The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-04-24
SOUTH DAKOTA
ACQUIRED STAT EH000
Dy Doane Robinson, State Historian.

ion of state on November 2, 1889, in a
period Of unusual depression. The
great Dakota boom OF the eighties had
worn itself out and the reaction had
come. The law of the survival of the
fittest was doing it's work, and weak.
lings were struggling back Ito live
with wife's folks" and the tales Of the
hardships OF pioneer life which the!
were carrying with them were having
their injurious effects upon the pubio:
mind. The crops of that harvest well
exceedingly poor, money was clos
and times hard. The general depre:
sion which came upon the business 0
the country from 1885 to 1889 was still
felt. That year the Sioux had relin-
pushed their lands between the Chey
enne and the White rivers, and they
were beginning to rue their bargain.
About all Of the railroads demand
ed by the development of the conntr,,
up to that date, had been constructed
and there was no forward movement
anywhere along the line.
The tried out pioneers, however,
were filled with rejoicing at the end OF
the territorial regime. 1t had been a
time OF political dependence. not con
ducive to the development of robust
citizenship, and f~ar-seeing men hailed
!. with Joy the approach Of the time when
Dakotans should assume the RESPONSE
bility of their own affairs. All OF the
present day educational and benevo-
lent institutions were inherited from
the territory except the Aberdeen and
Springfield normal schools. the school
for the blind and the school for the
feeble minded. but they were yet n
their swaddling clothes. badly equipped
and ~unprepared for the real work they
were destined to do. Not much aa-
~vancement was made during the first
iyear OF statehood; a second year OF
short crops followed. and in the au-
|tumn of 1890 the Messiah War with
the western Sioux still further inter
fered with immigration, and though
1923 were fine crop years, condi
lions had no more than reached nor
NAL when the awful financial cata
lclysm Of 1898 overwhelmed the countrt
and was especially hard upon the from
tier, and. to add to our woes, on Jan
nary l. 1895. the state treasurer alb,
seconded with every dollar In the treas
ury. At that time corn and oats were
worth s cents per bushel in the local
market, and butter 10 cents per pOund
in New York. but nevertheless 100
marks the turning Of the tide and good
crops and mending prices followed
through a long period of years. The
pioneers who had survived the ordeal
too. We're men and women whom moth
ing could daunt. They had been tried
by fire and proven themselves the At
test OF the fit. They are the solid
foundations upon which the subse
Quent remarkable prosperity of South
Dakota has been based. In 1889 the
state began business in the main par
of the old capitol erected as a fire.
gift by the people of Pierre. Only {
few OF the chief officers were accom-,
modated. Today she has a capito
comparable with the best.
The state university had three small
buildings, now it has nine attractive
ones.
Then the state college was crowded
into two buildings, now its campus j!
covered with every desirable facility
dozen or more buildings. with barn.
and warehouses galore.
The other institutions were al
meanly houses and cramped for space
all are now comfortably provided.
Then the state debt was 81. 100. Nov
it is negligible.
Then the bank deposits were iv,
millions, now they are one hundred
: million.
Then our annual product was wortl
: SIS, 600. 900. now It Is worth two hun
dred million.
Then we had no school fund. nov
that fund totals eleven million dollars
Then the average family was mean
~ housed and without modern com
; forts: today the average home is file,
; with every comfort.
. Starting under the depressing con
ditions above enumerated, South Da
. kota has come through a quarter OF
century OF development such as ha
!. rarely If ever before been exper;
enced by a commonwealth. While dou
bling her population she has augment
ed her wealth ten times and her re
: serve funds twenty times.
Materially, educationallv, morally, ii
comforts and in progress. we havl
made long strides from the taw-,nari