1938: South Dakota

Admitted to statehood Nov. 2, 1889, South Dakota ranks 14th in size among the states, with an area of 77,615 sq. mi. In population it ranks 36th, numbering 692,849 according to the census of 1930. The largest cities are Sioux Falls, 33,362; and Aberdeen, 16,465. The capital is Pierre, 3,659. The loss of population due to emigration during the drought period ended in 1938, as many former residents returned to make their homes in South Dakota.

Agriculture.

Primarily an agricultural state, South Dakota is quite dependent on the crops produced on its fifty million acres. The year 1938 checked the run of former bad crop years caused by drought and grasshoppers. While the returns were not equal to the state's best years, they were sufficient to bolster the farmers' faith in the region. Once one of the leading wheat states, the shift to corn was emphasized in 1938 when the National Corn Husking Contest was held in South Dakota.

Except for a hot dry period in August, the weather during 1938 was favorable for agriculture. The average temperature was 47.9 degrees. The average precipitation was 17.50, the highest in the last six years. During the first three months of 1938 stock was allowed to graze in the open with good results. Much seeding of small grains was done in March. By the end of June corn was knee-high and winter grains had reached the ripening stage; spring grains were retarded by high temperatures and grasshoppers. The latter became so menacing in July that much small grain was cut green to prevent complete loss. An ample hay supply was secured for winter use in nearly all parts of the state. In August lack of moisture, plus grasshopper infestation, severely taxed the corn crop. Moisture above normal caused greatly improved conditions during the first half of September. October was the warmest and third driest October ever recorded, and the longest growing season of record.

Mineral Products.

Production of gold, South Dakota's outstanding mineral product, was slightly less in 1937 than in 1936. It amounted to 581,544 oz. valued at $20,354,040, as against 586,353 oz. valued at $20,522,369, in the previous year. As before, the Homestake Mine produced the bulk of the ore. Silver, mainly the result of the treatment of gold ores, amounted in 1937 to 139,638 oz. with a value of $108,010.

Education.

Of the 197,500 inhabitants of school age in South Dakota, in the school year 1936-37, there was a total enrollment of 148,114, including 38,418 high school students. In the same period there were enrolled in vocational schools 6,124. The expenditures on public school education amounted to $12,353,319.

Political Events.

In the primary election held on May 3, 1938, Chan Gurney defeated Governor Leslie Jensen for the Republican nomination as United States Senator. Former Governor Tom Berry wrested the Democratic senatorial nomination from the incumbent, Senator Herbert Hitchcock, Berry's appointee to the position in 1936. The senatorial contests revealed a four-to-three voting strength in favor of the Republicans.

In the fall campaign, the legislative record of Oscar Fosheim, Democratic candidate for Governor, was used against him with telling effect. As a member of the South Dakota Legislature, he had been instrumental in having an ore tax law passed which applied principally to the Homestake Mining Company of Lead, S. D.; in retaliation the company is alleged to have opposed him. Harlan J. Bushfield, the Republican candidate, campaigned and won on an Anti-New Deal platform. Despite the receipt of aid from Federal funds on the basis of forty dollars to one, and in the face of a Republican pledge to strictest economy, the November election returned the Republicans to power, and sent one Senator and two Representatives to Congress. Miss Gladys Pyle, Republican candidate for the Senate, for the unexpired term Nov. 8-Jan. 3, became the first Republican woman to win a place in the United States Senate.

Officers.

As a result of the November election, the chief state officers, all Republicans, are as follows: Governor, Harlan J. Bushfield; Lieutenant Governor, Donald C. McMurchie; Secretary of State, Olive Ringsrud; Auditor, W. W. Warner; Treasurer, W. G. Douglas; Superintendent of Public Instruction, G. F. Hines.

United States Senators:

William J. Bulow, Chan Gurney.