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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 4, 1935)
*The 49th State* Will it be this? or this ? or this? By ELMO SCOTT WATSON S THERE soon to be another star in the American flag and, if so, what state will it rep resent? Will it be Hawaii? Reports indicate that the people of that territory are about ready to knock at Uncle Sam’s door for admission to his Union and they are so eager to be the forty-ninth state that, dur lng the recent celebration of Flag day, they flew an American banner In whose field of blue they had sewed another "tar as indicative of their ambition. Will it be Alaska? The “1935 pioneers” who went there recently may be the vanguard of a migration which will populate that territory so rapidly that It will also have statehood ambi tions and the vast empire which was once known as “Seward’s Folly" may honor the man who bought it from Russia by joining the sister hood of states under his name. Will it be Porto Rico, which already has a pop ulation more than three times that of Hawaii and Alaska combined? Os, Instead of promoting one of his territories k to the dignity of statehood, will Uncle Sam “play realtor” and “open up a new subdivision”? In that case, will the new commonwealth be “Illiana" composed of Cook county, 111., and Lake county, Ind.? Or will it be “Absaroka,” made by piecing together parts of southwestern Montana, north eastern Wyoming and southwestern South Da kota? Then again, it might be “Texlahoma,” com posed of the Texas Panhandle and western . Oklahoma, including that strip of territory, 30 miles wide and 90 miles long, which was once known as No Man’s Land. Or it might be “Cim arron,” another name which has been proposed for a “cattle state” down In the Southwest. As a matter of fact, several such ideas for forming new states have been advanced during the past few mouths even though they have not fared very well thus far. The Indiana legisla ture promptly squelched the suggestion that Lake county secede from Uoosierdom and join with Cook county to form “Uliana” with Chicago as its capital. No doubt, either Rapid City, the thriving little municipality which put Itself on the map in the days of President Calvin Coolidge, or historic old Deadwood would be glad to be the capital of “Absarokn,” the forty-ninth state wMch would bear the tribal name of the Crow Indians. But Sheridan, Wyo., which is in the land of the “Sparrow Hawk People” (Absarokas) might dis pute the claims of the Black Hills cities, even if Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota would agree to hand over slices of their territory for a new state—which is doubtful. The latest suggestion for the creation of a new state—that of “Texlahoma”—came about when an enterprising Oklahoma Citian petitioned the state legislature for such action, giving as his reason the “rank discrimination by pnrent states against the counties within the described iterritories by those in official authority." Com menting on this proposal a Texas newspaper dispatch to the New York Times said: “In the past such proposals have originated fugitively in Texas, which is so large and diver sified that some sections occasionally feel dis criminated against politically. While this pro posal is more clearly defined than its predeces sors, it is extremely doubtful if its fate will prove happier. What sentiment might have ex isted years ago for the division of Texas has long since been dissipated, and with regard to the ‘rank discrimination’ against the Panhandle it is only necessary to say that not only does Governor Allred come from one of the counties that would ‘secede,’ but the four high men in the race for governor of Texas last summer were all from the region covered by the pro posed state, “Moreover, both economic and patriotic forces resist division today. Modern means of rapid transportation and communication are reducing even this vast frontier to a neighborhood. The approach of the Texas centennial is serving to -crystallize this unity, and it is significant that *-«oine of the most enthusiastic manifestations of pre-centennial patriotism are coming from the Panhandle, far removed from the shrines of Texas’ historical period.” One of the proposals to which he refers came about some five years ago when Vice President Garner, then a member of the house of repre sentatives, made a speech in congress advocat ing the division of Texas into five states as a means of giving the Lone Star state the repre sentation in congress, especially in the senate, . which she feels she should have. % As for the names of these five states, it is sug gested that there should be but one Texas, and that the central portion of the state which is now designated as Central Texas should bear it This state should not embrace San Antonio ns well as Austin, and for that reason San Antonio would have to be thrown into South Texas, for which the name Alamo or Davy Crockett is sug gested. Other state names suggested are Jefferson for West Texas, Sam Houston for East Texas, and Hogg for North Texas. Another suggestion is that the state of West Texas be called Pan handle. Texans who believe that they have the right to divide their state up into five parts base that right upon the terras under which Texas was annexed to the United States in 1845. At that time Sam Houston was president of the Repub lic of Texas, Anson Jones was secretary of state and Isaac Van Zandt was the Texan charge d’affaires at Washington. Houston told Jones to write Van Zandt a letter of Instructions on how to negotiate the treaty of annexation with the United States, and sent J. Pinckney Henderson along to help Van Zandt handle the matter with the American secretary of state. This letter, dated February 25, 1844, emphasized two points not embraced in previous instructions, the first of which was this: “The number of states into which the Territory of Texas shall be subdivided. I It Is presumable that in the settlements already made there is a sufficient population to consti tute one stnte, according to the requirements of the Federal Constitution, and that the remaining territory of the republic is sufficiently large to constitute three more at a future period. “You will, therefore, provide in the treaty for the ultimate creation of at least four states, and for their admission into the Union, so soon as the population of the respective territories shall be sufficient for that purpose—and in the meantime that territorial governments shall be established and maintained as circumstances and the wants of the people residing in those limits respectively may render proper and necessary.” President Tyler, in his message of December, 1844, refers to this same matter. Urging the prompt and Immediate annexation of Texas, he says: “Future legislatures can best decide as to the number of states which should be formed out of the territory, when the time arrives for deciding that question.” The “bill to provide for the annexation of Texns to the United States, and to restore the ancient limits of t lie Republic,” which was tinal ly passed, says among other things: "The said compact of cession and annexation, when made as aforesaid, to provide further for the future formation in said territories of at least two states, and if more than two, then four states, and if more than four, then of six states, to be hereafter admitted into the United States of America.” Henry Clay, then living in retirement but a candidate for the presidency, wrote a letter, April 17, 1844, emphasizing the fact that Texns was ultimately to be composed of five states, and declared that only two of them would be slave and three of them free. In that fact lies the fallacy of the idea that Texas has the right to divide itself into five states. This idea arose from a misinterpretation of the clause in the joint resolution of congress annexing Texas by which the Missouri compro mise line was carried to the west boundary of Texas. At that time Texas claimed territory far north, and provision was merely being made that states subsequently carved from Texas should be slave below the compromise line and free above. Since the outcome of the War Be tween the States settled the question of slavery, it also obviated the necessity for determining which of the five new states were to be slave and which were to be free soil. Even though none of these recent proposals for the creation of new commonwealths from those already existing has made much progress, they have added to the literature of “states that might have been” and have revived the memory of other such proposals in the past. If “Absa roka,” “Illiana,” and “Texlahoma” would look queer on a map of the United States today, how much queerer would it look if it had I’elisypia, I’olypotamia, Metropotamia and Chersonesus on it. Yet there were such names on the maps of 150 years ago and we might now have state* bearing those names if Thomas Jefferson had had his way about it. Thomas Jefferson Back in 1784 the new nation was considering the possibility of forming new states out of the Old Northwest Territory, won for the American flag by George Rogers Clark during the Revo lution. In the Ordinance of 1784, which was largely the work of Jefferson, provision was made for 10 states and Jefferson, who was one of the foremost classical scholars of his day, proposed these names for them: Silvania, Mlch Iganla, Chersonesus, Arsenistpla, Metropotamia, Illinoia, Saratoga, Polypotamia, Pelisypia and Washington. A map published by John Fitch (later famous for his invention of a steamboat) in Philadelphia in 1785 shows the boundaries of these proposed states, although his spelling of some of the names varies slightly from Jefferson’s. The new state of “Washington’’ included a strip through the middle of Ohio from Lake Erie soutli to the Ohio river. Saratoga comprised the lower half of Indiana and Ohio, westward from the western boundary line of “Washington” to a line drawn straight south from the eastern shore line of Lake Michigan. Metropotamia comprised the up per half of Indiana und Ohio with the same eastern and western boundaries. Chersonesus included all of the present lower peninsula of Michigan and a small portion of the present up per peninsula. Silvania included the rest of the upper peninsula, the upper third of the present state of Wisconsin and a portion of the eastern [tart of Minnesota. Michiganla comprised the central third of Wisconsin and Arsenispla the lower third. Illinoia would have taken in the upper third of the present state of Illinois and over into Indiana to the western boundary of Metropotamia. Polypotamia would have includ ed the central third of Illinois with the same eastern boundary and Pelisipia the lower third, a triangular tract bounded by the Ohio and Mis sissippi rivers. Although Jefferson’s report was adopted, it was never put into operation und eventually the old Northwest Territory Instead of being divided up into ten states was divided up into five—Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indinna and Ohio. American history affords two or three other Instances of proposals to erect new states from established commonwealths. At one time there was an effort made to form a state named “Sus quehanna” from a part of Pennsylvania, and in the early days of the Republic there was a pro posal to divide Virginia and make a state In the western part called “Westsylvania.” Eventually, of course, the state was divided. That was in 18C1 when Virginia seceded from the Union and Joined the Confederacy while the western part of the state voted to remain under the Stars and Stripes. At that time It was suggested that the new state should be called “Kanawha" but when it came Into the Union in 1802 it came as West Virginia. © Western Newspaper Union. Strong Favorite of Quilt Makers By GRANDMOTHER CLARK The “Irish Chain” quilt can be found In almost every collection, and quilt makers will mnke at least one of these simple chain patterns. The single, double, or triple Irish Chain has one, two, or three blocks In the chain. The background is white and the squares are a solid blue, red, or other dark mixed colors to give con trast The squares In this quilt measure 194 inches without seam, and they are appllqued on two dlf-' ferent nine-inch blocks; one all checked, the other with a square in each corner. These are assembled alternately to give above efTech Seven y-lnch blocks ure used across top and nine blocks on side. With a G-lnch border quilt will measure fin ished about 72 by 90 Inches. This quilt Is simple to make but cutting of patches and blocks must be accurate to produce good results. This quilt Is one of the 33 popular quilts shown In book No. 23, which will be mailed to you upon receipt of 15 cents. Cutting charts, Instruc tions and valuable information for quilt makers will be found In this book. ADDRESS—HOME CRAFT CO., DEBT. D., Nineteenth and St. Louis Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Inclose a stamped addressed en velope for reply when writing for any information. That’s Easy Burn egg shells to avert bnd luck. Is an old belief. WORKED CHANGE IN SULLEN TOT Stubbornness Ended by Wise Treatment. By HARRIET LOVEJOY National Kindergarten Association, t West Fortieth Street, New York. One morning n mother entered my kindergarten lending n little girl of five by the hand. She was pulling the child along against her will. “I would like to enter Mary in kin dergarten," she said. “I can’t do any thing with her at home.” “What seems to be the trouble?” [ asked. “She’s so stubborn. She won't do anything I wnnt her to.” I enrolled the child, and giving her a chair, said: “You may sit any where you like Mary." As the mother started for the door, she turned to me and said: “When you want Mary to do anything. Just ask her to do the opposite." Mary stood for a while, then pick ing up her chair proceeded to seat herself by a wnll. She sat there all the morning. No one paid any atten tion to her. When we had games, I asked her if she would like to come and play with us. “Nol" she replied in a spiteful manner. Mary sat In the same chair every day. She kept it up for a week or so. Then I think she became Im pressed with the Idea that it made no difference to anyone else whether she joined us or not One morning when we were hav ing games, I saw that Mary was standing. After a few moments’ hesi tation she came slowly up to the group. I smiled at her, saying noth ing. Soon she sidled up beside me and stood there watching the game. When we returned to our chairs, Ghostly Priest The “Mass of the Ghost," whose scene Is the Canadian parish of L’lslet, Is similar to a legend told In Itrlttany, France. A priest who died 50 years previous, appeared at mid night every night, at the altar, In sacerdotal garments, *o offer up a mass that he had neglected during his lifetime. He Is doomed to con tinue his nocturnal vltlts to the church until someone appears who has courage enough to remain and recite the answers to the gruesome mass. she went over to hers and picked It up. 1 made a place next to me at the table, saying: ‘‘Here’s a place for your chair, Mary, if you would like to sit here.” Mary came over and sat herself down. That was the last of Mary’s stub bornness at kindergarten. I related my experience with Mary to her mother, and I think she prob ably changed her methods, for some time later she Informed me: "Mary is so different since she entered kindergarten.” Be Brief No spoken funny story should «x* ceed 40 words. ITCHING toes Durnin$,sore.cracked.. . soon with Resinol Good Merchandise Can Be Consistently Advertised • BUY ADVERTISED GOODS • Wi'$$] slides for a putout Y 'J '-n —r*—fTT^i _ 'V"T" r l i i r~rm HELP! 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