Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-04-12
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&ota ON the EipOr OF inc SENATE HuEe
Edgerron Assaulted.
Washington, April 10-In the senate
to day MIR. Butler took the Goora little
before 2 o'clock and asked fer the read
ing Of the substitute which he proposed
for The senate bill tor the admission OF
Dakota. The amendments was practical.
ly the bill introduced by Mr.. Springer
in the house. and its provisions have
been published. Senator Butler SAID:
The question seemed to have narrowed
Itself do&n to "a single one, namely:
Was she territory OF Dakota to be di-
vi0ea before admissionp If this agiteb-
ing question eouid be laid aside aid the
matter settled down to the admission OH
O single state. it would be- easily die
posed OF. That proposition should
have his best efforts and hie hearty
support. He differed with Plat on
none OF the great questions involved in
the admission OF the territory, or her
qualifications for admission. But when
Platt went q step further and said that
the people of Dakota have an inherent
right to come forward and demand their
sdmissfon as d state, be must deny the
correctness OF that proposition. This
question was one entirely within the dis
erection of congress, and ne could show
the senator why it was necessary that
this discretion should be exercised. III.
as the senator has said, this inherent
right existed, why should not Utah be.
admitted as q state? She was in every
way as qualified ss Dakota to become q
state. Why, then. should she not be
EadmItted? III. this same proposition was
true, what would prevent 900 GOO social
ISIS. anarchists and nihIlists emigrating
TO this country, settling in some portion
OF Washington territory, preparing o
constitution and demanding the right of
admission? They would have inst as
much right, SO far as the inherent right
was concerned, as the people of Dakota,
Montana or New Mexico had. In that
proposition Platt had gone too far.
He was willing to grant even division,
If the proposition came with sufficient
unity from the entire people of the terri
tory bnt in this caee il was a demand
made by q fraction of politicians who
had gone further than any other class OF
people to prevent the admission OF the
territory, He presumed that the senate
and house would be governed by the
wishes OF the people OF the territory
when they were fully and honestly ex-
pressed, but until they we're expressed
in favor of his proposition he should not
vote TO give them what they had not ask
ed for. The chairman of the committee,
on the other hand, with the last vote
upon this proposition by the people OF
the territory before him, had gone so far
an TO disregsrd the wishes of the people,
and TO bring forward 8 measure to dis
member the proposed state. He asked
the senate to bear with him while he
reed something from the memorial of the
convention held Dec. s. 1887, at Aber-
deem, Dak., and further from its dele.
gates authorized to come here and re-
present the sentiment of the people upon
this subject. He would read from the
testimony OF L.. Ct. johnson, q prominent
business man and ex%-soldier--a man OF
ability, who had no interest ia politics
and who had held no office in the terri
tory and desired none.
Mr.. Butler then read extensive ex-
tracts from Mr.. Johnson's testimony, al
Of which are well known, and also a let
ter by Granville G4 Bennett, o repnbli
can, written by him to the Aberdeen con
vention, in which he argued in favor OF
the one state movement. He then COY
cred the history OF the constitutional
convention, stating:
But IL, 900 out of n, 900 vntes bae
been cast for the constitutional CONVEX
IGion, and after the constitution had beer
adopted and a sop thro 3n to the people
in the way OF q prohibition amendment
it received but 81. 900 out OF n ,0U(
votes. This was tive and o half year
ago. The population Of south Dskots
was 1858 900 ss that time, and that, o.
north Dakota, which had had nc vot'
upon this ret of state officers and thi
} constitutional convention, had 10000
At3this time the population of sontl
Dakota had increased to $4,000
making 100000 who had nc vote in thi'
: thing and the population OF north Da,
kota he'd increased SO 900, making Ii
4 the territory q total of over COG. 600 PEG
t Pile who bad had no voice. IN this o n
stftntion and this ret OF state officer
z which it was proposed to thrust npol
them. And yet the majority of thi
senate committee upon territories woul,
breathe the breath of life into this thin
called g state government instituted
nearly three years ago. He desired t
aoquit the majority of the committee Of
territories of any desire to make q par
tissn matter out of this thing, and 4
, congratulate the committee upon To
differences in the discussion of shi
measure this year and that which we
held oyer 1t in the same committee j
the forty-Dinth congress-. But the effee
of this bill would be practically o par
tisan one, for II would get upon the hoo
of the senate two republican Unite
States senators, thus settling for som
time to come the partisan control 0
that body He criticised the repor
made by the majority OF the conmitte
for declaring that the peopl
of thst territory wer
Heterogeneous, and that there WI
no commonalty of feeling between th
d people OF the north and south s~ectiont
It was queer that o territory made up o
100000 people, nearly oil of union sol
: diers, could not be called h~eterogeneou
He should look upon o territory people
IN that way as very decidedly homo
i r%ieneous. He read from the proceeding
of the Last state convention. in which th
division people had asserted that the
would prefer to stay in the condition (
yassaiage and snbordination. But If I'll
testimony of able disinterested an
prominent ~citizens like L. g. Johnso
and Judge Pennington we're to be take
: as against this assertion OF q coterie
politicians, congress had but one view
take OF the matter.
He referred TO one of the gentleme
seeking seats az 8 senator from Dakoi
MIR. EdgertoD) az II whom he ha
: spoken courteonsly in the last congress
but whom a recent speech in Dakota
bed alluded 10 him In an offensive man
.Wl LL II.