Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1889-01-30
A FAULTY BILL

the passage of the Springer bill.
| - -
| A FAULTY BILL.
| The Omnibus Measure Full of Flaws
1t May survive a Pruning Process
and it May No:.
Il. A. Carle's Washington correspoD.
dence st. Paul Pioneer Press, 27th: The
news relating to the prospects of the
territories has been notably contr adictory
and confusing. This is because the
situation is contradictory and confusing
to those most deeply concerned in it.
The fate of the territorial bill now rests
with the senate committee on territories.
That body nan report it to the senate, or
| withhold it ard let it die with the session.
IL can amend 1t with q view to agreement
between the two houses, or with O view
to inevitable disagreement and defeat
The committee can probably legislate
| for the senate. The session is near its
CLOSE, and senators have no time for
| personal examination of so bulky
| measure as the omnibus bill. They will
be guided by the report of the committee
or by its ludgmentif it concludes to.
make no report So it is to the committee
that we must look for Indications OF the
fate of the bill. 1t is the result of O
pretty careful observation OF the attitude
OF the republican members of the
ommlttee that they are honestly per.
| picked as to their action in relation to il.
They we're preposaeseed against any plan
OF SprInger's, and some of them have
never gotten rid of that preposseeaion.
The western membera are strongly ln-
| ttuenced by the territorial demand for
admission at any price, and two OF three
OF them believed that they saw in the
h6Hse amendments &; che Syringe. r!aa
a Sufficient correction OF the evils and on
acceptable compromise.
| At least three republican members
were counted as in favor of concurrence
in the omnibus bill Immediately after it's
! passage ia the house. But the attitude
of the republicans on the committee has
been changed by careful examination of
the bill. After the reading the other
day prominent member SAID:
| II We were to concur in this bill With
out change as we are urged to do l doubt
If any state could get into the union
under IS, or il state did succeed in get
ting III 1t would be a matter of doubt
just what constituted its organic law.
Many republicans and democrats,
however, agreed that the bill was con-
fused, contradictory and homogeneous
piece OF patchwork II is the aggregated
debris of five or elk abandoned bills with
three or four hssty amendments added
and the whole passed without being re-.
cast or collated in any committee. The
necessary result is imperfect legislation.
The most serious defects and coptrsdic-
tions have been pointei out in previous
news dispatches. ALI the members
present at the last meeting of the COM
mittee, democrats as we'll as republic
cans, agreed that these defects were
serious, and that the bill needed radical
reconstruction. Whether this is practi-
cable Hpon the framework of the house
omnibus bill the members decline to say
until the detailed examination OF the bill
| by subcommittee is completed. One
prominent member 10 doubtful. He
says:
The way to admit several territories
ss states by an omnibus bill is to frame
q complete bill for each territory first,
then aggregate such provisions as are
found to be plainly common into an in
trodnctory section and add tols what is
best of each Of the separate bills as o
section of the omnibus bill.
The most serious fault found with
this measure is the difficulty OF determin.
| ing what provisions are meant for all the
territories, and what for one alone. The
committee will have to determine
whether these faults can be correete d be.
fore it will undertake to pass upon the
merits of the bill One member says:
have no doubt the people of the Da-
kotas and all the territories are ready to
accept admission under these bills.
They are SO crazy to get in that they
would accept admission under an act
consigniDg them TO the Internal regions
immediately afterward. But it is our
business to protect them against the
consequences OF their own rsshpess.
i Another member rather sharply an
swered Dakota man who said that the
territory would take ita chances under
the Springer bill.
You may take your chances with your
people, but WON'T take mine with the
people OF the country il we enact hssty
j imperfect and harmful legislation. Yon
don't seem to understand that We are
legislating for the United States, not for
Dakota alone We are making lews for
the whole country in creating new statee
which are to be part OF it. We have our
own responsibilities to answer for from
which you cannot relieve MS by telling
us that Dakota will take her chances nm.
der this bilt.
Still another member OF the COM
mittee is quoted as taxing very high
ground rs to the right OF congress to ad
init new 2tatss in such way, with such
boundaries and under such Limitations
as it may choose without consulting the
people OF the territories ont OF which
they are to be created. This sounds
like an argument IN favor of one Dakota
bat 1t is in fact aimed at she
provision for submission OF the
question OF division TO popular vote
J The spirit OF ell the comment upon the
somnibns bill in the senete Indicates thai
that body is much less disposed to CON
, suit local sentiment than the house, anG
more inclined 10 raise legal objections
and stickie for technical accuracy. Party
: spirit hes not been disaqreesbly promi-
I nent in the discussions 80 fe1. The CUES.
tion OF New Mexico was laid aside b,
agreement at the committee meeting tht
other df,y. In private conversation re.
publican members ahow no settled de-
termination TO vote TO inclnde New