New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-04-20
oUIBBLTSG AGIIYST DAKoTx.

QCIbbL{Nt AU4lNSI DAAOI4-
The debate in the Senate upon the bill for
the admission Of South Dakota, which was
passed yesterday by q vote of &c to %,
divided on strict party lines was interesting
from the weakness of the arguments used by
its opponents. Their case was bad, indeed, when
they were reduced to the pretexts put forward
in this discussion. Senator Turpie, for example,
laid great stress upon the fact that the petition
for admission came from a part of the people of
a Territory for the admission of part as
State. He seemed to think the fact conclusive
that every State heretofore admitted into the
Union had previously existed as Territory.
South Dakota has never existed as Territory,
and, therefore, cannot be received as State,
measure, heaped up and running over, of all the
qualifications Of Statehood 1t is not easy to
find the patience to reason with such quibbhng.
Il would be most extraordinary thing If
Territory, loosely constituted at time when its
population was small, and perceived to be OF
overweening size when it's population had fitted
it for admission into the Union; with its popu-
lation so distributed that division was desired
by the people of both sections and certain to
be more and more desired as the vacant country
filed up; with every reason of convenience and
fitness for division, could not be divided, the
more populous portion being admitted as a
State, while the remainder was set aside to
serve little longer apprenticeship as Terri
tory, simply because exactly such state of
things had never arisen before, and there was
no literal precedent for such course Yet the
very Senator who advanced this view and his
political associates, have great deal to say
about the discretion" of Congress in dealing
with the admission Of States, as established by
the Constitution. 1t would be, surely, very
limited discretion which would not permit Con-
gress to do this.
The contention Of Senator Butler that there
must first be an act passed by Congress author
izing the people Of Dakota to form Constitu-
ton, is shown to be unfounded by the discus
sion upon the admission of Tennessee as State
in 1896. AS it was stated by President Wash
ington in special message to Congress, the
act of Congress of May 26, 1890, extended to
the territory of the United States south Of the
Ohio River all the rights and privileges &C
corded to the territory northwest of that river,
and one of these was the right to admission as
a State whenever Territory should be found to
have 60, 600 inhabitants. The people of Ten
nessee formed q constitution, elected Leglsla-
ture, and informed the President that at the
time of its meeting the temporary government
established by Congress would cease to exist.
In the debate that arose upon the resolution
declaring Tennessee TO be State, Mr. Madi-
son said that those who insisted that Tennes-
see should first be recognized as State and
that then census should be taken by Congress
were spinning finer thread than was neces-
sary" If Congress was convinced that the
Territory contained sufficient number Of in
habitants, at was matter of form only" how
the census had been taken, or whether the Ter
rit6y had been previously acknowledged as
State by Congress or not Many other MEM
bers confirmed this view, and the resolution
passed.
The action Of Tennessee was far more radical
than that of the people of South Dakota In
fact the former State boldly asserted its rights,
while South Dakota only begs for them. No
member of either House doubts that South Da-
kota has more than twice the necessary popu- |
alton. To claim that it must first be recog- |
nized by Congress as State before she can |
make preparations for admission, is clearly to
stand upon "a matter of FORM" In other words,
it is quibbling to deprive free people of their
rights