Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1883-10-05
TaE new XeRT1-WEST.
Graphic Correspondence.

| BISMARCK, d. T., Sep. IS, 1883.
i A town without either history or pre-
stige yesterday, becomes metropoli
to-day by means of the boom. OF cours
| there is vast amour: ofprodigiou
lying in this booming business, bu
what other mission has the real estat
speculator? As one travels WESTWARD
he encounters more and more of thes'
intelligent, able.bodied liars, whose Ia
bors IN behalf of this. that and the 9th
er rising town induce its speedy settle
ment and at once secure its prosperity
1t matters little as to the particular ad
vantage place may possess, either IL
the matter of location, or quality o
soil, or mill facilities, or anything else
SO long as i, has a good boomer:
man witt. a horn and a capacity 70
blowing it. He is the first stage o
growth of the town, and the second ant
the last. He lies elegantly about th'
.ttractions of the place whicF after all
consist chiefly in the inducements held
out for speculation.
This is the sort of thing that has
been done tor many OF these widely ad
vertised new towns in this New West. .
of which. perhaps, Bismarck is All eX-
ample. But here, and elsewhere, il has
been more or less successful, ana has
attracted people and capital and caus.
ed rapid growth and development. Re.
al estate speculation is the chief indus.
try. Town plats are marked off on
some barren spot and in few weeks
lots are solo a: fabulous prices by
means Of the booming process. AS an
auxiliary, a few hundred dollars are In
vested in type and presses and news
paper Is started for circulation chiefly
through the Eastern States. 1t is one
of the wonders of the frontier how so
many small towns support newspaper
some a daily; all a weekly. The
Eastern town or city with population
OF IS. 900 finds hard work to support a
d ally, but the Western town of 1900
inhabitants that doesn't have its daily is
poor indeed.
Generally the editor relies to great
extent upon some outside source-an
Office or fat take of some kind-for his
share of jerked buffalo but at any rate
the newspaper is sustained at all haz-
ards. The absolute success that ever
follows the skilful booming of town
is shown by the fabulous prices that
town lots bring in some OF these grow
ing villages. With agricultural land
only ten or twenty miles distant easily
obtained for $5 per acre, here we find
it readily sold at from $4,000 to $25,-
900 per acre, and with no great pro-
mise of a metropolitan future at that
Corner lots in Wnnepeg or jamestown,
or Fargo or Bismarck, are simply a
fortune in themselves, because as bus
mess marks these towns have received
the full benefits of years of the best of
booming, and have attracted that class
of settlers whose energy and enterprise
and pluck constitute perpetual boom.
Here is territory that covers I51,-
300 square miles, or more than two
fifths greater in area than Great Britain.
ive-sixth Of which is capable of profit
able occupation aad at least four fifths
susceptible of the highest state of ara
lie cultivation. The mountains are
ew indeed, and there are neither abb
'olute wastes, impenetrable swa.nps or
oottomless sloughs, such as are found
n adjoining States and Territories. 1t
S Territory, too, whose people are
harmonious in the single aim of deve,-
,plng the resources of the country and
it as rapidly as possible to
hat condition of civilized lite which has
made its sister States blossom as the
ose. With a fresher and newer his
ory than that of any Territory tina. has
ver asked admission to the Union, it
las already possessed itself of railroads 8
hat penetrated wherever the behests
# commerce insured them, while IN
lumber and quality of Its schools, in ,
he beauty and costliness ofits churches !
nd court-houses and public buildings, !
stands inferior only 10 the old.settled =
nd pretentious States of the East.
The politicians of this new country
re loudly knocking at the doors of l.
congress for admission to Statehood, :,
nd find the majority Of the people II
gree with them, if they care anything
bout the matter at all which many do
OF. Those who realize that the q
1ange would entail additional expense e
ithout corresponding advantages do p
Of JOIN In the application. The others fa
ave in view some imaginary advan. =,
ge to arise from admission as State "
lcept the ambitious politicians. These e.
tier know what they are after, viz, Al
e loaves and fishes.
The recent decision of the district
'urt pronouncing invalid the act cre-
ing a commission for the establish
ent of the capital and the erection of
lblic buildings therein, has stirred Bis =
arck to It's foundation, for it Is VIC IL
ry for the Yanksown folks that was a q,
rdly looked for. Bismarck had = =
reed to erect at its own expense ~. ~
e public buildings necessary 70 trans ~ =,
t the Territorial business, provided =. -
at by vote of the people the capi- d
should be permanently located here. g.
lie result OF the vote was overwhelm- ~ y,