3/12/2014:
Shortly before midnight on March 8, 1889, the sharp rap of the gavel announced the end of the 18th Territorial Legislative Session and hopefully the last Session of Dakota Territory, North or South. There was a lot of work ahead to ensure statehood for North Dakota. Between the heavy use of vetoes by Governor Church and a flurry of activity in the last two days of the session, many bills were left on the table and many met a quick death on the chambers’ floors. With the exception of the Soldiers Home at Hot Springs, all bills creating new institutions were killed or left stranded. The placement of the Agriculture College at Valley City was vetoed by the governor, giving Fargo a second chance.
There were three hundred and sixty-six bills introduced in the House and only sixty-eight survived the gauntlet. Three hundred and twenty-six bills were introduced in the Council, and only sixty made it through for a total of 692 bills introduced and only 128 enacted. Thirty-four bills were vetoed.
A number of significant bills did pass, including a bill to create a Board of Railroad Commissioners, a Usury Bill to limit high interest rates, a bill authorizing organized counties to erect public buildings, and a bill providing for the appointment of officers of public institutions. There were also appropriation bills to meet the requirements of the omnibus bill.
Unfortunately, a number of bills that had occupied a significant amount of time in the legislature, failed to pass, including the Suffrage Bill and the Prohibition Bill, which was vetoed. With the Farmers Alliance being less effective than hoped, most bills relating to the railroads failed, mostly due to the howling of the pro-railroad pack, but House Bill 337, which put a one-dollar tax on every dog in the territory, passed without a whimper.
Interestingly, Dennis Hannifin, the Squatter Governor and leader of the whimsical Third House, was relatively quiet throughout most of the session much to the dismay of the newspapermen and Hannifin’s followers who counted on him to keep things interesting. But from Denny’s viewpoint, there was so much antagonism between the legislature and the governor, and even within the ranks of the legislators, that he really didn’t think he could add much more turmoil. He just sat back and enjoyed watching the antics. He would return to help out the fledgling state, but he would miss the members of the Third House from south of the Seventh Parallel who would not be returning. The Territorial Third House was also “Sine Die.”
Dakota Datebook written by Jim Davis
Sources:
The Bismarck Tribune March 15, 1889
The Jamestown Sun March 14, 1889
Territory of Dakota, Journal of the Council of the Eighteenth Session of the Legislative Assembly, January 1889, Bismarck Tribune Printers. & Binders, 1889
Laws of the Eighteenth Session of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota , Bismarck Tribune Printers & Binders, 1889