The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1906-12-06
PROGRESS Of SOUTH DAKOTA IN 1906.
Year of Real Prosperity, Abundant Crops and General Happiness
Extensive Railroad gVndinA

Wv" VI ING pioSiCSo vi oou'h 80
kota during the year 1906 has been
prepared by Doane Robinson. secretary
OF the department of history. The
following is a summary of his report:
For the sixth consecutive year the
Department of History presents a re-
view of South Dakota's progress. and
again finds it a pleasure 20 congratu-
late our people upon a year of real
prosperity, abundant crops ana general
happiness.
Railroad Building.
The feature of the year has been the
general resumption of railroad build
ing In the state as forecast in the re-
view of n year ago. Three lines, the
Milwaukee, the North-W Western and
the st. Louis have each made extern.
sive additions to their mileage.
The Milwaukee has practically com
pleted its grade from Presho to Rapid
City, and at this writing has to fill a
gap of about 100 miles of rails to com
plete the division. The North-W Western
has its grade about completed from
Pierre to Rapid City, and the rails laid
for about half the distance. 1t has
been the purpose of both companies to
complete these divisions by the begin
ming of the coming year, but from
present prospects the finish will tc
delayed some weeks longer. The Mil
waukee has also graded it's Pacific eX
tension from Glenham, Walworth coun'
ty, across the Standing Rock Indian
reservation into North Dakota, a dis
lance of about eighty miles In this
sCate. The rails on his extension arc
laid to the Missouri river. where a
struction at about the mouth of Grand
river. This company. too, has com
pleted it's line from Sioux Falls by way
of Renner to Madison. The North
Western also has under construction q
steel bridge at Pierre, also an extern
sion of it's Bonesteel line for a distance
of thirty miles.
The Minneapolis & st. Louis has
graded a line from Waterfowl to Leola
In Mcpherson county, and a branch
from this line from Condo in Sphinx
county to the Missouri river at lie.
Beau, and will have the entire extern
sion in operation by Jan. ]. The line
from Rapid City to Mystic, uniting
the North Western and Burlington
systems in the Black Hills, was com
pleted early last spring and is in op'
Grafton, as The Crouch Line"
Tho u,nrly ,nnn oil nf thnCn hnnG
and extensions has been seriously de-
layed by TIE impossibility of securing
sufficient labor. The competition for
help by the farmers has drawn away
laborers from the railroads constantly
and rendered progress in construction
slow and unsatisfactory.
New Towns.
The new railroads have naturally
given birth to many new towns, scat
tered at intervals along the excen'
sions. The more important of these
are Presho, Murdo and Okatan, on the
Black Hills extension of the Milwau'
kee; Midland, on the Northwestern
in Stanley county, and Mobridge, at
the crossing of the Missouri river on
the Milwaukee's Pacific extension.
Florence III Codington county and
Cresbard in Faux county are important
points upon the Minneapolis & st.
Louis.
Belle Fourehe Irrigation Project.
Second in importance only to the
railroad extensions is the great Belle
Fourche irrigation project under the
direction Of the reclamation service OF
the general government. This project
involves the construction of the larg.
est earth dam in the world, and head
works Of vast proportions, creating q
reservoir of tremendous capacity and
placing 10000 acres of land under irri-
cation. Excellent progress has been
made in construction. Water will be
turned upon 10000 acres next spring,
and the entire project be under the
ditch by the spring OF 1909.
New Settlers.
The construction of railroads into
the hitherto inaccessible regions
west of the Missouri river has caused
a LlCliiCituOuc iiiluA vi new ~ -
into that portion Of the state. Practi-
cally all of the available land along
the new lines has been homesteaded,
and flourishing villages have sprung
UP throughout the region. There Is no
data from which to approximate the
growth of actual residents. The new
settlement Is not yet reflected in the
school census, and indeed the changes
made in the school census law by the
last legislature which excludes from
the enumeration many hitherto coun-
ted, makes that enumeration of little
value for comparative study and for
approximations of total population.
population. Manifestly there has been
a large growth.
Congressional Legislation.
The congress passed special acts af-
fecting South Dakota, in addition to
the general legislation affecting the
state, as follows:
Extending time in which Yankton,
Norfolk & Southern may build bridge
across Missouri at Yankton until
March 9, 1909.
Extending time in which Winnipeg,
Yankton & Gulf railway may build