The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1906-01-12
TO HOLD UP NEW COUNTIES.
No Legislative Representation Posi-
BILE Until 1918.


An investigation of the statutory
provisions shows that the people ot
western Stanley and Lyman counties
have a long road before them before
they secure the county organizations
which they desire.
Section l of article TX. of the con.
stitution says: "The Legislature shall
provide by general law for the organi.
zation of new counties, locating the
county seats thereof, and changing
county lines. All changes in county
boundaries in counties already or.
ganized, before taking effect, shall be
submitted to the electors of the coun-
ty or counties affected thereby at the
next general election thereafter, and
be adopted by majority of the votes
cast in each county at such election.
Counties now organized shall remain
as they are unless changed according
to the above provisions.
This constitutional provision shows
plainly that nothing can be done in
the way of county division without
legislative enactment that shall be
submitted to the voters OF the whole
territory affected at the next general
election thereafter This would mean
that the pepole who desire new
county first must come to the next ses-
sion of the legislature for a bill au.
thorizing county division, and if they
secure that, vote must be taken in
1908 to secnre q consent OF major
''v of the people of both the territory
i, be included in the new county and
of the old county which is left after
the new one is formed. Nothing could
be done in the way or organization un-
til after this election.
The legislature never has made any
provisions by general law for the di-
vision of counties. The 1903 session
made provisions for county annexa-
tiOn of adjacent territory, by which
the unorganized counties west of the
Missouri river We're all absorbed by
the organized counties. The people OF
the unorganized counties carried that
question to the supreme court under
the constitutional provision of vote
in the county to be affected, but the
court held that such provision could
not apply to unorganiZed territory in
which there was no legal machinery
for securing a vote, and only applied
to organized counties.
The probabilities are that if the
people of the western part of Stanley
and Lyman counties secure the re-
quired legislative action for division
they will not have a great deal OF
trouble in securing the required af-
firmative vote, as for self-interest, the
people in the new counties would vote
favorably and the county seat towns
on the river in the old parts of the
county would vote for division for fear
of a county seat contest II they de-
feated the division question.
While new counties might thus Sc
cure local self-government within
about three years, they would be cut
out of legislative representation for
several years more by the constitu-
tional provision which prohibits legis-
lative apportionment at any other time
except in session following either a
state or federal cenuss. This provi-
sion would keep them out until the
legislative session of 1913 as the first
apportionment which could be made
after they came into existence would
be at the session Of 1911, with the priv
ilege of electing their members at the
next election. They might follow the
example of Lyman county, which in
1906 sent Hon. Olaf Nelson as a rep
resentative. He was given seat as a
delegate on the floor of the house,
with the right to talk but not to vote,
and he got a clerkship to pay his ex-
penses.