Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-02-11
The Union as it Will Be.

Not many realize, perhaps, that the
circle of States is nearing completion.
At their present rate of progress it
cannot be many years before all of tho
Western Territories will be graduat-
ed into States, and the Union that
began a century ago as a narrow
strip along the Atlantic will have
grown into a gigantic empire of self
governing Commonwealth stretching
from ocean to ocean. The admiss-
ion of the two Dakotas, Montana aud
Washington cannot be delayed more
than a few months. This measure
will erect into States the whole of the
vast territory forming our northern
boundary from the western line of
Minnesota to the Pacific Ocean, with
the exception of the narrow strip of
Idaho which runs up between Monta-
ma and Washington and touches the
border of British Columbia. Leaving
out of consideration the Indian Terri
tory, whose position is anomalous
Union involve the whole question of
Indian citizenship, there will remain
after the admission of the two Dako-
tas, Montana and Washington, only
five Territories awaiting promotion.
OF these two, Utah and New Mex
leo, have already more than the pop
ulation recognized as the unit of rep
resentation. Utah will never be
admitted so long as it continues to be
a Mormon province, but the day
when the authority of the United
States will be supreme there will be
fastened both by immigration and
changes. New Mexico is
receiving large accssions of intelli-
gent and enterprizing Americans,
and its admission also is only ques-
ton of time. 1t has been proposed
that Arizona, which was a part of
New Mexico when it was organized
as Territory in 1850, and was cut
off from it thirteen years later, should
be reunited to it, and that the two
should be admitted as one State on
the ground that they are much alike
in physical peculiarities and in
character of population. But the
present tendency is to divide Terri
tories rather than to unite them, and |
it may be taken for granted, that
when these two Territories are admit /
ed to the Union it will be as two
States. Idaho stands next to Mon
ana in order of population as esti-
mated in the latest reports, Montana
having 140, 200 which has probably
since the estimate was
made, and Idaho $50, 600; Wyoming
comes next with So, 900, and Arizona,
Oy census taken more than six /
years ago, was shown to have SO, 900, I
which has doubtless considerably in
since that time. There has
been talk of dividing Idaho into two
States, North and South, but there
seems now to be no probability of
his.
The admission of the four new
Northwestern States will undoubted |
y greatly stimulate immigration, not
only there but to the remaining Ter I
ntorles, and it is likely that before
l9OO all of them will have been re- I
ceIved into the Union If we indul- /
&c our fancy sufficiently to suppose
that by that time the Indians will I
nave been made citizens, and the I
Indian Territory will have been erec-
TED into State, the Union will con- I
slst of forty-eight States, there will
be forty-eight stars on the flag where
there are thirty eight, and the mem T
oership Of the Senate will be ninety
SIX instead of seventv-six as now,
it still one of the sm Hest OF
The important Legislative bodies OF the |
world. When this process has been !