St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-07
A CHAMBER OF DEATH.
The Room of the House Committee on Ter
ritories strewn with Corpses of
Territorial Legislation,
Among Them the Dawes Bill, the Hill
Bill, the Frederick Bill and the
Harrison Bill.
The Politicians Spent Their Time
Fighting One Another Instead of
Engineering Legislation.
Judge Clifford Lays the Failure of the
Judgeship Bill to the House
Steering Committee.
Dakota's Dead Measures.


Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6.-COngress has
adjourned without doing anything for Da-
kota. The condition of the territorial leg
lSlation is about as follows: First, in the
committee room of the house L find the
senate bill for the opening OF the Sioux res
ervation known as the Dawes bill. 1t lies
there on a shelf and looks as tired and
musty and antiquated as an Egyptian
mummy, 1t is sallow and weakened, dry
and crisp as any dead bill in the whole
capitol. Delegate Clifford had it out in his
arms, fondly hoping to get the house TO
look at it. during the last days of the ses-
sion. But he had to take it back to its
crypt i'll the committee catacombs. The
celebrated Hill bill, which was such a
healthy and vigorous infant, is also dead.
1t was born amid the plauditS of Day, Gift
ford, Moody and others of both parties, but
the life of the precociOuS legislative infant
was suddenly squeezed out by the strong
grasp OF Boynton. There it lies in its COM
mlttee room encoffined in dust and cpl
taphed by oblivion Then there is the
Frederick bill 1t was brought forth early
in the session and has branded upon it's
forehead the cabaliStic words ''by request"
a stranger would not know what that
y
that the Frederick bill was born in the
brain of Hon. A. Boynton and brought
forth in the house by Hon. Ben. Frederick
of Iowa "by request Of Boynton. Walk
ing sadly through the long lines of dead
bills we come upon
THE HARRISON BILL.
That, too. is almost dead. There is a
suspicion of life in it yet 1t has not the
CHASTITY look, the ashen hue, that o'erspreads
the others. But there is an ugly wound On
one side of it, which was inflicted by state
league. 1t can scarcely recover. Yet. it
may, for 1t has skilled physicians in Camp
bell, Moody, Mellette and DR.. Day. The
trained nurse. Harrison, is engaged to care
for it for another session. But it is prac-
tically dead. Last and certainly least, is
the Baker bill. 1t is so dead that it has
become decomposed, and none know where
it lies. 1t is almost forgotten. Mr.. Tenn
pleton of Pierre helped to bring it out but
lit died bornin'" There are several
other little corpses of territorial legislation,
but they are small and unimportant, and
unworthy of an obituary. Let them rest in
peace. Those of US who were so foolish as
to hope for action upon territorial matters
by class of hurry burly, fighting politi-
clans who had fence-mending uppermost in
their minds, may either sigh or smile over
our disappointed ambitions. Our bills and
our hopes are dead and we may as well
bury them in common tombs. We may all
unite with Mayor Mcclure and ancient
Dogberry in reverting to our lost energies
and desires, and saying, ''Let me writ down
an ass for wasting time and money in fruit
less endeavors." But we leave our regret
and look into the future. 1t is well TO re-
member Nelson,f VOORHEES,, Kleiner. Cor
man and the hundreds Of phlanthropic
gentlemen in and out of congress who did
their best to assist us to recognition of some
sort by the national legislature. In our
sorrow and disappointment, let us not be
ungrateful nor unmindful of the good men
and true who tried to aid US. '.''-'''