The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1877-10-10
VOL. IL.
Coming.

into the money that has been so long es.
tranged from the farmers pockets; new
life seems to have been infused into all
branches Of business; claims that were
abandoned as worthless, on account of a
successive failure of crops, are taken up
by newcomers, and improved farms are
becoming marketable; tenenents tina,
were idle are occupied and more are de.
mandsd; men that were called land-poor
are willing to become poorer in that line
lands that were untouched after the pest
had swept over them last year, are being
ploughed and put in shape for early spring
sowing; labor is in great demand, and
daily inquiry is heard upon our streets for
men. True, the net proceeds for ou1
wheat crop are not as great as we desire
or that it ought to de, but change from
having nothing to sell, to such abundant
measure as has been meted out to US, is
so welcome that but little complaint is
heard. 1t is impossible to effect an i'm.
mediate change in commercial matters
nor can the same benefits be expected
from seasons production, by the clti.
zens who are more isolated from markets
than those who are brought into nearer
relation by transportation facilities. We
must bide our time in these matters. 9th.
els have had to wait long years, before the
sound of the whistle reached them, but
after patience came comfort and they are
now repaid for weary waiting. 1t is hu-
man nature to find fault and complain if
VIC are deprived of facilities that afford
ease and profit, but these will surely come.
How long since Iowa, Nebraska, and that
great stretch Of country westward could
only be traversed by the slow coach and the
slower moving OK train? California had
become state; Territories this side had
become organized and millions of money
had been dug from the rocks and beds of
streams, long before the iron horse had
climbed the great range or echoed among
its gloomy canons. The tramway of
commerce had trailed after, and found
men waiting for its approach, who, when
it did reach them, had built up traffic
that no reverses could wholly destroy
The better for US that men are not first
landed from train Of cars, to commence
the development Of country to which
they are strangers, unfamiliar with its
latent resources, unacclimated and unpre-
pared for any result but one of anticipat-
ed progress and success. The pioneers i'll
in this valley who have sweltered in their
fields in the hot months, who have shook
with cold in the piercing billiards of
winter and who have Lave sheltered them
selves in the homely sod honse or 'dug.
out" can, when their time does come,
more fully appreciate and profit the ap'
proach and establishment Of the iron ar.
terry that bears them and their products
to the commercial fountain head.
With all our happy change from the
past years of loss and isolation, we must
reconcile ourselves to the probable fact
that some time may elapse before rail
road reaches us. The managers OF the
Pembina branch when interviewed by the
editor of the Press Of Yankton, declared
that no extension would be made this sea
son, and it might be some time before
any further progress was made. This
together with the letter written US by Mr.
Morrison, of which we have heretofore
spoken, wherein he said 'the extension
depended entirely upon the contingency
of the company's hypothecating orselllne
their own securities, at the rate at least o.
$1,000 per mile" goes far to confirm thu
theory that some time must necessarily
elapse before the road can be built Many
of our people have wrong impression a
to railroads; there seems to be an almos
universal impression and particular.
among the farmers, that all railroad com
panies are rich and can build when ant
as far as they choose. That some corpo
rations are well "fxed" is true; that larg'
sums of money have been made by rail
road investments, is true; and in SOM
instances men of great wealth constitute
the managing board, but it IS in railroad
ing like any other kind Of business; som
institutions have prospered beyond prece
dent. and others have merely held thei
heads above water: some have becom
bankrupt and gone into the. hands OF re
ceivers under the orders OF the courts
We are apt to think in our desire TO hay
road, that the peculiar situation we ar
| in, as to locality, the feasibility, and pros
poets of a large business being Furnished she
to the road that first reaches us, will Q
ought to secure the completion Of one q
once: hut we must consider that no on
branch of public enterprise has suftere'
| so mach or more than that OF rallfoaulng
With the first blast of the financial storm
of 1873, railroads wilted and their groWtl
was suddenly checked. and the four year
of stagnation that followed added to thel
crippled condition, and the late strike
/ still added another link to their bonds
until only the very best of main line com
panles are above board. If Ohia for IN
stance, with its fifty railroads, is any II
dication Of profitable railroading, hoy
does this little stretch of country ole
more favorable prospects? Eight Of thos
Ohio roads built during flush times, di'
not pay running expenses during 1876
Thirteen Of them paid no interes. on thei
bonded Indebtedness, Seven are IN th
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