The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-02-20
OKLAHOMA
AND ITS MATE
Features Of the Territories to
Constitute a State
HASVALUABLE RESOURCES
Splendid Farming Land in the New
Commonwealth = VIII Equal
Kansas Substantially
in Size.
HASVALUABLE RESOURCES

The new state Of Oklahoma will be a
royal domain, and it will more than
measure up with many states when
they originally were admitted, even il
one accepts the doctrine that the per-
centage OF population Of new states
must increase IN harmony with the in
crease in population in the whole eoun-
try, says the Pittsburg Dispatch.
Taken together, Oklahoma and In
dian Territory viii make a state sub
stantially the size Of Kansas. This Is
smaller than most Of the states west Of
the Missouri, but the new common
wealth will come into the Union with a
much larger population relatively and
with much more definite resources than
almost any other state has had within
the last two or three generations.
According to the federal census Of
1900, Oklahoma had a population Of
39S.331 and Indian Territory $4,000,
making total census population for
the new state of approximately $780,
600. There is no doubt at all that the
population of the new state at the pres.
ent time is over a million. Even on the
basis Of the last census the new state
will have four representatives III con
gress, which fully meets the measure
of population anticipated by the found
ers of the republic
The best feature from population
standpoint of the new state Is that it Is
not only largely and, in fact, over
whelmingly American, but that it is a
distinctly growing community and can
be depended upon to increase rapidly us
the years go by.
When this country was established
the last work done by the old centen-
NAL congress, as embodied la the IA
nous ordinance OF 1887. was a proYi-
sion for the government Of the north.
western territory. 1t provided for the
future division of that territory into
not less than three nor more than FIVE
states. the boundaries OF the territories
Of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio being fix
ed by the ordinance itself That mas
terful document also provided that
whenever any one Of the embryo states
reached a population of 10000 free IN
habitants it should thereupon become
member Of the Union. 1t was Daniel
Webster who called attention to the
fact that whereas the necessities Of fed
GRAFTON among the sovereign colonies
rendered it necessary to take into the
Union and admit to equal representa-
tion in the senate such petty common
wealths as Rhode Island and Delaware,
the fathers OF the republic at the out
set wisely provided for states Of large
area and with considerable initial pop
ulation.
Most statesmen since then have In
sisted that the 10000 minimum estab-
lished by the ordinance Of 1857 was
merely the beginning of a sliding scale
and that the requisite for admission
into the Union must necessarily be in
creased TO correspond to the growth III
population of the whole country. When
the old basis was established the popu-
latIon was only about 100000, SO that
this rule would require a population as
a basis for statehood now OF /, 153.000.
I Most people admit that this Is too large
to think OF, but there has been gen
eral agreement In congress that no
state shall or should be admitted unless
Its total population should at least
equal that which IS required for con
gressional district.
Even under strict application Of the
sliding scale the new state Of Okla
homa would have about the population