This file contains the first 26 pages of "Who's Who in South Dakota" by O. W. Coursey (1913) Scanning by John Rigdon , final editing by Joy Fisher from a book in the possession of Joy Fisher. This file may be freely copied for non-profit purposes; all other rights reserved. Copyrighted 1913 by O. W. Coursey WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA By O. W. COURSEY AUTHOR OF "Simplified School Laws" "Woman With a Stone Heart" "History and Geography of the Philippine Islands" Etc., Etc., Etc. Vol. I First Edition DEDICATED To The Good People of Our Fair Young State. May she never cease to prosper! - O. W. Coursey INTRODUCTION Most of the "Who's Who" articles contained in this book were formerly published in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, "Daily Argus-Leader." However, eight of them were first published by "The Sioux Falls Daily Press;" and the rest of them were orig- inally published in various papers scattered throughout the entire state. Two of them were written by Charles M. Day, editor of the "Daily Argus-Leader." These two bear his signature. The editorial announcement of the intended publication of the first series which appeared in 1910, was made by the "Argus- Leader" as follows: The Argus-Leader has started the publication of a series of biographic articles by Major O. W. Coursey, one of the "live wires" of the state, on "Who's Who in South Dakota." The first article had for its subject, Professor C. G. Lawrence of Can- ton, and the second one deals with former Senator A. B. Kit- tredge of this city. The other articles will follow from time to time and will, we believe, make a most interesting series for the consideration of the Argus-Leader's increasing army of readers in South Dakota. In the presentation of these articles, Major Coursey is given an absolutely free hand. The line is drawn on no one, and fac- tional and party distinctions are going to be forgotten in the pre- sentation of this series of articles about the men who "cut ice" in this state. Major Coursey will select the list of subjects, will secure the data and will write the matter, and it will be pub- lished exactly as it comes from his pen, without being "treated" in any way by editorial prejudice or favoritism. Keep your eye upon the "Who's Who" articles which are likely to prove as in- teresting as the series of articles on "The Birds of South Da- kota," by Charles E. Holmes, published some time ago in these columns. The newspaper comments given herein are but two out of several hundred collected, yet these show the reception given the articles as they appeared, by newspapers througbout the state. ------------------------------- Parker New Era: Those pen-portraits by Major O. W. Cour- sey, on "Who's Who in South Dakota," running in the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader, are attracting wide notice and very favor- able comment. The pen-portraiture of former Senator Kittredge, Congressman Burke and Senator Crawford bave already appeared. We will watch the Argus-Leader for further pen-portraits of the large galaxy of South Dakota's illustrious sons. ------------------------------- Verrmillion Republican: "Who's Who in South Dakota," is being made known from time to time by O. W. Coursey, the well- known literateur, in the Daily Argus-Leader.He has already listed in his repertoire such celebrites as Senator Kittredge and State Superintendent-elect Lawrence, and will include others equally notable, in due season. Coursey's contributions always are readable when reduced to print. ------------------------------- These playful sketches were first written for mere pastime while I was sitting around depots waiting for delayed trains and while riding along on the cars. They were struck off in rough lead-pencil form, and not single one of them was ever re-written, in whole or in part, before being sent to press. They have, therefore, been reproduced in the same crude form in which they originally appeared, with but very few minor alterations. It will at once be evident to any person who may read one or more of them that they were written exclusively for news- paper use; hence, the unusual amount of freedom in both thought and style. To convert them now into a stitt, labored style, for book purposes, would be to rob them of much of their cheerful- ness and reality. They are merely off-hand literary sketches of various persons' lives, written in an "impromptu" manner, just as though one had spoken them without previous meditation. The same playful spirit was breathed into them that a cartoonist would impart to a caricature sketch of some popular person. dur- ing one of his chalk-talks. Any "re-touching-" which might now be given to them could but detract from their original charm, if any they possessed. With regard to literary technicalities, it will be noticed that at some places "South Dakota" is spelled out in full; at others it is given its commercial abbreviation, "S. D.," while at others it appears in its correct abbreviated form "S. Dak." So also with the names of other states. In most of the articles the author refers to himself, when necessary, as "we," in true editorial style, While in others he uses "l." This change was sometimes necessitated by the very nature of the articles themselves: at oth- ers, it resulted from a temporary attack of "lapsus memorae," or from habit. Although these apparent literary discrepancies, and some others not herein mentioned, may prove sweet morsels under the tongues of occasional would-be literary critics, it has been determined to let them practically remain as they originally were. Gathering the information was somewhat tedious, as may well be imagined; but the preparation of the articles themselves, was decidedly a "labor of love." It is greatly regretted (more than mere words can herein ex- press) that many other equally deserving South Dakotans could not have been incorporated in this work; but time and space forbade. However, another volume will appear later, in which only new names will be found. -By The Author. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Notice of Copyright ----------------- 2 Title Page -------------------------- 3 Dedication -------------------------- 4 Introduction ------------------------ 5 Table of contents ------------------- 8 A. B. Kittredge --------------------- 9 C. N. Herrreid --------------------- 14 C. G. Lawrence---------------------- 22 Coe I. Crawford -------------------- 27 R. S. Vessey ----------------------- 35 O. L. Branson ---------------------- 39 C. H. Burke ------------------------ 45 E. W. Martin ----------------------- 51 G. H. Grace ------------------------ 59 R. J. Gamble ----------------------- 64 E. C. Perisho ---------------------- 71 R. O. Richards --------------------- 77 G. G. Wenezlaff -------------------- 81 Doane Robinson --------------------- 88 G. W. Nash ------------------------- 94 C. W. Downey ---------------------- 100 F. L. Cook ------------------------ 106 J. F. Halladay -------------------- 110 C. H. Lugg ------------------------ 114 Clate Tinan ----------------------- 117 W. C. Cook ------------------------ 121 Myrtle E. Lee (Sofia Stephali) ---- 124 H. K. Warren ---------------------- 130 E. L. Abel ------------------------ 135 Samuel Weir ----------------------- 140 C. M. Day ------------------------- 145 S. J. Conklin --------------------- 152 F. E. Walker ---------------------- 157 Tom Burns ------------------------- 161 S. H. Elrod ----------------------- 164 E. T. Pierce ---------------------- 171 J. W. Taylor ---------------------- 176 The Beaumonts --------------------- 182 W. E. Johnson --------------------- 189 T. J. Spangler -------------------- 193 F. B. Gault ----------------------- 196 A. C. Shepherd -------------------- 200 G. A. Silsby ---------------------- 205 C. H. French ---------------------- 210 W. M. Mair ------------------------ 215 W. S. Bowen ----------------------- 219 R. S. Gleason --------------------- 223 Asher F. Pay ---------------------- 230 S. F. Kerfoot -------------------- 233 W. H. H. Beadle ------------------- 238 L. E. Camfied [Camfield]----------- 245 Dick Woods ------------------------ 249 James Elliott --------------------- 254 E. E. Wagner ---------------------- 261 Isaac Lincoln --------------------- 270 A. B. KITTREDGE 9 A CAESAREAN SENATOR "The president," said Senator Kittredge - and nothing more - as he introduced President Roosevelt, a few years since to a large out-door audience that had gathered in Sioux Falls to hear him speak. This is the shortest public speech introductory, or otherwise, on record. It reminds one of that dainty scriptural passage, the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept." Incident- ally, it also suggests the speech made recently by Lieutenant Governor Horace White, of New York state, while introducing Colonel Roosevelt to an up-state audience. He said, "We are here today to welcome and to honor Theodore Roosevelt." With- out adding another syllable, he sat down. "Do I speak now?" interrogated the Colonel. This style of speaking is characteristic of "Kit." He is the briefest man on earth. To him words are jeweled instruments for the conveyance of thought, and he uses them sparingly. "A" is an indefinite article, "the" is a definite one. Many a man has been "a" president, but just at that psy- chological moment Mr. Roosevelt was "the" president. How apt! How significant! Just so in trying a lawsuit, the Senator has little to say; yet we doubt if any man in the state has won so large a percentage of the cases he has tried. Kittredge's ascendancy to the United States senate, as an ap- pointee of Governor Herreid, soon won for him recognition as a man of great brain power and a tireless worker. His early ap- pointment to a position on the judiciary committee bore prima facie evidence that he was at once regarded at Washington as an able constitutional laryer. Likewise. his immediate selection for a place on the Committee on Inter-Oceanic Canals, awakened to him the opportunity of a life-time. Quietly - meditatingly - manfully - Mr. Kittredge went to work, and the pulse of South Dakota was soon throbbing with the recognition which her junior senator was receiving at our na- tional capitol. Old soldiers got their pensions increased, public 10 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA buildings were springing up here and there; new political life was in evidence. But it was not until the senate called for the brief on the purchase of the Panama canal from the French company that Senator Kittredge's great legal ability excited public comment. Here was a young lawyer-a senator, if yon please-from the "wild and woolly" west. The senate has in it some mighty clever legal talent. When the "bachelor senator" from South Dakota arose to make his report, all ears were at eager attention. It was an herculean proposition to draw up a brief on such a technical, complicated, international proposition. Not a word was struck out, not a syllable added. It was perfect; and it will be referred to as authority by coming generations when Senator Kittredge has embarked for another world - lo! these hundred years. But Mr. Kittredge performed another public act while sen- ator that will bless mankind forever. He introduced and secured the passage of a new copyright law which gives authors, artists and musicians ample protection for the products of their efforts. Two South Dakotans were among the very first to take advantage of the new law when it went into effect, July 1, 1909. Largely on account of his silent nature, Senator Kittredge has never been properly understood, except by his nearest asso- ciates. He is a man of great poise. He can stand more fire without flinching during a political battle than any man in the state. During that eventful, personal campaign of 1908, while Mr. Kittredge was addressing an audience in Lincoln county, he was violently interrupted by State Treasurer Cassill who sat in the audience, and whose official record Mr. Kittredge was fear- lessly exposing. Calm, cool headed, collected, he retained his poise and in a sober, dignified manner, characteristic of his great persgnality, the speaker, without stopping to "Swear" his wit- ness, cross-examined Mr. Cassill so closely about his own record, in the presence of his neighbors and his friends, that the latter lost his renomination and had to leave the state. During his official life Senator Kittredge was openly accused of being a "corporation hireling," etc. A few months ago he tried a personal damage suit at Flandreau, against the Milwaukee railroad company, and he won his case, securing a verdict of $22,000 damages in favor of two orphan children whose parents were killed by a train. After the trial, an old Nowegian far- mer came up to him and said, "Why Mr. Kittredge, Ay always heard that you bane for the railrofid cornprny and against the people. Ay voted against you the last time, but Ay bet your life Ay bane going to vote for you next time." A. B. KITTREDGE 11 BIOGRAPHICAL Senator Kittredge is dis- tinctly a self-made man. To begin with he was only a poor farmer's son down in Cheshire county, New Hampshire, where he came into being just one week to the day before Abe Lincoln was first inaug- [Photo of A. B. Kittredge] urated president of the United States. His early education was acquired in the rural schools of his native state. A private tutor prepared him for Yale which he entered in June 1878, graduating from the academic department with the class of '85. Young Kittredge was twenty-four years of age when he had finished his education. Tired of the wind-swept copjes" of old New England and being thrilled with the inspiration of "Young man go west, and grow up with the country," he at once struck for South Dakota. At that time the territory had not been divided. It was a vast empire carved from what was geographically known in the old geographies as "The Great American desert." Settling in Sioux Falls he stuck out his shingle A. B. Kittredge Attorney at Law Long years ago he pulled down this sign,-his whereabouts were known; his record as an attorney had been made. From this time on we see him climbing the politicaI ladder. Politics were his natural choice; he couldn't keep out. When the doctor vaccinated him against the smallpox he must have injected into him some political virus, for it is in his blood. 12 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA Possessed of all the sturdy instincts of a natural born leader, he soon forged his way to the front. In 1888 he was made chairman of the Minnehaha county re- publican committee. Later he was state senator from that county during the first two terms of our state legislature, after the division of Dakota. His ability commanded attention and respect. From 1892 to 1900 he was national committeeman. It has often been said that "He made Herreid governor." He did! But Herreid made him a senator and cancelled the obligation When Senator Kyle. a democrat of life-long training, but a compromise, semi-republican legislative senatorial creation, suddenly died at Washington in 1901, there was a great scramble among politicians for an ap- pointment to the vacancy. Herreid was unyielding. He simply said, "I'll give the appointment to the man who has done more for me politically than all others, A. B. Kittredge." The appointment was made; the commission was written out, and all was over-.for the time being. At the hands of the state legislature, in 1903, Mr. Kittiedge was given the united and complete support of the republican party and unanimously elected by themto succeed himself in the senate for six years longer. Thus Governor Herreid's selection of him for the appointment in 1901 was vindicated by the republican party in 1908, and the pic- ciyunish, idle criticism of the governor's selection melted away. A MODERN CAESAR When dissension arose in Rome and Cassius plotted the downfall of Caesar, the latter's friends came to him and said, "Dont' go back to the senate chamber, you will be assassinated." Caesar calmly replied, "I'll go where duty calls me." He went, and in a abort space of time, pierced with a score of wounds, he fell at the feet of the statue of his old rival, Pompeii. At the boliday recess of congress in 1907, Senator Kittredge was urged by his friends not to reti3rn to the senate, or be would be assas- sinated (politically) He replied, as did Caesar, "I'll go where duty calls me." He went-and then came back-too late-only to go down to defeat at the hands of his old political enemies. To those of his constituents who backed him so faithfully in the fight, the tragedy of his defeat seemed appalling. Caesar and Brtitus had been great military friends at one time; yet Brutus joined Cassius in Caesar's downfall. Accepting his fate phil- osopbically, the great ruler of Rome, as he sank before the final thrust of-a dagger, calmly looked up at his old friend and mut- tered those memorable words, "You too, Brutus.' Kittredge A. B. KITTREDGE 13 and-had at one time been great political friends. As Kit- tredge saw the primary election returns coming in and felt the danger of defeat penetrating his heart, he calmly mattered, "You too,-----;" and then quietly returned to his lucrative law prac- tice. Thus closed the most vicious, personal political fight that has ever occurred in South Dakota. Every man connected with it had his character assassinated. Yet, after all, its dire effects are rapidly passing away, and "Time, sweet restorer, a victory gaineth, In hearts where the vials of wrath were outpoured." A new day has dawned upon us. New "bed-fellows" are being made in politics. The "old guard" that went down to de- feat with Kittredge when he met his "Waterloo" at the hands of Crawford, who, acting in the capacity of Lord Wellesly, mar- sballed all of the opposing forces against him, will never stand together in another fierce fight as before. The conservative field held by Kittredge and the advanced position assumed by Mr. Crawford will both be vacated and midway-somewhere close to the ground taken by the state republican platform this year,- under new leaders, the diminishing remnant of the "old guard" and a workable portion of the less radical element of the opposing forces, will come together and fight for political preference, along new lines, and for the cornmon good of the state. Regardless of what the future may bring forth, Senator Kittredge will remain a great character in the history of the state, and be revered and admired by his many friends whom he never betrayed. May we never cease to love him! [Later.-Senator Kittredge was suddenly taken ill, and died at Hot Springs, Arkansas, May 4, 1911. At this time funds are. being voluntarily contributed by his friends to erect a marble bust of him in our new State Capitol. - 0. W. C. ] 14 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA A MANLY MAN One of America's most gifted orators, Col. Robert Ingersoll, standing beside the bier of his dead brother, delivering a funeral oration over the deceased, said, "There never was a manlier man." These inspiring words could never have had a more pet- fect application than to be applied to Charles N. Herreid ex- governor of South Dakota. How passionately fond we all are of him, not merely for the unexcelled record which he made as gov- ernor, but for his manly virtues. GOVERNOR HERREID As governor of the state, Mr. Herreid made an enviable rec- ord. Undoubtedly his greatest service to the state was in the unusually large number of legislative enactments which he vetoed. True; the legislators who served during this time were equally intelligent with those that have served under other governors; but many of them, as will always be the case, had never been trained in the interpretation of law. During Governor Her- reid's predecessor's adminis- tration, that of Governor Lee. the Initiative and Referendum had been enacted. Nobody paid much attention to them during Governor Herreid's two terms. Why? Well, simply because everybody was con- tented; and, above all,. they had confidence in Herreid. He scrutinized every act of his two legislatures with the eye of an eagle Every law en- [Photo of CHARLES N. HERREID] acted, that conflicted with the constitution, virtually re- pealed some other law, or within itself bore obnoxious features, was promptly vetoed by the Governor. He didn't wait for the referendum nor CHARLES N. HERREID 15 for the supreme court. He was a court unto himself. Let it be said for Governor Herreid that he vetoed more bills than all of the other governors of the state put together. On the other hand this may be accounted for from another standpoint. In his three messages to the legislature he recom- mended far more legislation than any other governor. His last message, delivered as he turned the reins over to Governor Elrod, is the finest state document on record. It will remain for the future historian to bring out and properly classify this able state paper. HERREID, THE PATRIOT More or less trouble has arisen during the several adminis- trations of our various governors since statehood, with the state appointees. Governors Sheldon and Lee each one asked the state legislature to enact a law authorizing the governor to remove any one or all of his own appointees at will, but they refused. Charles N. Herreid renewed this recommendation; it was done. The wisdom of it became apparent more quickly than its legislators anticipated. President McKinley was assassinated shortly there- after. A notary public at Sturgis,-an appointee of Governor Herreid's-upon hearing the sad news of the president's assas- sination, exclaimed, "It served him right!" No sooner had the news of the fellow's reprehensible conduct reached Governor Herreid, than he issued an executive order revoking the fellow's commission and removed him from office; at the same time no- tifying him by wire of what he had done, in advance of the mails. This one instance justified the enactment of the law. FRIEND OF EDUCATION Just before the legislature of 1901 adjourned, the commitee on education, thought to slip one over on the governor and get through a sweeping change in our educational laws, that would make our school children assets to local politicians; but, O! no, not while the scrutinizing Herreid was governor. Here is what the records in the Secretary of State's office reveal: "Having received said bill and having only a few moments in which to return it to the House of Representatives, in which it originated. before its adjornrnent, sine die, I can only very briefly mention a few of the many serious objections to the bill. This bill provides that the State educational institutions 'may re- ceive, free of tuition, ten students appointed by each State Sen- ator and ten students appointed by each Representative of the State Legislature,' * * * 'not more than three of whom shall be students of the same institution.' * * * 16 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA "Our educational institutions are supported by the people and for the people of our state. That tuition should either be free to all or all should pay tuition equally. This bill discrim- inates and the discrimination will almost invariably be against those who are poor and without friends of prominence and influ- ence; in other words, against those who are specially entitled to sympathy and assistance. Why should those only having a polit- cal 'pull' receive free education at the expense of the state? Why should the young men and women of our state, who seek an edu- cation at our institutions, become the political trading stock of politicians?" * * * * * * * "The iniquity of this bill is indeed complete. Tbose who desire to pay must be excluded for those receiving free tuition! A senior who has paid his tuition may be foreed to leave to make room for some one on the 'free list' and graduate from some in- stitution in another state where the Legislative 'pass' system does not exist. Respectfully submitted, CHARLES N. HERREID, Governor. Pierre, March 9, 1901." Again in order to show the extremely careful analysis which he gave to all bills coming up to him for his signature, we have only to cite the following: "To the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: "I am unable to approve House Bill No. 90, which is here- with returned to the Houst of Representatives, although the rec- ord does not show a vote against said bill in either branch of the Legislature. " Think of it! Every vote in both branches of the legislature cast in favor of a bill concerning taxation, etc., and not one of them saw a flaw in it. Back it goes to the House, vetoed, with a 1,000-word opinion from Governor Herreid attached to it- shooting it so full of holes that it looked like an old fish net wbich had been caught In the snags at the bottom of some limpid stream, and then torn to shreds in trying to pull it out, so as to save the floaters. Here is an exposure of only one of its 'dodgers': "This bill aims to give peculiar meaning to certain letters and characters but specifically states that it shall apply only to tax proceedings. * * * * * The concluding portion of said bill reads as follows: Whenever the abbreviation "do" or the character ",," or other similar abbreviations or characters shall be used in any such CHARLES N. HERREID 17 proceedings, they shall be respectively construed and held as meaning and being the same name, word, initial, or letter or letters, abbreviations, figure or figures as the last proceeding such "do" or ",," or other similar character. "Here again we have a remarkable perversion of well-known marks and abbreviations. 'Do.' is an abbreviation for 'ditto,' but 'do' is a syllable attached to the first tone of the major dia- tonic scale for the purpose of solmization, or solfeggio,' and the marks ",," doubtless intended for 'turned commas' are, as found in this remarkable bill, the last half of quotation marks"' PARDONS In his inaugural address to the Seventh Biennial Legislature, in 1901, touching upon 'The Pardoning Power" of the executive, Governor Herreid said: "The pardoning power is a consequence of 'the imperfection of law and human nature.' A person may be convicted of a crime on false testimony. After sentence by the Court, the false- hood may be discovered, but the Court cannot reverse its decree. Reprieves may become necessary or expedient on account of doubt of guilt, arising from the discovery of new testimony after sen- tence and before execution, or considerations of public policy may demand an exemption from punishment. The pardoning power exists, and was conferred by the constitution upon the Governor, not for exercising his tenderness of heart but to fur- ther the ends of justice. Of late years there has been an in- creasing tendency towards executive clemency, resulting in gross abuse of this important prerogative. A convict with numerous friends and abundant means promptly begins preparations for se- curing a pardon after he has had a fair trial, and his guilt has been legally established. The Governor's office becomes an ap- pellate court, where the case is re-tried. largely in the nature of an ex parte proceeding. The victim may be slumbering in a for- gotten grave Human sympathy is apt to be with the living rather than the dead. Or the injured party is persuaded to join the forces appealing for sympathy, ignoring the no less sacred rights of society. "These observations are for the purpose of announcing to the people of this state that it is not the purpose of the Executive to usurp the functions of courts and juries; that the pardoning power will be exercised strictly according to the theory of our system of jurisprudence and the spirit of our constitution." In keeping with these sentiments, Governor Herreid was firm in his dealings with offenders. He granted fewer pardons than 18 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA any other governor we have ever had. In fact the pardons granted by other executives stand about "16 to 1" as compared with those extended by him. His refusal to "pardon." and his read- iness to "veto." kept his two administrations consistent through- out, and left behind him an unsullied record of administrative justice. AS LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR But Herreid had had great training for his work as governor. He had previously been elected lieutenant-governor for two con- secutive terms. In this capacity, he had been schooled in hand- ]ing legislation. "As president of the state senate in 1893 and 1895 he dis- played in a marked manner his fitness and capacity to deal public affairs. His failures and candor as well as his evident comprehension of purpose to decide all questions without bias or prejudice in conformity with the rules of the senate, were rec- ognized by men of all political parties, and so well did he succeed in the task that no appeal was ever taken from any of his rulings at either session of the legislature. It is said that no other pres- ident of a state senate in the United States has ever made a similar record." Ordinarily, any mao who accepts the second place on the state or on a national ticket, digs his own political grave, and the bells which peal forth his success at the polls, at the same time tingle out his political death knell. But Herreid was born to to be an exception. The ability and fairness which he displayed as president of the senate commended him to the people of the state as the logical man for the higher field of responsibilities. Think on it! Lieutenant-Governor for two terms, Governor for two terms. No doubt many decades will have passed into state history his record will have been duplicated. HERREID'S DICTION Each of Governor Herreid's public documents is a literary gem. He stands in a class by himself as a classical writer. No other public official in the state has ever equalled him as a man of letters. The most perfect style of diction is demanded of the state supreme court, so that no possible misinterpretation can be placed upon any of their opinions. Yet Judge Fuller, (deceased, whom we all now mourn) said to us one day in his official chamber: "This man Herreid beats anybody I ever knew in his diction. Frequently he comes to me and asks about a certain point, yet it CHARLES N. HERREID 19 is never for information direct that will enable him to reach a conclusion, but merely to see if my judgment reinforces his own. " His public letters and addresses are so evenly balanced throughout that it is hard for any man to select from the many passages more choice than the rest, any which might tend to em- phasize his style. We think a couple extracts taken from the Address of Welcome in behalf of the state which he delivered to the American Mining Congress which convened at Deadwood dur- ing his governorship, will suffice: "We all rejoice over the prevailing universal prosperity. I am proud of the fact that I can welcome you to a state where the people are superlatively prosperous, contented nd happy; where the spirit of success domninates the commercial and industrial at- mosphere; where everybody has surrendered to the magnificent energy which is building a new and splendid empire. I welcome you to the people who for six years have produced more wealth per capita than any other state in the Union; to a state famous for the large number, according to population, of newspapers, churches, colleges and school houses; to a state absolutely free from conflict between labor and capital; to a state settled largely by the children of the pioneers who were the empire builders of the great west-children who from infancy were taught the lesson of vigorous manhood: a people who adopted as the state motto: Under God the People Rule,' find who, as individuals and com- munities, with reverence for all law, human and divine, are liv- ing up to their high standards of right. * * * * "Ten years ago the real value of all property within the state was less than one hundred million dollars; to-day it is one thousand millions! "To-day every South Dakotan is proud of his state and with joy and devotion ready to join the grand chorus of thanksgiving and praise: 'I love every inch of our prairie land. Each stone on her mountain side, I love ev'ry drop of her water clear That flows in her rivers wide. I love ev'ry tree, ev'ry blade of grass Within Columbia's gates, The queen of the earth is the land of rny birth My own United States.' " 20 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA BIOGRAPHICAL Governor Herreid is a Wisconsinite by birth and a South Dakotan by adoption, Again, the old Badger state has shown her marked influence over the new territories that one after another were gradually carved out of the great domain to her westward. A proud father and mother, calmly viewing their baby boy on October 20, 1857, evidently little dreamed that they were the parents of a future South Dakota governor. His boyhood was spent knocking around on the farm, devel- oping a good healthy physique. Later, he spent three years at Galesville University. Then he read law for one year in a law office. Afterwards, he graduated in 1882 from the law depart- ment of the Wisconsin University. The same year that he graduated he was married to a Wis- consin !ady who has since blessed Dakota with her happy traits, noble womanhood, and her charming example, Miss Jeanette Slye. The next year the young couple decided to cast their fortune in the "golden west," and so they packed up and went to Dakota, settling in McPherson county, where they became a part of our sturdy pioneers. Mr. and Mrs. Herreid's neighbors soon learned to esteem them. Then their neighbors' neighbors found out about them, and so on until like a pebble dropped in the center of a still pool, their influence radiated itself in a succession of wavelets until it had reached the far distant shoals of the state. As a result, here is what happened: Charles N. Herreid elected States Attorney of McPherson county, then county judge; next a member of the Board of Trustees of our State University, and later a Regent of Education; elected and re-elected lieu- tenant governor, member of the Republican State Central Com- mitee; member National Republican Committee; elected and re-elected Governor. He has also been Grand Chancellor K. of P., of the domain of South Dakota. He is a member of the A. 0. U. W. and was chairman of the committee to revise the constitu- tional statutes of the grand lodge, and has held various important positions in this organization. lie is also a member of the Eastern Star and a thirty-third degree Mason. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church. Governor and Mrs. Herreid are the proud parents of two children-a daughter, Miss Grace, and her loving and affectionate brother whom the state will recall as having died during Mr. Herreid's incumbency of the governor's office. as the result of an operation for appendicitis. He was a charming lad, universally CHARLES N. HERREID 21 beloved and a general favorite among the South Dakota National Guard, in which he held the rank of Captain. After retiring from the governor's chair in 1904, Mr. Her- reid removed to Aberdeen and took up again the practice of his chosen profession which he followed for three years. During this time he gradually and rapidly became so interwoven in the busi- ness affairs of Aberdeen that he has been obliged to drop his law practice for other enterprises. He is secretary of the corporation that recently built at Aberdeen the beautiful Citizens's Bank Building, which, including the basement and roof garden, is eight stories high. Governor Herreid is also president of the Aberdeen Railway Company which has built five miles of street railway in that city and which contemplates the construction of three or four miles in the early spring. In addition to these responsibilities, he is a director and Vice-President of the Dakota Central Tel- ephone Co., and the Citizens Trust and Savings Bank, and he is, in other ways, not herein enumerated, identified with the busi- ness interests of Aberdeen. Such has been the phenominal career of a young man who was not afraid to break away from "dad" and to strike out into the world for himself. It has been repeatedly asserted by careful political students throughout the state, and it is now quite gen- erally admitted by both factions of the Republican party, that had the city of Aberdeen forced him into the race for the gov- ernorship nomination at the June primaries in 1908, he would have swept the state and easily have become governor for at least a third term-simply on the strength of his past record as a pub- lic servant. which is untarnished by a single blot, and which will stand for years hence a.,nong the most illustrious pages of our state's history. "There never was a manlier man!" 22 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA A PROGRESSIVE EDUCATOR Among South Dakota state offices, second only in popularity to that of the governorship (in its lasting influence it greatly outclasses the latter)is the Department of Public lnstruction. This year the republican party of this state, by their selec- tion made by popular vote of the party at the primaries held in June, presents to the people of South Dakota for endorsement by their ballots at the November election, as their candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, a man of sterling worth, endowed with great natural talents, enriched by education and experience-one whose record as an advanced thinker in the edu- cational world and whose activities in the superlative execution of his ideals, have already found concrete expression in the schools of Lincoln county-Prof, C. G. Lawrence, of Canton. LAW OF PROMOTION Inasmuch as the work of the state superintendent is largely supervisory of the work done by the various county superintend- ents, it is but natural that an out-going county superintendent should aspire to the state position. Fundamentally, a man cannot inspire another man to do a thing which he himself has never done and which the one whom he is directing has reason to be- lieve that the one giving the instructions is perhaps not able to do. The principle holds true in every walk of life. The suc- cessful military commander is he who rose from the ranks. The successful district superintendent (formerly designated a "pre- siding elder") is he wbo has been a successful preacher first. The successful Bales manager is the man who was first a success- fail salesman. And so on through the various activities of life. There are of course exceptions to this. South Dakota had one rare exception to the rule in the services of Hon. G. W. Nash, a former Stuperintendent of Public Instruction. Nash was distinctly and decidedly a college man. He was college bred and had taught only in college, without ever having served a day as C. G. LAWRENCE 23 county superintendent. (And. by the way, he too, hailed from Canton ) Yet he gave to the state one of the most successful administrations of her educational affairs that she has ever en- joyed. In fact Nash was so "large," and he filled the office so full, that he could be seen projecting out beyond it, on all sides of it. But, again we emphasize, he was an exception. SCANDINAVIAN ASCENDENCY The Scandinavians are among the most progressive and in- telligent citizenry of the state. Their numerical strength at the polls is so great that no party or faction dares now to go before the public for endorsement without reckoning on the Scandina- vian vote. One of the most successful governors the state ever had or ever will have, Charles N. Herreid, came from this lineage. Hon. Hans Ustrud is of the same stock. With the state strongly "progressive" in politics a "stalwart" Scandinavian, H. B. Anderson, of Mitchell, in the primary campaign of this year, won out by 7,000 votes over his opponent who had everything but na- tionality in his favor. Clay county, the hot-bed of "insurgency," but peopled largely by Scandinavians, went over to Anderson who is of their own blood. This political adhesion is but natural. Just so with Superintendent Lawrence. Born of Norwegian parentage he commanded the united Scandinavian vote of the state-and won. Married to a Scandinavian lady, he had in his family affairs, proven his loyalty to his blood. His father came to America in 1843, and afterwards taught school for manv vears in Wisconsin, and in Illinois. One of this distinguished ancestor's teacher's certificates, secured in Illinois, is still held as a sacred momento in the Lawrence bome. It is dated 1854. It will thus be seen that the subject of this sketch came honestly by his educational proclivities. BIOGRAPHICAL Professor Lawrence was born January 12, 1871, at Madison, Wisconsin. His early education was acquired in the public schools of that place. Later, he was graduated by the University of Wisconsin, taking his B. L. degree. In 1896-97 he did post graduate work in the same institution. He was married August 22, 1900, to Miss Gunda Jacobson, of Canton, his assistant principal in the high school of that place. Mrs. Lawrence is a graduate of the Madison, South Dakota State Normal School. Therefore, the schools of Madison, Wis- consin, and of Madison, South Dakota, gave to us the two educa- tors who will, in all probability, lead in the educational thought 24 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA of the state for the next two, and possibly for the next four, years. To this union have been born two boys-one nine, and the other six years of age. LAWRENCE, THE EDUCATOR The best endorsement any man can have is the longevity of his service in a certain position or, with a certain firm. No word from, his employers can attest more truthfully to his worth than the fact.of his long continued employment by them. Hoff has been city superintendent at Mitchell for seven years. His predecessor, the lamented Quigley, held the same position for ten years. Strachan has served for twenty continuous years as superintendent of the Deadwood city schools; while Cook is rounding out a quarter of a century as president of the Spearfish Normal. We perfect this line of thought by citing the record of him who constitutes our theme. After teach- ing two months in a rural school in Wisconsin, he was called to Augustana College, Canton, S. D., in 1894, where hp. served four years on the faculty of that school, and then yielded to the request of the citizens of Canton [photo of PROF. C. G. LAWRENCE] to become the head of their public schools. He held the latter position for eight consecutive years: and only surrendered it in 1906 to become a candidate for superintendent of Lin- coln county. He was elected, and re- elected in 1908. Recapitulating, we give a resume: two months teacher in a rural school, four years a college pro- fessor, eight years city superintendent, four years county super- intendent. Fine record! eh? AS COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT it was not until Lawrence entered the county superintendent's office, got out among the people of his county and the educators of he state, that his real work began to be known. True; he had attended district and state educational gatherings and had read some able papers before them, but the "bigness" of the fellow, aside from his domineering six-foot-four stature, had not com- manded general attention. C. G. LAWRENCE 25 Entering upon his duties as superintendent of Lincoln county, he took one year to get his bearings and to find out the neces- sities of his schools. Then, his convictions crystalized that when a child carnes into the world, it begins to move and to use its tiny hands; that as soon as it is able to sit up, if given blocks, it will begin to build; that at a later age it longs to mix mud pies and to cook; that its whole tendency is one of physical usefulness; that as soon as it enters school we begin to educate it away from the use of its hands whieb should by their economical use, earn its bread and butter for life, and instill into it the idea that its brain and not its hanis were intended for use only, and that the latter should not be soiled; that the whole underlying scheme is wrong. And there was plenty of evidence. Not a girl could be found who would condesend to do house work. She had been educated to think but not to act, Hotels were putting in Japanese waiters and negro cooks, because American girls bad been taught not to soil their hands, but to preserve them for piano use. The farmer, taking advantage of our state law which compels his school dis- trict to pay practically all of his son's high school tuition, had sent his son avvay to school, the lad had failed to return; be had been taught to think while his hands hung idly by his sides. The "dignity of labor" was unintentionally assailed and credence given to the old Chinese proverb, "Those who labor with their minds govern others; those who labor with their hands are gov- erned by others." Lawrence said: "Halt! We'II 'about face' and go at this thing right. Lincoln county has as rich soil as to be found on earth. Our boys should learn to till it right and to love to do it. Our big buxom farmers' daughters, pictures of health and strength, should be taught economy in their houschold work, and be instilled with the idea that there is nothing better." Accordingly. for the past three years he has carried on in Lincoln county, in addition to his regular educational work, boys' corn-growing contests and girls' sewing and baking clubs. True; South Dakota has a common school course of study which by law county superintendents are compelled to require their teachers to follow. Lawrence abridged it. He went beyond it. He put do- mestic science into his schools and demanded that each teacher in the county give to the girls in their respective schools instruction for one and one-half hours every Friday fifternoon, in sewing and preparing themselves for the responsibilities of a practical and happy life; while special instruction was given to the boys in the soil, the germinization of cereals and the care they demand 26 WHO'S WHO IN SOUTH DAKOTA through the period of their growth, in order to harvest a full crop; the value of birds as insect destroyers, etc. As a climax he has arranged for a short course in Agriculture and Domestic Science to be held at Canton in December of this year by six from the faculty of the South Dakota State CoIlege, at Brookings. Such is the leadership and such is the man (in the natural order of events if the republican party is successful at the polls in November-and it is generally concede that it will be) upon whom the eyes of the state will be centered after January 1, 1911. Talented, educated, experienced, cultured, he brings to the posi- tion an intellectual equipment that bespeaks success, and a moral and mental force that never knew defeat. P. S. Lawrence was eIected by an overwhelming majority and re-elected in 1912.