MINNESOTA. 



457 



farming is diversified than in a one-crop country. 

 They are now almost unknown in the richer agri- 

 cultural counties where market and dairy fanning 

 are carried on. 



Products. The estimated wheat crop this year 

 was 80,000,000 bushels; the estimated acreage, 

 5,2-10,000. If this estimate of the crop is at all 

 accurate, the year is immensely beyond other recent 

 years in this respect. 



There has been great growth in the dairy indus- 

 try within a few years. The principal of the dairy 

 school at the State University gives the following 

 information concerning it : 



"The cost of manufacture in this State has been 

 reduced to a lower point than in any other State. 

 I). B. White at the dairy convention held at Albert 

 Lea in December, 1898, said : ' The cost to make a 

 pound of butter in the best creameries in the county 

 for 1894 was from 1.09 cent to 1.95 cent, and averaged 

 1.76 cent. The cost for the year 1895 ranged from 

 1.41 cent to 1.88 cent, and averaged 1.05 cent.' Dur- 

 ing the years 1890 and 1897 some of the financial 

 statements of our best-managed creameries show 

 that they have succeeded in reducing the average 

 annual cost of manufacture to 1.28 cent a pound, 

 and that, too. without reducing the wages of the 

 employees. When we consider that the prevailing 

 cost of manufacture in other States is about Scents 

 a pound, we can readily see why the creamery busi- 

 ness is giving such good satisfaction in this State. 

 During 1890 it cost $22.12 to feed a cow, and the 

 average milk yield was 7,454 pounds per cow. This 

 made the average butter yield per cow 349 pounds, 

 and the cost per pound was 6.3 cents per pound. 

 During 1897 the average cost of producing a pound 

 of butter was 4.7 cents. Taking the average for the 

 last two years, we have the several costs as follows : 

 Cost of butter production, 5.5 cents; cost of manu- 

 facture, 2 cents ; cost of transportation to seaboard, 

 1.25 cent; commission, 1 cent; total, 9.75 cents. 

 Our butter during that period sold on an aver- 

 age for 18^ cents a pound. If we add to this the 

 value of the skim milk, we have a net return for the 

 feL'd consumed by the cow of nearly 200 per cent." 



A conservative estimate makes the number of 

 dairy cows in the State 830,000. Not only have the 

 cows increased greatly in numbers, but the annual 

 yield of milk per cow has also increased. There 

 are therefore about 435,000 cows contributing milk 

 to the 650 creameries, and they distribute to the 

 patrons $9,550,000 annually. But this has refer- 

 ence only to the amount of money received by the 

 patrons, which is only about 84 per cent, of the 

 actual receipts, the 15 per cent, making up the ex- 

 pense account and the reserve fund, which is used 

 in paying for the plant and maintaining the equip- 

 ment. This makes the actual income from the 650 

 creameries in round numbers $11,300,000. 



At the dedication of the Minnesota building at 

 the exposition at Omaha a building made entirely 

 of pine logs from the forests north ot St. Paul and 

 Minneapolis the Governor said : "Minnesota pro- 

 duces more iron ore than any foreign nation ex- 

 cepting one ; and in 1900 it will lead every country 

 in the world." 



St. Paul. It appears from comparison of the 

 number of families who own their homes in 28 

 cities of more than 100,000 population that only 3 

 have a larger percentage than St. Paul, in which 

 40 per cent, are owners of their homes. 



Dnlnth. A fire in this city just above the ship 

 canal on May 8 rendered 2,000 persons homeless. 



Pennington. This village was practically de- 

 stroyed on May 18 by a tornado; 3 persons were 

 known to have been killed and 50 injured. 



The New Capitol. The corner stone of the 

 new Capitol was laid on Aug. 3. The following is 



taken from the introductory address by Commis- 

 sioner Graves: 



"Only forty-nine years ago, in September of the 

 year 1849, the first Territorial Legislature of Minne- 

 sota assembled in a log building at the corner of 

 Bench and Minnesota Streets, in this citv, immedi- 

 ately upon the bluff overlooking the Mississippi 

 river, and after listening to an address by the Hon. 

 Alexander Ramsey, first Governor, proceeded to 

 make laws for Minnesota, then a Territory of less than 

 6,000 people. Gov. Ramsey is present to-day to as- 

 sist his successor in the duties of this historic occa- 

 sion his successor who to-day is the executive of 

 a great State of nearly 2,000,000 of people and over 

 $700,000,000 of accumulated wealth. From the 

 humble log cabin of 1849 and the buildings rented for 

 State purposes in succeeding years the State de- 

 partments in 1853 moved to the first building built 

 for a Capitol. But of that structure it is recorded 

 that, until 1866, the legislative halls were 'lighted 

 during night sessions with candles, that it was 

 heated by wood-burning stoves, and that all the 

 water used in it was brought there by carts. When 

 fire destroyed it, in 1881, the present Capitol on 

 Wabasha Street was built, and has been occupied 

 by the State government to the present time." 



The building will be a somewhat plain struc- 

 ture, surmounted by a dome, and will be about 

 200 x 400 feet in size. 



Military. The State sent 4 regiments to the 

 Spanish war. The Thirteenth Minnesota led in 

 the attack on Manila, Aug 13, and 13 of the 36 

 wounded were Minnesota men. The expense inr 

 curred in organizing the 4 regiments was $143.- 

 164.34. The expense of caring for the sick sol- 

 diers and sundry allied objects amounted to $10.000. 



There was an outbreak in October by the Pilla- 

 ger Indians, a tribe of the Chippewas. The occa- 

 sion was the attempt to make arrests for violations 

 of law. The following statement has been made in 

 regard to their provocation : 



"It appears that these Indians have been victims 

 of injustice of long standing. Ten years ago they 

 agreed to cede to the United States their surplus 

 land, and it was provided by law that the value of 

 the land should be determined within a 'reasonable 

 time,' on the basis of the pine growing thereon. 

 The ' Chippewa Commission' was created for this 

 purpose, and the high-salaried commissioners have 

 gone leisurely forward with the work for ten 

 years, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars 

 to the Indians. All kinds of frauds have been per- 

 petrated meanwhile, the timber has been gro- 

 tesquely underestimated, and desirable lands sold 

 for much less than their value, and unscrupulous 

 lumber companies and individual lumbermen have 

 cheated and robbed the Indians." 



Gen. Bacon went to Walker with a small force to 

 assist the United States marshal in making arrests 

 among the Indians at Bear Island. A conference 

 was held with the chiefs, who refused to give up 

 the men wanted, aud the troops proceeded to take 

 them by force, and were trapped by an ambush. 

 In the fight that followed on Leech Lake, Oct. 5, 6 

 soldiers were killed and 11 soldiers and 5 civilians 

 were wounded. The number of Indians killed was 

 supposed to be about 30. Re-enforcements were 

 sent to Gen. Bacon, but there was no more fighting. 

 All but 2 of the men for whom the warrants 

 were issued had given themselves up or been taken 

 by Oct. 17. Leech Lake, the scene of the trouble, 

 is in Cass County. 100 miles west of Duluth. 



Another grievance of the Indians which has been 

 supposed to have been connected with the 'outbreak 

 is in regard to the taking of dead-and-down timber 

 on the reservation by half-breeds from other reser- 

 vations which was allowed by Government officials. 



