“ An attempt to introduce county local options was defeated in the election of 1908.
South Dakota long bore a notorious reputation for the laxity of its divorce laws. The grounds for action are still numerous. An act of 1907, ratified by popular vote in the election of 1908, raised the term of residence under which a person could apply for divorce from six months to one year, and provided that all cases should be tried openly at the regular term of court; and since the passage of this law Sioux Falls has ceased to be notorious for its divorce colony from other states. ”

“ Soils.—The glacial drift east of the Missouri river, unlike that of the New England states, is remarkably free from boulders and gravel, except in a few morainic belts. It is often locally enriched by vegetable mould, and is well adapted for wheat-growing. West of the Missouri river the drift gives place to a fine soil of sand and clay, with deposits of alluvium in the vicinity of streams. Though lacking in vegetable mould, these soils are generally capable of producing good crops where the water-supply is sufficient. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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 descent of the estate of a husband dying intestate is the same as that of a wife dying intestate; if there is only one child, or the issue of only one child, the surviving spouse is entitled to one-half of the estate ”

“ Charitable Institutions, &c.—The state maintains a school for the blind at Gary, a school for deaf mutes at Sioux Falls, a tuberculosis sanatorium at Custer, a general hospital for the insane at Yankton, a school for the feeble-minded at Redfield, a soldiers' home at Hot Springs, a reform school at Plankinton, and a penitentiary at Sioux Falls. All penal and charitable institutions are subject to the control of a state board of charities and corrections composed of five members appointed by the governor. A children's home at Sioux Falls is partly under state control. ”

“ The larger valleys of the Black Hills district contain fertile alluvial deposits washed from the neighbouring highlands, but in the plains adjoining these mountains the soils consist of a stiff gumbo suitable only for pasture land. There are throughout the state occasional tracts in which, owing to deficient drainage, an excess of alkali has accumulated, and which require special treatment before they can be made again productive.
Irrigation.—South Dakota in 1889 had only 15,717 acres of irrigated land. Ten years later this area had increased to 43,676 acres. ”

“ 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 1910 the total permanent school fund was $7,725,583 and the estimated value of the unsold lands held for the common schools and other educational endowments was $3,068,172. The schools are open to all pupils between the ages of six and twenty-one, and attendance for twelve weeks each year, eight of which must be consecutive, is compulsory for those between the ages of eight and fourteen. In the school year 1907-1908 77% of all persons of school age were enrolled in the public schools. ”

“ The remainder was divided into six smaller reservations, Standing Rock, lying partly in North Dakota, and Cheyenne River, Lower Brulé, Crow Creek, Rosebud, and Pine Ridge in South Dakota. Angered by this sacrifice of their lands and excited by prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, a considerable number of the Indians went on the warpath, but after a short campaign they were defeated by General Nelson A. Miles in the battle of Wounded Knee on the 29th of December 1890, and were compelled to make their submission. Since that time the whites have steadily encroached on the reservations. ”

“ North-west of the Bad Lands of the White river lie the Black Hills (q.v.) , an irregular dome-shaped uplift, about 125 m. long and 60 m. wide, lying partly in Wyoming, and with the main axis trending almost north-west and south-east. The uplift is completely enclosed by a rim of hog-back ridges from 300 to 600 ft. above the plain, and between this rim and the hills proper lies the Red Valley, a tract about 3 m. wide and bordered on the inner side by the main mass of limestone and crystalline rocks which have in general a height of 4000 or 5000 ft. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Corn grows throughout the western half of the state, and especially in the south-western parts, in Lincoln, Clay, Union, Yankton and Bonhommie counties, the largest crop in 1899 being that of Lincoln county, 3,914,840 bush., nearly one-eleventh of the state crop. ”

“ The average size of farms (excluding farms under 3 acres with products valued at less than $500) was 227.2 acres in 1890 and 364.1 acres in 1900. The value of all farm property increased from $145,527,556 in 1890 to $297,525,302 in 1900. The average farm value also rose during these ten years from $2901 to $5654, and the value per acre advanced from $12.77 to $15.60. Fewer farms were worked by owners in 1900 than in 1890, the percentage in the former year being 78.2 and in the latter year 86.6. ”

“ 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. ”

“ At Ashcroft, in the extreme north-west, the mean annual temperature is 44°; the mean for the summer 68°; and for the winter 20°; while the highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded are respectively 114° and 44°.
The average annual amount of rainfall for the state is about 20 in., ranging from 13.9 in. at Ashcroft to 25.9 in. at Aberdeen. It is usually greatest in the valleys of the James and Big Sioux rivers and least in the extreme north-central and north-western parts of the state. The average amount of rainfall for the spring is 6 or 7 in. ”