Page:A Brief History of South Dakota.djvu/219

Rh Yankton, to succeed Senator Pettigrew. Mr. Gamble is a lawyer of distinguished ability and had previously served two terms in Congress. In the Senate, where he has ably supported the national policies of his party, he has devoted his attention chiefly to the promotion of legislation of immediate interest to his constituents.

Upon the death of Senator Kyle, Governor Herreid appointed Alfred B. Kittredge, of Sioux Falls, to fill the unexpired term, and the next legislature elected Mr. Kittredge for a succeeding long term. Mr. Kittredge became a member of the committee on interoceanic canals, and at once became deeply interested in the matter of the construction of a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He became convinced that the Isthmus route was more feasible than the Nicaragua, then the more popular one. The adoption of the former involved many abstruse legal propositions relating to the rights of the French company owning the Isthmus route, as well as the treaty rights of the parties with the Colombian government. Into the study of these questions he threw himself with great vigor,