The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-06-25

NO MORE TO MOVE.
State Capitol Corner Stone is Laid
at Pierre.

The laying of the corner stone of
the new state capitol at Pierre today
will be marked with ceremonies ap-
propriate to this important occasion.
1t will mean the elimination Of the
hopes of the citizens of Pierre. who
have fought for years to retain the
fruits of their first victory, and from
now on they can rest secure, as there
never will be another capitol removal
fight in South Dakota.
The first capitol of Dakota territory
was at Yankton, and it was removed
to Bismark in 1883, which remained
as the seat Of state government until
the division of the territory into the
two states. Upon the organization of
the state in 1889 there was a livcly
scrambled among several cities fer
the location of the temporary CAPITOL
Pierre winning out by substan:ia! /!
majority. Pierre and Huron fought
it out for 4 !e:ma leut capitol in 1850.
Pierre again winning.
All efforts to bring the question be-
fore the people failed until 1903, when
Mitchell, with the AID V several other
aspirants. succeeded in getting nil
through both houses calling for
vote on the Question. The question
came up for a vote in the fall CT
1904, Pierre winning for the third
time
The last campaign was principally
a battle of railroad passes. The Mil
waukee road. backing Mitchell, gave
out trip passes from anywhere in
the state to any other place in the
state on request. The North Western
for Pierre did not give out individual
passes, but the workers would be
handed a pass for John Jones and
one hundred miles from the starting
point in the eastern part of the state,
with a half dozen Jones passes and
as having the transportation of any
individual on the train, resulting in
everyone riding free. The workers
in the different towns would exchange
transportation courtesies, so that the
eXcursonists were not limited to one
road when they started out The final
result of the campaign was vote
of 81 80J for Pierre and 10000 for
Mitchell.
The 1905 session of the legislature
took up the capitol building PROPOSE
tion and provided for the erection of
one wing Of a building on plans to
make it symmetrical part of a whole.
Through squabble over the use of
stone, which was taken into the courts,
nothing was done the next two years
except to put in a foundation for the
wing.
The legislative session of 1907 pro,
vided for the construction of the com
plete building at the cost of 100000,
and that year the contract was let and
work pushed on the foundation.
With the beginning of this year work
on the walls of the building was COM
menced, and has been progressing rap
idly, the east wing being well up
toward the second story while the
western end was held back on account
of the delay in securing the corner
stone.
The structure is 800 feet in length,
with a width of 100 feet in the central
part, and 1919 feet in the wings. The
top of the dome will be 166 feet above
the subbasement wall. The sub b-base-
ment wall is OF granite boulders from
the hills about the city. The base
ment, or first story walls are of Mar
quette rain drop sandstone with Orton-
vile. granite trimmings and pillars.
The rest of the structure is of Bed
ford limestone.
The halls of the two houses of the
legislature will be in the wings and
will reach from the second story to
the roof, with offices on what will be
the third and fourth floors in the
building. The main Offices of the
state officials will be on the second
floor. The contract calls for com
pleted building ~ the first of July,
1910. The first legislative session
which can be held in the building will
be that of 1911.
While the new building is much
larger than the old one, within ten
years it will be crowded, and before
many years another structure for the
supreme court will have to be erected.