Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-29
THE ADMISSION OF DAKOTA
The Democratic View-What Judge
Holman Thinks.

DAKOTA HAS A RIGHT TO COME IN--BUT AS ONE
STATE.
1t is apparent that the democratic House can
not much longer disregard the demand of the
people IN Dakota tor admission to the Union.
The Senate, il is thought, is in favor of its ad-
mission, and a number of the majority party in
the House have come to the conclusion that'it
will not do to keep the territory out in the cold
for purely political reasons. Judge Holman
said to a STAR reporter to-day that he thought
the time had probably come when it was right
that Dakota should be admitted. The House,
he said, had no right to consider the political
bearings of the case. The only questions
that occurred to his mind were whether
the population was sufficiently settled
and permanent to make it tier for them to be
under state form of government, whether the
school lands &c, could he sufficiently secured,
and the question OF the government interests i'm
Inc reservations. The government has immense
interests in the territory ia the extensive Sioux
reservation, and it was undoubtedly true that
these interests could he better looked to under a
territorial than n state government. But this
last was no., he thought, sufficient reason for
refusing adm ission. The trouble is, he said,
people do not become sufficiently settled
at once, their interests do not become
as to make them always anxious for its we'll
being as should be the case. Before they were
given the control of the affairs OF the country
they should be solidiy enough established to he
safe from the selfish action of SPECTATORS
sharpers and Adventures, whose only purpose
would be to get personal gain. The public
lands. the school lands must be protected and
the matter of land grants carefully guarded
These, he thought were the proper questions to
be considered whenever any territory sought
admission into the Union, and these were the
only things to be taken into consideration with
relation 10 Dakota Heethought probably the
territory was now In that condition when it
had a right to admission, and it must
soon be admitted. 1t must come as one state,
however. The whole territory should properly
come in together Its geography and the char
acter of the land required this, and it would be
the only way ii would be admitted. A division
would not be practicable. Some parts of the
territory were necessarily sparsely settled, on
account OF the pastoral character of sections:
while others were more denseiy pOpulOus and
the ground better suited to agricultural pursuits
The territory coming into the Union as il now
is, as "a whole would balance the geography of
the country. 1t would balance Texas and form
the points of a triangle with it and New York
The people OF Dakota were not all agreed, how
ever. Some of the farmers were not SO sure that
they wanted to come into the condition of a
state just yet. All that must be considered. He
did not think the recent action of the people in
going through the form OF electing a legislature
&c, would have any effect upon Congress. Let
tiers he got from people in Dakota indicated
that the people did not attach any grave i'm
pOrtance to this act.