History of SD, 1895-1896

	This information appears in Chapter LXVIII of "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904), pages 358-360 and was 
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CHAPTER LXVIII

THE PETTIGREW SILVER FIGHT. 

	Immediately after the re-election of Senator Pettigrew, during the 
legislative session of 1895, a tacit understanding was reached by Republican 
leaders that he did not longer represent Republican sentiment in the state.  
This feeling was made manifest by reason of the reception accorded a telegram 
sent by the Senator to the legislature, which was construed as a command to pass 
a free silver resolution then pending. Though but a few days previous this 
legislature had almost unanimously re-elected Mr. Pettigrew, it at once became 
manifest that his interference in the matter of the resolution was strongly 
resented, and the fate of the resolution was sealed. It was the unexpressed, but 
nevertheless well understood, sentiment of such leaders as Alfred B. Kittredge, 
William B. Sterling and many others that Mr. Pettigrew's political usefulness 
was over.

	In this legislature of 1895 the Iowa railway maximum rate law was 
introduced by Mr. Wheeler, of Minnehaha county at the instance of the Sioux 
Falls Jobbers' Association, but the legislature declined to pass it.  During the 
hard times and as an incident of the Farmers' Alliance movement a good deal of 
opposition to railways had grown up and at the close of this session its failure 
to act was the subject of a great deal of criticism bordering upon indignation.  
Before the session closed an active anti-Pettigrew propaganda was on foot. It 
was agreed to make William B. Sterling a candidate for United States senator 
against James H. Kyle and about him build up an organization which should wrest 
Republican dominance from Mr. Pettigrew.

	Despite this anti-Pettigrew movement the sentiment for free coinage of 
silver continued to grow.  The Sioux Falls Press, the chief Republican 
newspaper, and many others of the more influential ones were enthusiastically 
supporting the dogma and out of all the publications in the state hut four had 
the temerity to oppose it. Against this apparently impregnable dogma, the 
friends of Sterling resolved to make their fight, and in a quiet way the word 
went out to the party leaders in every county, but in the midsummer of 1895 this 
movement was thrown into confusion by the removal from the state of Mr. Sterling 
to accept a very lucrative position in the employ of the Northwestern Railway 
Company. Without a senatorial candidate the opposition of free coinage went 
quietly on and soon centered itself about the candidacy of William McKinley for 
president.  To Mr. McKinley Senator Pettigrew was violently opposed, and as the 
time for holding the state convention to elect delegates to the St. Louis 
convention, in the spring of 1896, approached the campaign in South Dakota 
became spectacular.  Minnehaha county was the seat of war and Senator Pettigrew 
came on from Washington to personally conduct the fight. To the surprise of the 
opposition he made, not free silver, but the maximum rate bill the issue. The 
battle was intensely exciting and resulted in a decided victory for Mr. 
Pettigrew. When the state convention met at Huron, however, it was at once 
apparent that the Senator was in the minority.  Pettigrew, rather than silver, 
had been the issue; nevertheless it was by this time understood that the 
national convention would adopt a gold platform and it was the determination of 
the Dakota Republican managers, opposed to Senator Pettigrew, to keep in accord 
with national Republican sentiment.  A caucus of the opponents of Mr. Pettigrew 
was held and a large majority of the delegates were represented.  Senator 
Pettigrew desired to go to St. Louis as a delegate, and it was quite in the 
hands of his political enemies to defeat that ambition, A peculiar situation, 
however, was presented. Senator Pettigrew had made his campaign for the maximum 
rate law and if he was now turned down his friends would construe it as a 
repudiation of the railway legislation by the Republicans.  The entire situation 
was canvassed and it was resolved to let the Senator go as a delegate but that 
first he was to be required to pledge himself to the convention to support the 
nomination of Mr. McKinley, for whom the delegates were instructed, and also to 
accept the platform adopted by the national convention, whatever that might be. 
This programme was carried out. When the convention was ready to elect delegates 
a motion prevailed that each candidate should be required to stand and pledge 
himself to obey the instructions of the convention and abide by the national 
platform.  One delegate was apportioned to each judicial district.  Levi B. 
French was presented as the candidate from the first district and he arose and 
in strong and unequivocal language gave the pledge required.  Mr. Pettigrew was 
the choice of the second district and he took the floor and in a few remarks 
reviewed the situation, saying that it was well known that he had not agreed 
with all of the views expressed by the majority of the convention, but that the 
will of the Republican party in South Dakota was law to him. This was accepted 
by the convention in good faith as a pledge to abide by the instructions and he 
was at once elected a delegate by a large majority.  Each of the other delegates 
in turn gave, unequivocally, the desired pledge. They were Carl C. Sherwood, 
David Williams, David Misener, H. B. Meachem, James Holley. 

	Immediately after the adjournment the friends of Senator Pettigrew 
announced in great glee that he had secured the election without pledging 
himself to obey instructions.  His opponents could not believe that a double 
construction could be placed upon his action at Huron, but it was apparent from 
the first that he did not deem himself bound and at St. Louis, in the national 
convention, he refused to accept the gold standard platform adopted or the 
nomination of Mr. McKinley and walked out of the convention and assisted in the 
organization of the Silver Republican party and endorsed the nomination of Mr. 
Bryan, whose active supporter he became.  Returning to South Dakota, he 
attempted to organize a Silver Republican party here and succeeded in taking a 
few Republicans with him, but the rank and file stood sturdily by the St. Louis 
platform and Mr. McKinley. 

	The South Dakota Democratic delegates to Chicago were for the nomination 
of Mr. Bryan and his endorsement by the Populists was popular with the partisans 
of that faith in South Dakota. 

	The Republicans nominated Amund O. Ringsrud for governor, and Robert J, 
Gamble and Coe I. Crawford for congress and adopted the St. Louis platform and 
declared for the maximum rate law. A party of Senator Pettigrew's friends from 
Minnehaha county withdrew from the convention, which was held at Aberdeen. 

	The Populists, Democrats and Silver Republicans united in the choice of 
Andrew O. Lee for governor and of John E. Kelly and Freeman Knowles for 
congress. The campaign following was a most vigorous one and no stone was left 
unturned by either party to win success.  The legislature to be elected at the 
same time would elect the successor to Senator Kyle, so that every place was 
hardly contested for.  The result gave the presidential electors to Mr. Bryan by 
one hundred forty-two votes.  Messrs. Kelly and Knowles were elected to congress 
and Mr. Lee chosen governor, his majority over Mr. Ringsrud being six hundred 
eighty-one.  At this election the prohibition plank was stricken from the 
constitution by a majority of six thousand nine hundred ninety. 

	An excellent crop was harvested in 1896, but the prices of all sorts of 
farm produce was low and the proceeds were promptly applied to the payment of 
existing debts, leaving the farmers hard up and discouraged.  There was little 
general progress, no building to speak of and a general state of stagnation 
continued.

	At the middle of October a severe snow storm prevailed, not so severe as 
the historic storm of the same date in 1880, but of sufficient force to make it 
a dater.  Again on the 26th of that month a very severe storm came in the 
northern portion, approximating in severity the great 1880 performance. From 
that date the winter was continuous and increasing in severity. At the 
Thanksgiving season an overwhelming snow fell, blockading the railways and 
generally contributing to discomfort and inconvenience.  The people were of 
course comfortably housed and supplied with provisions so that they did not 
stiffer as in the awful season of 1880 when the pioneers had not yet provided 
comfortable homes nor accumulated provisions.  The snow fell to a very great 
depth, so that highways were impassable and in the towns the streets were filled 
to the level of the second stories.