Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-09

ADDRESS
People Of Dakota
Issued by the Constitutional conven.
ton Held at Sioux Falls,
Sept. 1926, 1885.

HALL OF TILE CONSTITUTIONAL Covv,>
r1oN OF DAKOTA,
Sioux FALLS, d. I. September %, 1885.
We the undersigned, were appointed h
the Constitutional Convention, to issue a,
address to the people Of Dakota, to ac
company the Constitution prepared by tha
Convention, setting forth to you in /,
brief manner the reasons which, in thai,
Judgment, should commend this ins,rn
ment to your hearty support and the wa,
in which its adoption would advance Won,
interests, and secure a speedy admission
Of this State into the Union.
Your representatives in that Conven
ton, have spent but fifteen days, of the
thirty days allotted to them, and but little
over half the appropriation set apart for
them by the Legislature, in preparing the
Constitution which we submit to YOU for
adoption or rejection.
In order to accomplish this work i,
this short time, and to effect this SAVING
oi the public money, we have labored
night and day, working from early morn.
ing until late at night.
The delegates to that Convention. voro
cemposed in a large degree of the farming
bnd industrial element OF the people,
while the mercantile and professional
classes were also represented by many OF
Their ablest and most respected members.
Your delegates have had the advantage
of having before them in their formation
Of this Constitution, the Constitutions of
BIZ the States of the Union.
Among these especially do we call your
attention to the last reform Constitutions
Of Pennsylvania and Illinois, in which are
tobs found the latest, best and most strin-
CONT guards, against. the abuses of the
power Of corporations, special legislation,
bribery and corruption, excessive taxation,
and the e%1travagant mourning of munich
pal, county and state indebtedness, and
the most careful and guarded protection
oi the school funds and interests of the
people.
With tho aid of these former Constitu-
lions, and especially of the two last
named, the Convention has been able, we
think, to combine in the Constitution we
present to you, all the best. provisions of
these Constitutions, together with such
others, as we could frame ourselves upon
the subjects referred to.
GUARDS OF THE CONSTITUTION AGAINST
SPECIAL LEGISLATION, ETC.
We call your attention, especially, to
the provisions of this Constitution in Ar
ticle 8, Sections 4, 8, %, 26 and %.
By these Sections your Constitution, if
adopted, will restrict the power of the
Legislature to enact special laws, and
will thereby prevent, as far us can be done
by a Constitution, log-rolling, jobbing,
bribery and corruption. 1t will make it
dangerous, for a legislator to be bribed,
and dangerous, for any one to bride him.
1t will make Capital Commissions. and
other like measures of colossal bribery,
which have disgraced and injured this
Territory impossible under the State. In
this same connection, we ask your attsn-
tloa to Section II IF Article 4, with re.
gard to the bribery of the Governor.
APPROPRIATIONS.
We call your especial attention, to the
provisions upon appropriations, contained
lnsection 10 of Article 4, and Section 2 of
Article -. By these provisions, we think
tho Constitution will effectually prevent
such disgracefM appropriations as have
characterized many of your Legislatures,
BY the jobbery, always incident to gen.
eral appropriation bill, over $4,000 were
expended by the last legislature against
the protests of many of its best and ablest
members.
We also call your especial attention, to
the limit placed by the Constitution upon
taxation. That limit for the State, is two
nlls on a dollar, Of the assessed valuation,
Oh all taxable property, in the State, as
aseertained by the latest assessment made
ior State and county purposes.
The maximum tax provided for by your
last Territorial Legislature is three mills on
adollar, larger than the taxation Of twelve
osates in the Union; and the prospect is
mat in every successive Territorial Leg
stature, especially if it shall continue to
meet in North Dakota, under the infu-
ence Of the immense Railroad corpora
IONS OF that section, the rate of your tax
alton, and the amount of annual expendi-
lures, will increase in an almost geomet-
real ratio, until the burdens OF taxation
u the people of this Territory, will be
larser than that of the people OF any
state in the Union.
This one feature, answers completely
and foresss ~ arggmssnht 6 ass snssa,ss
" uEsrritorlal
~ sel5 eqa IRE than q 49,
II !, that under tho prsssn.
government not GUY
:, t,,e expenses, Territorial,
md municipal, WHOM sut t
under a State governme en5
t. salaries of q few oilceie' -