Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1907-10-17
TELLS STORY OF STATES GROWTH
Address Of Gov Coz Crawford the Inland Waterways
Convention al Memphis.

| sissippi valley-which, we are told,
4 embraces over 10000 miles OF river
| waterways--over 40 per cent of the
| whole waterway system of the United
| States.
The Missouri river is a very impor-
tant part of the Missouri mississippi
Ohio waterway. 1t drains the great
! est stock-raising and grain-producing
| section of the United States.
This great section embraces about
one-fourth of the United States and
Is per cent Of its population 1t has
| about 20 per cent of the entire rail
way mileage of the country and con-
tributes about is per cent of gross
| earnings annually to, the railroads.
The building of the Panama canal
alone will undoubtedly acuentuate the
commerce on the Mississippi river.
| The construction of great trunk
of Mexico would enlarge that COM
merce tremendously, while the eff
Gent Improvement of the Missouri
river, so as to make it a practical
| route for commerce from South Da-
kota to st. Louis, would bring to the
trunk canal a tributary which could
deliver to it millions of tons annually,
and the saving to the people both di-
rectly and indirectly would be meal
| culable. 1t is claimed that the aver
age rate for CARRYING freight on the
| great lakes and upon the rivers in the
| Mississippi valley is only about one
| seventh of the average rate charged
| by the railroads OF the United States.
| The people of the upper Missouri
country, in common with the people of
the central region of the United
| States, see the value of a great water
route of this kind as leveler and a
| check upon railway rates. They are
not only willing, but anxious, to sup
| port broad, comprehensive and prac-
tical scheme which will make a com.
mercial use of these great natural
| highways.
Prophetic of the future that awaits
! the vast upper Missouri section and
| its constantly Increasing products. is
the output of South Dakota-one OF
| the new states-which for the year
! 1906 was .39,000,000 bushels of wheat,
| 100000 bushels of corn 51OOG.OOO
| bushels of oats, 24,00O00O bushels of
barley. 100000 bushels of flax. 5000
600 bushels Of speltz, 4,0O0,O0G tons of
! hay, $5,G00,000 in potatoes, vegetables
and fruits, 81 100000 in dairy prod
ucts, s5,0O0,000 in eggs and poultry.
So6,000,000 in livestock, $4,000, 900 in
minerals and stone, 100000 in wool
and hides, and $4,000 in honey---s, to-
tai Of y 100000.
The annual output is increasing
each year with rapidly advancing
ratio, pouring a constantly swelling
stream into the arteries of commerce..
AT present there are only six inhabit-
ants to the square mile, so that we
have room and resources for vast
increase in population.
The story of South Dakota is the
story of it's neighbors in the upper
Missouri region. We tell it to you as
elder members of the household of
states, and with it gives assurance
that we are ready to. help in every
way possible an enterprise that will
cheaper the way from our farms to
the markets of the world
We want good markets and free and
fair competition at home In the old
days when the protective system was
building up home manufactures
there was free competition in the
home market, which kept prices at
a reasonable level. In the present day
of trust and combination, however. il
frequently happens that competition
is destroyed and sometimes principle
/, OF protection is invoked to promote
UNJUST exclusion and monopoly I
speak for the producers of an agricul-
tural state when say that we want
our tariff laws revised to remedy
cases OF this kind. When trust has
destroyed competition in the trade of
any commodity at home, why not let
! the foreigner clip it's wings by re-
ducing the tariff upon that commodity
SO as to let him come in? When com
petition Is destroyed, extortion fol-
lows as certainly as human selfishness
and human avarice exist. When the
power to extort exists the law of
regulation and control is the only pro-
lection of the people. The building
OF the Panama canal and the improve
ment of the waterways of the Mis-.
souri, and Mississippi valleys will be
wholesome check upon the monop-
oily OF railroad transportation, and in
behalf OF the people Of one of the
states in the valley Of the Missouri,
Join in the hope and wish that the
great enterprise which engages the
attention Of this convention may be
successfully carried out.