
union.
The term, servile vassalage, is use,
: advisedly, permit me to state.
S0nyo nfkor ho