Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-05-24

me seeding season. While the newly
sown wheat is slow at starting, IL ID
beginning TO make a on soHle
of the earlier sown fields, and no fear
is expressed hat the grain IN ths
ground has been injured in any way
by the cold weather. With the WheaL
seeding out of the way, the corr plant
ing will be commenced, ana a urge
amount Of corn and flax Will De put
in on breaking. At least a dozen pow
er breakers are tearing up the 500
| within Twenty-Five miles of Pierre, n
most of this newly turned land Will De
put into either corn or flax. West OF
the Missouri river the power plows
are also at work, and one man near
Midland is putting in six
acres of sod flax as his first expert
ment in crop raising west Of the Mis-
souri,. Several ranchers who have
been in Pierre the past few days say
the homesteaders are tearing up the
prairie all around them and getting in
small patches of crops, principally
corn. flax and other crops which are
considered to be adapted to sod grow
ing. While the spring has been I'M
usually cold, and the precipitation be-
low normal, the amount of moisture
I'm the ground has been and is suili-
cient for cropping II termination.
All interests are hoping that warmer
weather will soon start the crops to
growing, which they are not doing to
any great extent as yet.
J. The Northwestern railway improve
ments at, Pierre are practically al!
planned, and the yards which Will be
located in East Pierre. call for eight
miles Of trackage in addition to what
is already in. They will build a repair
shop 50x120 feet in size: a round
house with ten stalls, on a basis of ex-
tension to forty: an under-cut coaling
chute; and a number Of smaller build
ings necessary to handle the business
Of the year. A seventy-foot steel turn
table will be placed for the use OF
the service. All the buildings are to
be built of brick with concrete foun-
dations, and will be heated with a
central hot air heating plant, and will
have IL complete power system of thei-
OWL. The new track from Pierre west
is being built evidently for heavy
traffic from the n in which it Is
being ballasted. and laid with heavy
steel, and it Is not certain, it is
| rumored hat the Minneapolis coast
trains over Tie SySkoIH Will 10 sent
through here instead Of by way Of
Omaha. Such a change in their line
would relieve the heavy traffic over
the Union Pacific across Nebraska.
and give the Northwestern a longer
run on their own tracks instead Of
over the leased line. Whether thai
plan will be carried out or not. ev-
erything which is being done here Is
on a scale which provides for future
extensions of their plant, and the
tracks being laid also indicate the ex-
~pectation of heavy traffic over the new
line.
From letters being received at thu
| office of the secretary of state tha
| last few days, the referendum petit
| ton on the divorce law Will require
| culling after it teaches the office. De-
mands are beginning to come in from
parties who have signed the petition
asking hat their names be stricken
of before the petition is filed. II
| these requests are to be granted, those
who are opposed to applying the ref
| erendum have a way opened to them
| to seriously handicap that movement
by following the solicitors for pcti-
tons for the referendum with anoth-
er asking for withdrawal. AS most
| people will sign any petition presented
to them, a long list of Withdrawals
could easily be secured requiring the
referendum people to greatly enlarge
| their lists of names in order to be
certain of having enough on the list
to secure action.
Doane Robinson, secretary of the
| State Historical society, has received
| from p. F. Wickhame, of Alexandria.
a small limestone boulder, which was
found on one of his farms in Hanson
county. One side of it has oeen
smoothed off, and on it is a crude
drawing of a White man, clearly cut
in the stone. Secretary Robinson be-
lieyes it to have been the work Of an
Indian attempting to copy the I'M
press of a medal, and very likely that
of Washington, as the general out
| Inies somewhat resemble those Of a
profile view Of the first president. In
the eraly history of the country med
ais bearing a LIKENESS of the presidents
We're distributed among the Indians
as marks of favor of the government,
and one of these was probably used as
a copy for the work on the stone
Two and a half townships were
taken up with new filings in the Pierre
land office for the month of April,
with $40 homesteads and IL declara-
tories. This would mean a total Of
| $1,000 acres more of the public do
main taken up for the month. For
the same month % sections, or nearly
a township, was acquired throuSh
final proof, Z final homesteads, 90
communication proofs having been Of
fered for the month. The contest bust
ness was heavy, a number Of such
hearings being on for nearly every
working day of the month, some Of
them being bitterly fought for tracts
sidered to be worth the fling fees.
At a conference of the state capitol
commission with Architect Bell, of
Minneapolis, and Architect Schwarz,
of Sioux Falls, plans for the capit,l
were modified to allow the use of
rough dressed granite for the base
ment story of the building. This ac-
ton was taken on presentation of
Sioux Falls tor men that it would
be impossible for them to bid under
the plans originally drawn and the
change will allow them to get some
South Dakota stone in the capitol
building.
State Superintendent Ustrud has
gone to Mitchell where the old state
reading circle will close up the bust
ness before them and adjourn sine
die. Under the new educational law,
tho circle will after rho fret IF TuIv ho