UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 





03 



Charities and Corrections. Two members of 

 the Board of Charities and Corrections resigned 

 in December, 1900, and Gov. Lee appointed II. P. 

 Smith and F. H. Bacon, Populists, to the vacan- 

 cies. The State Supreme Court had decided in 

 the case of Finerud, member of the Board of .Re- 

 gents, that an appointment made by the Governor 

 during a recess to fill a vacancy was for the full 

 term of six years and did not require confirmation 

 by the Senate. Gov. Herreid, however, appointed 

 Messrs. Lavin and Rice in place of Gov. Lee's 

 appointees, but the court decided in favor of 

 Smith and Bacon, holding that the Governor could 

 fill a vacancy for the full term, though the Sen- 

 ate may have failed to confirm. The Legislature 

 then passed a law amending the section on the 

 Board of Charities and Corrections providing that 

 " when an appointment has heretofore been made 

 to fill a vacancy or shall hereafter be made, such 

 appointee shall hold only until the close of the 

 regular legislative session immediately following 

 his appointment, at which time the term of office 

 of such appointee shall expire." An emergency 

 was declared to exist, and the act to be in force 

 immediately. This limited the terms of Bacon 

 and Smith to March 8, and the Governor reap- 

 pointed Lavin and Rice. The case came again 

 before the -Supreme Court, hinging on the right 

 of the Legislature to. pass emergency measures 

 and omit the referendum. The court held that 

 the Legislature has such right, and that Bacon 

 and Smith were holding the offices without au- 

 thority of law. 



The reason given for the declaration that an 

 emergency existed was the result of investigation 

 by a legislative committee of the management of 

 State institutions, which appeared to be, at the 

 least, unbusinesslike and wasteful. Later in the 

 year a change was made in the management of 

 the Reform School, and it was alleged that an 

 investigation of the former management showed 

 gross irregularities. 



The number of inmates of the Penitentiary 

 was 146 in January. The capacity of the part in 

 use is 144. 



The average number at the State Soldiers' 

 Home was 194. 



A Government asylum for insane Indians has 

 been opened at Canton, with accommodations for 

 75 patients. 



Insurance. Reports of the Insurance Depart- 

 ment show $28,944,734 of fire risks written or 

 renewed in 1900-1901. The premiums received 

 amounted to $460,153, against $444,125 for 1899- 

 1900. The losses paid were far in excess of those 

 of 1899-1900, being a total of $413,484. 



Industries and Products. The preliminary 

 census bulletin on manufactures shows an in- 

 crease in all branches in the State. The number 

 of establishments has risen in the decade from 

 499 in 1890 to 1,638 in 1900; the capital invested 

 from $3,207,796 to $7,277,895; the number of 

 wage-earners from 2,011 to 6,121; the wages from 

 $832,692 to $1,511,289; the miscellaneous expenses 

 from $268,014 to $479,861; the cost of material 

 from $3,523,840 to $7,827,110; the value of the 

 product, including custom work and repairing, 

 from $5,692,748 to $12,229,489. 



The production of the State in 1901, as esti- 

 mated by the secretary of the State Historical So- 

 ciety, amounts to $113,652,750, itemized as fol- 

 lows :. Wheat, 39,000,000 bushels, value $20,000,000 ; 

 corn, 32,725,000 bushels, value $14,726,250; oats, 

 17,670,000 bushels, value $5,831,100; barley, 

 3,432,000 bushels, value $1,544,400; rye, 90,000 

 bushels, value $40,000; flax, 2,780,000 bushels, 

 value $3,861,000; potatoes, 2,200,000 bushels, 



I-.-, , 



value $1. 

 live stock, $_ 

 $H,f>00,000; orchii ri I 

 wools and hides, s_j.. 



The preliminary < 

 Mint gives Sout h I > 

 001,800 in value, ;m<l Lhc 



Petroleum has been di.-<< 

 (|iuintities .sufficient to 

 large area of land by a 

 sink wells. 



Railroads. In August a decision .- 

 in the United States court against the 

 Commission in the matter of rates. 'I he ju-i '. 

 declared that the schedule of maximum nitc. :iwl 

 charges fixed by the State Railroad Cornmi^ion- 

 ers is in violation of the Constitution of tin- 

 United States, in that it would operate to con- 

 fiscate the property of the railroad companies 

 without due process of law or without just com- 

 pensation. The commissioners, therefore, are per- 

 petually enjoined from putting into effect the 

 maximum rate schedule. The case has been in 

 the courts since 1897 and was once decided in 

 favor of the commissioners. 



Caves. Commissioner Hermann, of the Gen- 

 eral Land Office, has instructed the special agent 

 of the Interior Department to reopen " the Wind 

 Cave," in the Black Hills, to inspection by the 

 public. The cave belongs to the Federal Govern- 

 ment and comprises about 1,000 acres. It was 

 withdrawn by order of Jan. 16, 1900. 



Wind Cave is so called on account of the strong 

 rushing current of air through the entrance. Sev- 

 eral hundred feet below the surface a level is 

 reached from which miles of arched avenues ra- 

 diate in every direction, embracing a succession of 

 imposing chambers. The ceilings are pendant 

 with gems of stalactite formation, while around 

 the walls in niches carved out by the action of 

 the water are specimens of deftly wrought statu- 

 ary, fragile foliage, chaste columns of the most 

 elaborate architecture, and forms resembling birds 

 and animals. 



The Black Hills have two other caves that are 

 coming to the notice of tourists. Crystal Cave is 

 a short distance southeast of Deadwood. More 

 than 50 miles of passageways have been opened 

 up, there being more than 200 chambers. 



About 16 miles west of Custer a new cave has 

 been discovered, which has promise of becoming 

 a rival of Wind and Crystal Caves. 



Legislative Session. The session of the Leg- 

 islature began Jan. 8 and ended March 8. Polit- 

 ically the two houses were divided as follow: Re- 

 publicans in the Senate, 39; in the House, 78; 

 fusionists in the Senate, 6; in the House, 9. 



J. M. Lawson was President pro tern, of the 

 Senate, and A. G. Somers was Speaker of the 

 House. 



Robert J. Gamble was elected United States 

 Senator to succeed Richard F. Pettigrew, by a 

 vote of 113 to 13 for Senator Pettigrew, who was 

 the candidate of the fusionists. 



The Legislature passed 188 laws and 21 reso- 

 lutions. 



Some changes were made in the election laws 



Three constitutional amendments were pro- 

 posed, and are to be submitted to vote in Novem- 

 ber, 1900. The first is to limit public debts to 5 

 per cent, on valuation of taxable property, except 

 for purposes of providing water and sewerage, 

 or in cities of 8,000 for providing street-railways 

 and lighting. The second is to change the rate 

 of interest on educational funds from 6 

 cent. The third is to provide that a county-* 

 may be changed on a two-thirds vote 



