Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1889-02-28
JUSTICE AT LAST.

The act is done. The twins are born.
Last Wednesday afternoon the house
and senate passed the omnibus bill, as
amended by their conference committee,
admitting the states of North and South
Dakota, Washington aud Montana to
full membership in the Union. On
Friday Washington's birthday-Pres-
ident Cleveland made his place secure in
the history Of the country by putting
his signature to the bill making it law.
The bill, as agreed to in conference,
provides for the admission of the states
of North Dakota, South Dakota, Mon
tana and Washington. The territory of
Dakota is to be divided on the line of
the seventh standard parallel due west,
to the western boundary of the territory.
The delegates elected to the constitution
al convention north of this parallel shall
assemble at Bismarck, and those elected
south of the parallel, at Sioux Falls.
The delegates to the convention in each
of the proposed new states shall be elect
ed on the Tuesday after the first Mon
day in May next, and shall meet on the
4th of July and declare that they adopt
the constitution of the United States.
They are authorized thereupon to form
constitutions and state governments. It
is provided that at the election for dele
gates to the convention in South Dakota
the electors shall vote for or against tho
Sioux Falls constitution. If majority
of the votes shall be for the constitution,
the convention shall submit to the people
of South Dakota, for ratification or re-
lection, the constitution framed at Sioux
Falls, also the articles and propositions
separately submitted, including the
question of locating the temporary seat
of government with such changes only as
relate to the name and boundary of the
proposed state, to the reappointment of
the Judicial and Legislative districts, and
such amendments as may be necessary
in order to comply with the provisions
of this act, and if a majority of the votes
cast on the ratification or rejection of
the constitution shall be for the con-
stitution irrespective of the articles sepa-
kota shall be admitted as state in the
Union under said constitution as herein-
after provided; but the archives, records
and books of the territory OF Dakota
shall remain at Bismarck, the capital of
North Dakota, until an agreement in ref
erence thereto is reached by said states.
But if at the election for delegates to the
constitutional convention in South Da-
kota, majority OF all votes cast shall
be against the Sioux Falls constitution,
it shall be the duty of the convention to
form a constitution as if the question
had not been submitted to the people.
It is made the duty of the president to
admit the four new states by proclama-
ton, if the constitutions formed are rati-
fed at the election to be held on the
first Tuesday in October. Each OF the
new states shall be entitled to one rep
resentative in congress. except South
Dakota, which shall be entitled to two
representatives. Section IL provides
that all lands herein provided for educa-
tional purposes shall be disposed of only
at auction sale, and at a price not less
bnan $1U per acre, 10 cOnStltuCe perma-
nent school fund, the interest of which
only shall be expended in the support of
said schools. But said lands may, under
such regulations as legislature shall pre-
scribe, be leased for periods of not more
than five years, in quantities not exceed
ing one section TO any one or company;
and such land shall not be subject to
presumption, homestead entry or any
other entry undr the land laws of the
United States, whether surveyed or I'M
surveyed, but shall be reserved for school
purposes only. All mineral lands are
exempted from the grants made by the
act. The two Dakotas are to be added
to Justice Miller's circuit 1.-THE Eighth J, |
and Washington and Montana to Justice |
Fields the Ninth).