The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-02-24
FOUR NEW STATES.

The President has signed the omnibus
Territorial bill, bringing a little sentl-
ment into the act by attaching his sig
nature on Washington's Birthday. The
President was ready to sign such bill
three years ago, and has been ready and
willing ever since. The reason he die
NOT Sit ore was because none was pre-
sented TO him.
The bill provides for the creation Of
four States. as follows: South Dakota
North Dakota, Washington and Mon
tana. They are to be admitted on the
proclamation of the President after they
have adopted constitu tons and chosen
officers by popular elections. The
elections for members of the Consti-
tutionaI conventions are 10 be held II
May, and the constitutions are to 81
voted on and State officers and mem
bers of Congress chosen in October
when the Presidents proclamation viii
be issued and the dependencies bt
full fedged States, with all the indie
pendence, rights and privileges of the
other States. Washington, Montans
and North Dakota are each to have two
Senators and one Representative in
Congress, and South Dakota two
Senators and two Representatives.
These Will take their seats at the open
ing of the first regular session OF
the Fifty-frst Congress in December.
We heartily congratulate the colon es
on their emancipation. and while tab
is better prepared and more entitled to
assume the dignity, rights and resPon-
slbilines of Statehood than either OF
the fortunate dependencies named, our
congratulations are as honest and sin
cere as if this Territory were going to
the front with her sisters. We realize
that their good fortune is not our mis-
fortune, and, that in their happiness
there is nothing 20 cause US to be IN
happy. Utah is big enough not to be
envious.
The admission of these four States is
most important in political sense. 1t
increases the Republican msjo1ity in the
Senate eight, as all the new Senators
will belong to that party. The pos
sibility of the Democrats gaining con-
troll of the upper house of Congress
within four years is thus removed, and
they will be lucky even if they have
majority eight years from now, The
Republicans will increase their major
itv in the House six, thus having power
to do as they will in that branch of the
national legislature. Some assume that
the admission virtually settles the Pres
identisl contest of 1892 in favor OF the
Republicans on the ground that the
new States will increase the Republi-
can electoral vote by thirteen. Talk OF
this character is idle. Before the next
national election there will be new
congressional and electoral appoint
ment, under the census of next year.
At present nobody can say what the
census will develop, whether tie in
crease of population has been greater
in Republican or in Democratic
States; nor is it possible to say
what will be the basis of representa-
ton in the new superintendent. If the
basis shall be the same as at present, the
number of congressman will be greatly
increased, but where the increase will
fall cannot be told until the census re-
turns are in. 1t may transpire that
Democratic New York and the Demo-
cratic South have grown much faster
than the Republican northwest. If it
shall be decided that Congress is large
enough, the same number of members
being apportioned equitably, the repre-
sentation of Republican New England
will certainly be cut down very ma
terialIy, while that of the West and
South will increase in proportion. But
all this is mere speculation. The new
States may or may not be influential in
the next Presidential contest, according
to the developments of the coming
census.
There is one thing, however, that..may
be accepted as true, and that is that the
Democrats in Congress have so bungIed
the business of admitting these Terri
tories that they have allenated the af-
fections OF the coming States. If Mon
tsna and Washington had been admit
ted tive years ago, as they should and
Colld have been, they would to-day be
Democratic, with a fair probability of
continuing with the party. They have
been made Republican by Democratic
or meanness. The doing
of Justice to the colonies at this time is
regarded by the Territories as trick on
the part Of the Democrats to regain
what has been lost by stupidity.
It was well understood that
if the present Congress did not admit
Dakota a special session of the Fifty
first Congress would be called for that
work, and also that at its first regular
session the other two Territories would