Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-04-14
ress ana 9akptaias
DAKOTA IN THE SENATE.

y
Washington, April 12-The members
OF the senate and others waited long,
YEARLY and impatien.ly for MIR. Coke,
the big granger from the Lone Star state,
TO Quit his roaring on the presidents
message urging tsfiff reform, in order
that they might haYe o chance to hear
Senator Turpie make his first extended
speech on Dakota. Senator Turpie,
naturally nervous, grew more and more
fidgety as the Texas senator went On
and chewed the pieces CT tobacco that
are always in his mouth more vigorously
ns MIR. Coke's speech strung n over all
creation. ALI thlrgs have an end, and
at last Senator Turpie secured the floor.
He Immediately changed his seat, which
is away of to the side Of the chamber,
to that Of his colleague, Senator Voor-
heest, who is better favored. AS soon
as Senator Turpie began the democrats
began to emerge from the cloak room,
and those OF them who had been in thu
chamber busy at their personal CORES
pondence cessed work, and the whole
democratic side, with the exception Of
Senator Pasco, ~ho stops work,
gave the Indiana senator close attention.
Senator Davis moved oves to the dem
ooratic side and, with Senators Uullom,
Plat, Spooner and Farwell, listened
closely TO the man who resembles John
Sherman. Senator Turpie has o loud,
strong voice, marred, however, by o too
mechanical utterance. He uses few
gestures, and those Of the simplest kind,
giving emphasis to his remarks only by
o downward sweep OF his right hand.
Mr.. Turple Haid:
The reason for the delay in the admis.
sion OF Dakota was because parties here
and elsewhere had misdirected and
wasted the energy Of that people upon
division. The objection to the admis-
sion of the territory under the Platt bill
is NOT that the proceedings were taken
We may admit that the people OF o ter
separate portion of the TERRITORY be adj
portion Of the people OF o territory have
that portion, and as far as historical
the petition is utterly without right OF
authority. The %indisputed fact tina,
Tennessee, Michigan and Arkansas had
i bCOh 1amSAseCo oRoh obUt0 OOdot1butkOu
declared without previous congressional
action had been constantly repeated
here. But what authority was that TOR
the admission OF this fragment OF Dako-
Ca, this segment called South Dakota ?
Gould the senators instance a case where
the people OF Tennessee, Arkansas and
Michigan petitioned for the admission
Of o part Of these territories as states
There was suoh o thing as Dakota, bui
south Dakota Wat o mere geographical
description.
Senators Platt and Spooner attempt-
ed TO interrupt Mr.. Tufpie at this point
for the purpose OF questioning his state
ment. bat he declined to yield, and CON
timing, said:
He would not admit that the people oil
an organized territory alone have the
right to pass or the question of admls-
sion. The people of the whole union,
TO whom che territory owes it's birth
form and creation, have o right to be
heard upon the policy and propriety oil
such admission and ultimately TO con-
slider and determine it. The senator
then look mp the assertion that division
was the desire OF the people OF the ter.
ritory, and sald that as O matter of fact
that had never been proposed at an cleo.
tion. He spoke a%dvisedly. The enun-
citation of the Aberdeen convention was
the undeniable expression OF the people
OF Dakota upon this subject. The sena-
tor from Minnesota (DavIs) has declared
il q unique, grotesdue body, but he did
not think so. More than two-thirds Of
the states admitted irto the union had
been admitted after just such proceed,
ings. There w6s nothing singular or
extraordinary about it. On the contrary,
It was one of the most regular, formal
Expressions OF the sentiments OF the
people of Dakota eyer made. Upon
both admission and division its utter.
ance Is clear and emphstic. The people
lot the whole territory are against
division.
Mr.. Turpie m~omentarily forgot thai
he was not an advocate in Q court Dflaw,
and caused a ripple OF laughter by adj
dressing the presiding officer as "your
honor"
The statement that the poor people
could not actively participate IN the new
state il admitted as Q whole, he con-
tinued, was untrue. The distance from
any part Of the territory to the capital
would not exceed $50 miles. BE could
remember when the region OF the HanRa-
mon and other rivers of Egypt were
farther from the Illinois capital. Laugh,
ter. Ali modern states were large.
That had become the fashion. IL Dakota
Was large, the unlon was larger. Penn
tsylvanla and New York were larger
proportionately to the size of the thirteen
original states than Dakota was to the
present size of the union. Minnesota
was three times as large as South Caro-
lima, but no n had ever proposed to
divide IL. Superficial area did not have
such q great deal TO do with O states
fortune, power, influence or character
Massachusetts might not be a large state
but 1t had given the union Bunker Hill,
Lexington and Concord, and . poet who
sang Of the lands Of the Dskotaians. The
very words of Longfellow were prophetic
Of this division movement. II behold
our people severed, warning with each
other" Harmony. peace and unity
should be restored to this great people
already 80 prosperous, maintaining, pre-,
serving and securing the territorial in
tegTit7 OF Dakota. Should we now
because certain spirits OF discord and
dissehsion have disagreed with respect
to its future form OF guidance and man
agement, whet the knifs to ont this child
in twain? That is no remedy for the
evils that hava fallen upon This people
Why doesn't the senator from Connects
cut stand with the senator from South
Carolina as sponsors for Dakota undi-
Unfinished and her borders unmarried?
Senator !, ullom took the floor while
the democratic senator's were COnrratu.