Semi-weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings Co., S.D.) 1894-1898, 1898-11-15
THE MIGHTY WEST.
Letter From . Presiding Elder OF the
Methodist Episcopal Church.

su6 WtAVs
Letter From . Presiding Elder of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
Doubt was expressed by some of the
earliest colonial fathers whether this
country would ever be settled west OF
what is now suburb Of Boston.
On the Chicago s. North Western
railway train that bore me to South
Dakota few days ago, a mother and
children looked eagerly from the car
window on nearing Candy to see If
they could discover the new home the
husband and father had selected for
them. Two evenings before, seventy
five people got off at Candy to popu-
late the prairies round about that one
town. The country from Candy east
to Marshall shows a remarkable ad-
vance in the few years that l have
known these parts.
A recent Bostonese accession to cul-
tured st. Paul society asked several If
he had pretty nearly reached the
frontier. Whether this question is
projection OF the forefathers above
mentioned or prompted by st. Paul
society, l do not know, but l am con-
fident the time is not far distant
when there will be no frontier in the
United States.
To an inhabitant of Norway and
Germany, with the map of the United
States before him, a distance of a few
hundred miles east or west counts for
naught. He sees none of our imagin-
ary frontiers. He seeks home where
land is cheap and asserts dominion
over the wild region.
In. the lifetime of the original set
tiers that community is classified
with the established order and the
pioneers are become "old settlers"
And what about the land? The pio-
neer planted his shanty on the virgin
soil and staked out his "claim." In
the process Of getting his living, with
small additional money expenditure
to the government, the "claim" be-
comes his farm. AS for advance in
value, price some OF the farms in
southeastern Minnesota that are still
in possession of the men who first set
tied upon them.
The history of eastern Minnesota is
being repeated in western Minnesota
and beyond. Candy is located almost
as far from Winona as Winona is
from Chicago. The train that put off
the mother and children at Candy car
ried me onward for a journey Of
more than a hundred miles beyond
into South Dakota. Along the
journey communities gave evidence of
thrift and contentment that assures
the future Of this wide region which
surprises me beyond measures with
it's already accumulated wealth and
the confidence of the people. write
this mindful Of the doubtful tales
which others than I have been led to
consider as the only incident to an
otherwise dreary monotony. What l
have just seen makes me convert to
the faith of the people, who are al
ready supplanting the pioneer shed
and shanty with substantial barns
and comfortable homes.
DR.. Chauncy Hobart, yet living in
Red Wing, was the pastor of the little
frame Methodist church, located in
what is now the heart of the great
business district Of Chicago. He was
with the pioneers in southeastern
Minnesota. / have been in Chicago
upon the site of that early church and
felt the throbbings of life within shat
mighty city whose vast piles that
could gracefully wear the age OF CEN
turies were reached within the mature
years Of one man. l have travelled
over Minnesota where the same man
saw civilizations beginning.
Wearied with the march he turns
aside and succeeding generations
leave ancestral homes and push on
ward to repeat the history Of what
has been. In the new Methodist
church at Conde, costing $1,000, and
dedicated with all bills paid, was
privileged to preach. The people 1
met, the prosperity they enjoy, their
intelligence and earnestness make it
plain that this was no longer frontier.
Said Gladstone WAmerica Is another