The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1886-11-04
DAKOTA.


Some one contributes an article to the
st. Paul Globe historical of the division
in Dakota, which is interest
ing, to say the least. It goes back to tho
earliest settlement in the southeast cor
ner of the territory, and in the Pembina
region in the north, later-in 1871. There
was not, in those days, anything known
about the central Dakota region, and
there being nothing in common between
the two sections, the Northern Pacific
railroad company caused to be introduced
in the United States senate bill Tor the
division of Dakota and the creation of
the territory of Pembina, At that time
there were no settlements, even along
the line of the Northern Pacific, and the
road did not reach Bismarck, until 1879.
The division sentiment in those days
was all in the nortn: It'had been heard
of in the south, but they didn't care any.
thing about it. North Dakota made it's
first appearance as North Dakota and
won its first victory iu 1874. Judge
Barnes, of Fargo, and Col. Lounsberry,
of Bismarck, went down with ten votes.
There were about sixty votes in the con-
vention! Moody and B. F. Campbell
were the leading candidates. The north
ern delegates made fight for Judge
Kidder. They held the balance of power
and won. His first bill was for the divi-
sion of the territory, and during his six
years in congress his best efforts were
given for it's division. Continuing fur
ther, the correspondent says:
The north grew and prospered, and
always favored division until Ordway
and the capital went to Bismarck. In
1882 Burrows, in urging division, brought
forward ten-year-old arguments. He
told of barren waste which separated
the two sections. He said there was not
wagon track connecting the two sections
and that the north could only reach the
south via St. Paul and Sioux City; that
there was undying hostility and no pro-
spective railroads between the two Sec
tions, and the people were as separate
and distinct in their tastes, interests, etc.,
as those of Ohio and Tennessee. After
he closed his speech he visited the gal
lery, where the Dakota boys then in the
city had congregated in order to hear his
great effort in behalf of downtrodden
Dakota, and Major Edwards said:
Burrows, for heavens sake, don't ever
tell that barren waste lie again; it was
good enough plan for you to work for
division five years ago, but Central Da-
kota is now the best settled portion of
Dakota, and if you fellows are not pretty
lively about securing division, she will
come down here and demand admission
as d whole" And that is just what
central Dakota is doing today. She de-
mands that this nonsensical cry for divi-
sion be silenced. And if we of central
Dakota ever do succeed in getting a vote
upon the question: vote that being
legally authorized is entitled to respect
we shall show how completely the senti-
ments of the people has changed. The
politicians may want to double the e1-
pense of state government in order to
gain precentage Of the spoils; they may
want to double their chances for gaining
official positions, but the people Of this
section want admission without DIVISION
they want to be part of our grand, i'm
perial and undivided Dakota. They
want the power in the house of repre-
sentatives and in national conventions
that large and united delegation will
give them, They want the North united
with the South, and both to be in sym.
pathy with central Dakota instead of
using central Dakota as the battle
ground on which the hostile tribes of the
north and south meet year after year to
fight their battles over. For our part
we are in earnest in opposition to divi.
sion. We are tired of this sectional war.
We are disgusted with the capital con-
troversy, and are perfectly content to
allow the capital to rest in peace on the
banks OF the Upper Missouri, knowing
full well that If it remains there it will
result in drawing to it new lines of rail-
road that will open mp to settlement q
portion of the territory as productive as
the best, now almost entirely unoccupied;
that the north and the south will. Within
year or two at most, be united by half
q dozen north and south lines OF railroad,
and the people Of both will unite in op-
posing the iniqnity that the politicians
div d;v;sion siog Mater - Mo1k upon 'he - 'n's
The people are becoming
disguised with the Canpbells and the
Mo0dys, and the demagogues of both the
north and the south, who have robbed
Dakota Of statehood for the past four
years, Dakota could gain admission be-
fore the 1st of January if her people
we're united in asking for admission in
stead Of ofurging division, which the peo-
pie do not want, and do not think posi-
BILE.
-------.se.--S --sa.~---- T.
GOVERNOR PIERCE's REPORT.