Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-09-02

Hooh uuu CORNER OF tDe present
territory.
The great underlying principle Of the
separate statehood movement is the
guaranty it gives OF an honest, wise.
efficient, and economical government
for each OF the two great states with an
area of $4,000 square miles, and q capa-
city 70 support some millions of popula-
tion as the domain OF each.
1t has been sdid that it Is only the
politicians who desire the division of
Dakota.
Who says 30 as often and as loudly as
politicians themselves ?-or, perhaps.
wouldbe politicians might be q better
term.
Ringsters, tricksters. and smaIi-fry
politicians are pretty sure to be found
| either openly arrayed against division
or IN secret opposition to it.
And no wonder, for they are in mortal
fear least the opportunities for public
plunder may be seriously dimish ed by
this division OF area that would
enable the people of each
| section to hold their public servants to
stricter account by reason of the closer
scrutiny to which they would be subject.
ed, and because to the more direct sense
of responsibility to the body of the peo-
pie which they could not very we'll avoid
feeling, beng make to feel.
1t would sadly interfere with the
schemes of designing and an unasrupn-
leus men 10 divide Dakota, and divide
by more then half the chances in politics
and legislation from combinations
| and conummate deals of their own sell
| fish and corrapt ends.
They know that the larger, mole pop.
| ulous, and the Weather Dakota be.
comes, the greater would be the oppor-
| tunity, should the territory be admitted
| as whole, to manipulate their schemes
| through legislature, but few of whose
members would be acquainted with
more than small fractional part of the
state they represented, or would fill the
proper degree of responsibility, pass
ing from the state at large to the people
OF remote sections, Concerning whose
interests and welfare they could know
but little and might care less.
1t requires honesty and courage. and a
broad view of affairs, on the part of @
member of state legislature to subor.
dlnete the local advantage to the com.
mon interest and general welfare.
These qualities Of Craftsmanship are
rare enough, as rule, in the Legislative
bodies Of the average state.
The larger the area over which state
government is established the more diff
fcu! t will it be to keep the rights O
sections and communities, and of tht
state as whole, properly balanced.
The temptation to barter away the in
tegrity of what political spectators are
pleased to term mere moral principle
IN exchange for an appropriation o.
doubtful public proprietv or mischle-
vous piece of special legislation, will bt
correspondingly greater as the area lying
within the palm of the lawmaklng powe
grows this larger by increase of popula-
tion and the wealthier through the &C.
cummalntion of riches and developmen
of resources.
1t. may be laid down as proposition
hard to combat, that for a people Il
attempt to set up q local state govern
ment over an area es large as the terri
tory of Dakota and possessing it's variet
resources and multiplied interests. an,
above all having two essentially distinc
sections of country would be unwise a
matter of public policy, hazardous q
an experiment, and in many respects al
evidence of lack of capacity for 1ntelli
gent self-goverment.
It is idle to say that Texas or Cali
fornia presents case in point. Neithe
is in point.
In the letter in the Inter Ocean of 81
Citizen of Dakota" quoted above, tn
case of Texas is we'll considered. Their
: is this much to add about Texas:
THE CASE OF TEXAS.
In the Lone Star state-with whicl
the writer happens to be familiar-th
) principal lines of settlement are thos
running north and south through wha
would be called on the map easter
Texas. Up to within few years ag
the great plain of western Texas, ou
of which the panhandle extends mort
into the Indian Territory, was inhabi
ted by none but cattlemep, whose vas
herds are the pride of that remarksbl
state.
The building across western Texa
from Houston and San Antonio, an
from Dallas and Fort Worth to Ell Past
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