Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-01-14
SOUTH DAKOTA FkVGHED
Ey tE.s, SENATE Commit
tee f5r A&drsaisst0n Into
the Union.

wAsnrSSycos AN. H.-The report Of
The senate Committee Oh territories, 10
accompany ti,s BIZ for the admission OF
! the state of Dakota into the Union aad
the organization Of the territory OF Lin-
| coin. rc,arte4 ly Ssiiator Harrison to-
day, coyers lore than one bnndred pag-
90 Of manuscript - addition to ITS volGm-
nous printed appeno,ces. 1t says the
main proposition Of the bs.a is that the
proceedings taka is she people nf that
part Of the presei.t territory OF DakS'a
lyiag south of the 46th parallel OF north
latitude, which resulted IN the adoption
Of d constitution by popular vote on the
81 day Of November, 1885, shall be rati-
fed and accepted ~ congress and the
state Of Dakota be admitted to the Union
on An equal footing with other states.
The report gives the HISTORY Of the
movement for tho organization Of the
new state. from the passage Of the act by
the territorial Legislature authorizing the
Sioux Falls convention 10 the present
time. The report say
II is not claimed that this act OF the
Legislature was "A necessary preliminary
To the holding 81 u constitutional conysn-
ton, and II IL we're aaloitted that IL had
no legal force Whatever, AMI the pro-
ceedings which followed are to be treat
ed as purely popular, still IL gave to the
people the machinery necessary for the
expression Of the popular will in An
orderly aud effective way. The conyen-
tons which framed the constitutions OF
Iowa, Michigan, Florida, Oregon aud
perhaps older states, were called and
held under acts VI the territorial legis-
lature.
The Journal Of the proceedings Of the
convention is alluded to as giving evil
dence ola high degree Of intelligence,
public spirit and industry. The submis-
sion OF the constitution in accordance
with the ordinance Of the convention to
the vote of the electors is described, re-
sultins in the adoption OF the constitu-
ton by 4 majority Of 49, 10 81, making It
clear ia the opinion Of the senate coln-
mittce that All overwhelming fhajority OF
the people of South Dakota approve the
constitution. aud desire present admis-
sion into the union of the states
under it.
Having sketched the history of the
government which resulted in the for
Of the constitution, the committee
proceeded to bring to the attention of
the senate some familiar facts connected
with the earlier ei1rts Of the people to
secure the division of tho territory and
form a state government for South Da-
The report considers one VI the
Important questions presented for dis
,hssion to I've whether the steps taken by
people Of DaAo:a for the purpose of
securing admission into the Union are
,onformable TO the constitution of the
United States AMI to tile precedent ia
mel, eases aid express, We Csthe viii Of the
people, and cites a dozen or mcrs recent
;asss, quoting extensively from the re-
,ent debates in congress, and In the
light Of the precedent aud authorities
concludes thar 10 just criticism can
u abe of the proceedings taken by
people Of South Dakota, nor any OF
methods by which thew can have
brought their requests to the attention
II the senate.