St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-06
The JimtoWn Convention Does
Its Work Quickly and
Thoroughly.
It Declares for Division on
the Seventh Parallel and
Immediate Admission.
Harrison Will Be Asked to
Call an Extra Session of
Congress.
Enecial 10 The Globe.

Special TO the Globe.
JAMESTOWN, Oak, Dee. 5.-The num-
Der of delegates in attendance at the
statehood convention is estimated at
over 500. Delegates are present from
every county in North Dakota, except
Mcintosh, Sargent and Bottineau. The
convention opened at 2:15, when E. P.
Wells, of jamestown, announced that
there was some question as to who
should call the convention to order.
and asked the convention to settle the
matter. Grand Forks claimed that Gen.
Ward, as leader of the movement that
resulted in unanimous call, should do
so, and Stutsman county held that E.
p. Wells, as chairman of the committee
that fathered the call and issued
the jamestown circular, was the right
man. The dispute was happily ended by
Grand Forks withdrawing her claim and
Mr.. Wells called the gathering to order
and read the call. Nominations for
chairman were G. A. Pierce, Vincent
S. Stone, of Fargo. and Alfred Dickey,
of Jamestown. The last-named gentle
man declined. On motion of Col.
Geary, of CasS, each county was al
lowed the same number of votes that
ment gave them. On this basis eX-Goy.
PIERCE WAS ELECTED CHAIRMAN,
receiving Ill votes to 80 for stone. The
counties voting for Pierce were: Bill
ings, Burleigh, Dickey. .Edmunds, Grand
Forks, Kidder. Logan, Mercer, Me
Henry, Mclean, Morton, Nelson, Oil
yer, Pembina, Ramsey, Stark, Towner
and Walsh. The Stone counties were:
Barnes, Benson, Cass, Eddy. Foster, La
Moure, Richland. Rolette, Stutsman,
Steele. Trail. Wills and Ward, with
Ransom divided. Upon taking the
chair Gov Pierce said:
On taking the chair Ex-Gov. Pierce said:
This is most important gathering, having
in view the lOftiest privilege OF the Ameri-
can citizen. North Dakota has an area of
about 75, 900 square miles. and with the
seventh standard parallel for the southern
boundary win be the eighth or ninth state in
size in the Union. 1t would be twice as large
as Indiana, and 5000 square miles longer
than the six New England states with New
Jersey thrown in. So far as size is concerned,
therefore, nothing is lacking. Now let
us see as to the other requirements for
statehood. Take the population. Kentucky
was admitted in into @ che The annolsos Gnion With Vt
09U; Ohio, 1896; Indiana, 63.S97; Hi
nois 81 $40; Missouri. 66.557: Michigan,
$4,000; Florida, $4,000; Iowa, 7S. $40; Cal
ifornia 92,597; Minnesota. 10000; Ore
900; Nebraska and Colorado each, 100 600.
BY the census taken three years ago North
Dakota had 157.710 inhabitants, and
the vote cast last month with the male
adults in all cur unorganiZed counties
unable to vote, shows that this section now
possesses a population of over 100000 or
three times as much as Iowa, two and one
half times as many as Nebraska or Colorado,
more than twice as many as Minnesota and
Kansas, four times as many as Michigan. and
six times us many as Nevada possessed at
the time of their admission into the Union.
1t would seem that so far as population is
concerned therefore,
THE TERRITORY Is AMPLY QUALIFIED.
But let me see about its productions and
material resources. North Dakota has to-day
nearly $4,000 FARMS and this year raised
10000 bushels Of corn, 100000 bushels of
oats, and not less than 90, 600. 600 bushels of
wheat There are 10000 head of horses
and mules and more than 100000 head of
live stock in this division of the territory.
North Dakota has eighty-siX banks, twenty
two of them national and with an aggregate
capital of nearly S10,0O0OU0. 1t has 125
newspapers. elghty-nine OF them published
daily. 1t has 200 churches and over L 100
school houses-almost as many as the entire
territory had in 1884. 1t has 10
manufacturing establishments of vari-
Gus kinds, in this respect exceed
ing South Dakota, and three years ago
paid postal revenue of Sl50,534 IL has,
BESIDES the capitol building ut Bismarck,
the hospital for the insane i'll jamestown,
costing about $500, 900. 1t has the territorial
penitentiary at Bismarck costing 100000,
the North Dakota university at Grand Forks,
besides the Congregational college at Fargo,
the Baptist college at Tower City, and the
Presbyterian college in jamestown. 1t has
nearly 1000 miles of completed railways.
more than is possessed by half the states of
the Union, and nearly 75,0000u0 of prop
erty assessed for taxation. In every possible
equipment therefore, North Dakota, like
South Dakota, is abundantly supplied. In
one respect it has the
ADVANTAGE OF IT'S SOUTHERN SISTER.
Nearly half the area OF South Dakota is
now occupied by Indian reservations while
North Dakota has but comparatively Il small
portion of its limits devoted to this purpose.
Being then prepared to assume the response
bilites of state what steps can or shall be
taken to that end? There is no set form for
the preliminary march TO statehood. What
we need and what is particularly Important
is that we march hand in hand, shoulder to
shoulder unitedly for this objective point as
speedily as possible with decorum and with
proper regard for the rights of all concerned.
Kentucky was admitted without a constitu-
tional convention and under a constitu-
ton which was not even submitted to
vote of the people Indiana came i'll under
an enabling act OF congress Iowa,
under the constitutions which were framed
by authority of conventions held under acts
of limited legislature. There has been some
doubt regarding the legal power of 4 ter.
tional convention. but president-elect Harri-
son commended the action of our legislature
in its action in 1855 in speech in the SEN
ate several years ago. There have been cases
where the
CONSTITUTIONS FRAMED BY CONVENTIONS
have never been laid before congress at all,
the president having been authorized if he
deemed such constitution republican in pow
er to proclaim the state q member of the
union. AS have said, no form of procedure
is furnished either by constitution or con-
gress. twenty-five new states have been
added to the union and in ten there were no
enabling acts by congress. 1t is important
that we have harmony and unity here. The
work we inaugurate is fraught with momen-
tious results. We begin under the most aus
picious circumstances. The way is clear,
The pathway unincumbered with previous
failures.
Four svice presidents were elected.
Col. Plummer, of Cass; Judge Lewis, of
Trail; Col. Thompson, Of BurIeigh:
and w. n. Poach, of Grand Forks. r.
M. TuttIe, of Mandan, was elected sec
retary, aid \. g. Mcmillan, of James
town; ii. Ellis, of Oakes, and j.
3. Powers, of Wahpeton, assistants. A
resolution was unanimously adopted de-
claring it to be the sense of the conven-
tion that the territory should be divided
on the seventh standard parallel. A
committee Oh order Of business
was appointed as follows: Spauld-
ing, of Cass; Jewell, Of Burleigh;
Hansbreugh, of Ramsey; Ward, of
Grand Forks; Yarkey, of Walsh. While
that committee was out the convention
listened to E. p. Wells, of jamestown,
,,,bo rood Intfarc and 'tptpyramS indOrS-