The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-11-16
ALDRICH, In ADDRESS,
LAUDS SOUTH DAKOTA
Broadcast from WLAG, Minneapolis,
Nov. IL, by Irwin D. Aldrich,
Commissioner of Immigration


customary for persons addressing the
district school, or the Sunday school,
to express their delight at seeing so
many bright and smiling faces before
them. Let that be understood at this
time and we will proceed to occupy
about twenty minutes considering the
state of South Dakota.
| was east recently attending the
National Dairy Show at Syracuse,
New York, and | met a good mary
eastern people, some Of whom had a
rather vague idea Of the Dakotas and
Minnesota. A good many seemed to
think We were somewhere in the
vicinity Of Great Slave Lake or Hud
sons Bay. If | say some things
which my audience already know |
may be pardoned on account of this
recent experience.
East OF Chicago there are still a
coed .nony people who spseak of "Da-
kota" Just as the New Englandcrs
and New Workers in a previous gen
Grafton used to speak OF their pioneer
friends as having gone to 1.-THE Ohio. "
One hundred years after the thir;
teen original states had adopted the
national constitution and set up house
keeping in earnest, namely in the year
1889, the large territory Of Dakota
was divided and the new states of
North Dakota and South Dakota were
admitted to the Union. The president
who signed the bills purposely shuffled
them trS:, SO that only the dotted
lines were visible, and no one knows,
officially, which state is the older The
Dakota twins were Simultaneous, b,.
they are not exactly identical twins
in their climate and characteristics, a
fact which is not usually understood
by the average eastern man.
A large part Of South Dakota
borders on Nebraska and Iowa and
the state as whole possesses more OF
the characteristics of her southern
neighbors than Of her northern one.
When the state Of South Dakota
was born, in 1889, "a years ago, Iowa
was 43 years old, Illinois Il, Mime
sofa 81, Wisconsin Al, Nebraska -,
90 and Indiana 73. All OF
these states Of the middle west hao
from one to three generations the
start OF us, in the accumulation o
iarm buildings and plant with whicI
to do business.
Nevertheless youth has not prevent
ed Us from taking our place amonl
the foremost agricultural states IL
progress, and in production. Although
South Dakota stands 36th among tn,
states III population and 28th in tho
Ut farms, she ranks eighth i'll
corn production, second or third III
'pring wheat. fourth in rye, third III
.laXseed and sixth in oats.
The government statistics show that
for number of years she has stoot
highest in the per capita production
Of new wealth. In the federal cen.
sus Of 1920 South Dakota's 74,63
farms were valued at $2,432, ,697. On
ly ten states had higher total val
uation, although longer settled an,
With two or three times as many
farms. In the average valuation pc.
farm. representing the agriculture
wealth per individual farmer, Sout
Dakota ranked second in the Union, /;
remarkable and significant record for
, STRIPPING.
Tie carly settlers naturally began
heir pioneer farming with the grow
ng Of wheat as crop easy to prepare
>or, easy to handle and with con
slant cash market. A good deal o.
wheat is still grown in the state, some
26,000,000 bushels this eyar, but fol
he past twenty years we have stead
ly progressed toward a more diversi
led and better balanced farming
The barometer Of diversi-
ication in farming in the middle ives
S corn growing. Whether We produc,
logs, cattle or dairy products, on
,orn production is the Fundamental
actor.
If we examine the corn production
ioues Of 0ry state we can determine
lbout how rapidly she Is diyetsifylng
Ter farming.
A friend once told me that my talk
IN South Dakota would be mpre popu
ar and interesting if | left out the
igures; that the only place the gen
,ral public enjoyed figures was at the
,athing beach. Nevertheless ! must
:ubmit a few statistics here to show
you Just what the state Of South Da-
yota has been doing.