Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-02-14
IAREFUL INQUIRY.
,uu,TrEE OF INVESTIGATION
,,,,,.,vs IN SOUTH DAKOTA.

decorations Successfully Refuted-
s,n.l Condition of All the Counties
-. set Forth-The Drought and the
tor lss9-An Important Showing.
committee appointed by the Water
onvention has gone carefully over
rnd of investigating the present
On Of South Dakota with reference
shortage and consequent destitu.
nd submits the following report:
Committee appointed at the conven.
"A in Watertown in December last
impose of ascertaining, il possible,
Ics financial condition of our people
to the better refute the false and
[ons reports being circulated in the
and east regarding the destitution
,'tferius OF our people, caused by
(',ad and unparalleled droughts,"
I'VE to submit the following report:
chairman has spent several weeks
ring statistics; has in person Wis
(yaral counties, talking to the needy,
+, ssnt out over T5U letters and re-
(ye3 replies thereto. Nearly every
Lr of both houses of our legislature,
er With chalrmen of board of county
|ss;opers, treasurers, registers of
md prominent farmers have replied.
his personal visits he found one
who needed assistance, whose wheat
81 season was 800 bushels from 50
smother needing aid whose 60 acres
IUvO bushels; several whose av-
, a good acreage was from IL to II
les the wheat crop they had raised a
bD of corn, potatoes aud vegetables.
4 in many counties SIMILAR illustra-
II suffering from drought"
ind that over a very small area Of
* within this state was the loss from
n total, but in several localities there
bbyinkage Of the average yield be-
# of trevious years.
|a]so find the suffering from any
not to exceed one-twentleth part Of
ported by the eastern press.
apparent that the class OF farmers
len out of debt, or pay as they Co."
only not sinking, but are not need
r. are thousands of farmers in South
who came here with little or moth
10 are now in comfortable circum-
s. owning 100 or more acres or land,
Eood buildings, we'll improved, and
good start in stock, while on
|tLer hand we find those coming
under similar or even better
instances. now badly involved, their
ltssds mortgeged as we'll as their
rs.
causes which have led to this state
dition Of peoples finances will
nd in the tabulated statement which
IS, Tut 1t is from reports received
b say that we have purchased too
farm machinery to economically till
leage We have under cultivation. We
bald e1orbitant prices for the same
I've not properly cared for it, go that
ely short time 1t has been necessary to
h a smaller crop than we had antici-
We have been unable to meet our
tons, and in consequence have bor-
money at unusually high rates of in
and the low price for produce, the
E in the price of beef, pork and other
els of the farm has compelled the re-
Of obligations until the principal and
st have swept away the total crop in
instances, and left those who are ask
III some cases at least, really de-
Ne We iAd our crop has fallen below
Rage and that a greater amount of
NJ would lie beneficial, we are led to
ron personal observation as we'll
N tie reports of a very large portion,
T. nearly al our correspondents, that
luse tor the destitution that does ex.
not ~chargeable to either the soil or
te Of our state.
submit the following tabulated state
OF the average Of the princlpa! crops
untles, together with q summary of
Foportlonate amount of mortgages,
Eea! and personal. and the causes as
ted which have led to the condition as
6hah.