and the Homestake Belt in the former county has ever since been the chief producer in the state. For ten years after the Black Hills were thrown open little gold was mined because of the lack of railway facilities. Cement deposits were discovered in the Black Hills region in 1876 and in the same year the first quartz mill was set up in Deadwood. In 1889 a cement plant was built at Yankton, and it is still worked although the output is small. Mica-mining was also carried on for a time but was soon abandoned. The first natural gas-well in the state was drilled at Pierre in 1892.
The total value of all mineral products in 1902 was $6,769,104, of which $6,464,258 were represented by gold and silver, $110,789 by sandstones and quartzites and $86,605 by limestones and dolomites; in 1908 the total value was $8,528,234, which was an increase of more than $3,500,000 over the value in 1907. This increase was due almost entirely to the gain in the gold output which advanced in value from $4,138,200 in 1907 to $7,742,200 in 1908. The total amount of gold mined in 1908 was 374,529 fine ounces, the greater part coming from the Homestake Mine. In 1908, 197,300 oz. of silver were obtained, valued at $105,500 as against $70,400 in 1907 and $101,086 in 1906.
Manufactures.—Manufacturing in South Dakota is of little importance and is confined chiefly to articles for home consumption. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of establishments increased from 499 to 1639, the capital invested from $3,207,796 to $7,578,895 and the value of products from $5,682,748 to $12,231,239. Under the factory system there were 624 establishments in 1900 and 686 in 1905; the capital invested in 1900 was $6,051,288 and in 1905 $7,585,142; and the value of the, products was $9,529,946 in 1900 and $13,085,333 in 1905. Both in 1900 and 1905 flour and gristmill products ranked first in value, the figures for 1900 being $3,208,532 and for 1905 $6,519,364. The second industry was the manufacture of cheese, butter and condensed milk, and the third, printing and publishing. Sioux Falls is the principal industrial centre.
Transportation.—The railway mileage of Dakota in 1870 (before the present states of South and North Dakota were erected) was only 75 m., and in 1880, 1225 m. In 1890 the mileage of South Dakota was 2610 m., in 1900, 2961 m., and in 1909, 3776 m. The rincipal systems are the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul, the Great Northern and the North-western. The principal waterway is the Missouri River. whose channel has an average depth at low water of about 2% ft. between Sioux City and Fort Denton, Montana, but the constant shifting of the channel makes navigation uncertain.
Population.—The total population of South Dakota in 1890 (the date of the first Federal census taken since its separate existence as a state) was 328,808, and in 1900 it was 401,570; the increase from 1890 to 1900 being (exclusive of persons on Indian reservations) 16.8%. In 1910, according to the U.S. census, the total was 583,888. Of the population in 1900, 380,714 were whites, 88,508 were foreign-born, 465 were negroes, and 20,225 were Indians. Of the Indians 9293 were taxed. The population on Indian reservations in 1890 was 19,792; in 1900, 17,683. The Indians on reservations and in Indian schools include members of the Yankton, Yanktonai, Oglala, Brulé, Sisseton, Wahpeton, Flandreau, Sioux, Blackfeet, Miniconjou, Sans Arc and Ute tribes, on the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River reservations in the north of the state, the Lower Brulé and Crow Creek reservations in the central part, and the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in the south. The figures for inhabitants born in the United States but not within the state show a preponderance of immigration from neighbouring states, there being, in 1900, 31,047 natives of Iowa, 24,995 natives of Wisconsin, 18,565 of Minnesota and 16,145 of Illinois, out of a total of 313,062. Of the total foreign-born population of 88,508, 19,788 were Norwegians, 17,873 Germans, 12,365 Russians, 5906 English Canadians, 5038 Danes, 3862 English and 3298 Irish. Of the total population 245,383 were of foreign parentage—i.e. either one or both parents foreign-born—and of those having both father and mother of foreign birth there were 44,516 of German parentage, 44,119 of Norwegian, 25,113 of Russian and 11,222 of Irish parentage. From 1890 to 1900, on the basis of places having 4000 inhabitants or more, the urban population increased from 10,177 in 1890 to 28,743 in 1900; so that there was the remarkable increase of 182.4% in urban population against an increase of 16.8% in the total population. In 1900 there were seven cities having 3000 or more inhabitants: Sioux Falls with 10,266; Lead, 6210; Yankton, 4125; Aberdeen, 4087; Mitchell, 4055; Deadwood, 3498; and Waterton, 3352.[1]
In 1906 the total number of communicants of different religious denominations in the state was 161,951, of whom 61,014 were Roman Catholics, 45,018 Lutherans, 16,143 Methodists, 8599 Congregationalists, 7055 Protestant Episcopalians, 6990 Presbyterians and 6198 Baptists.
Administration.—The state is governed under its original constitution of 1889, with amendments of 1896, 1898, 1900, 1902, 1904 and 1909. The suffrage is granted to all males[2] resident in an election precinct for ten days, in the county for thirty days, in the state for six months, in the United States for one year, and 21 years of age, except those under guardianship or insane, and those convicted of treason or felony, unless restored to civil rights. The legislature may propose amendments to the constitution by a majority vote of all members elected to each of the two houses, or may issue a call for a constitutional convention by a two-thirds' majority. In either case the proposition must be ratified by popular vote at the next general election.
The chief administrative officers are a governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer (not eligible for more than two consecutive terms), superintendent of public instruction, attorney general, and commissioner of school and public lands, all elected biennially by direct popular vote. The governor and lieutenant-governor must be citizens of the United States, qualified electors of the state, at least thirty years old, and residents of the state for two years preceding the election. The governor may remit fines and forfeitures, and grant reprieves, commutations and pardons, but in the more serious cases only on the recommendation of a board of pardons, composed of the presiding judge, the secretary of state, and the attorney-general. He has a veto power extending to items in appropriation bills, which may be overcome by a two-thirds vote in each house. A lieutenant-governor, chosen biennially, presides over the senate.
The legislative department consists of a Senate (with not fewer than twenty-five and not more than forty-five members) and a House of Representatives (with not fewer than seventy-five and not more than 135 members) chosen biennially. Senators and representatives must be qualified electors, citizens of the United States, at least twenty-five years old, and residents of the state for two years next preceding election. The sessions of the legislature are biennial and are limited to sixty days. Bills may originate in either house, and either house may amend the bills of the other house. A constitutional amendment providing for minority representation in the House of Representatives was rejected in 1889 by a large popular vote. South Dakota was the first American state to adopt the initiative and referendum. Under a constitutional amendment, adopted by popular vote on the 8th of November 1898, 5% of the legal voters of the state may require the legislature to submit to popular vote at the next general election measures which they wish enacted into law, or measures already passed by the legislature which have not yet gone into force. Exceptions to the referendum are made in the case of laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or the support of the state government or the various state institutions. In practice the legislature has interpreted these exceptions so freely that nearly all important laws are passed with emergency clauses. The governor's veto does not apply to measures passed by popular vote.
The judicial department consists of the supreme court, circuit courts, county courts, justices of the peace, and police
- ↑ In 1905, according to a state census, there were nine cities with 3000 or more inhabitants, showing some changes in order of size: Sioux Falls, 12,283; Lead, 8052; Aberdeen, 5841; Mitchell, 5719; Watertown, 5164; Deadwood, 4364; Yankton, 4189; Huron, 3783; Brookings, 3265. Pierre, the capital, had a population of 2794.
- ↑ The constitution provided for the submission to the people in November 1890 of the question whether the word “male” in Article vii. of the constitution as adopted be omitted, but the popular vote in 1890 and again in 1898 did not favour this change. In the original constitution it was provided that any woman having the qualifications as to age, residence and citizenship might vote at any election held solely for school purposes and “hold any office in this state except as otherwise provided in this constitution.”
