The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-08-28
Best Concert Band in the Country Will
Furnish Music at the Corn Palace
for Ten Days.
PREJUDICE WEARING. AWAY
A Prominent Iowa Publication Gives
South Dakota Due Credit for
What 1t is Dong.

central City, Iowa. Tor a copy Of the
'Jedar Rapids. Iowa, Republican, of
Aug. 20. which contains a remarkable
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for the reason
that the editor of that paper has GER
tainly made some Investigations Of
what is being done in South Dakota
and is honest enough and fair enough
to tell the truth about the state.
This is decidedly refreshing. coming
as it does from a prominent city in
our neighboring state. 1t is with a
great deal of pleasure that the edi-
torial is Reproduced from the Cedar
Rapids paper, as follows:
The state of South Dakota is en-
jOying a veritable boom. 1t is a
boom That is not organized by land
agents nor spectators, but a boom
that is the result of an intelligent
appreciation Of that states wonder
full resources.
Within the last two years the ma
tional banks of South Dakota have
more than doubled, while bank de-
posits of all kinds have quadrupled.
The products of the farm have in
creased every year in value during
the last i've years, and the state as a
whole today is one of the most pros
porous commonwealth ia the union.
Many people will be surprised when
they read the statistics of South Da-
kota. 1t is not so very long since the
very name of Dakota had a m%ournful
sound. But the reasons for that
state of things are easily appreci-
ated, ii they are looked into. In the
pioneer days South Dakota attracted
IA class of people that often go to a
new country, namely, those who had
failed in the older states. They went
there without any capital and what
was worse than that they went there
with the shiftless habjt is and notions
that bad made them failures in the
older settled states of the union.
They failed as a matter of course, and
came back with direful tales of the
barrenness of the soil and the rigors
Of the climate. But among those
pioneers there were some sturdy and
ambitious people. They were handi-
capped by lack of capital, but they
mad the stick-to-itiveness that does
not admit of failure, and they re-
manned and succeeded. Gradually
others of like temperament and some
.nen of means after Investigating the
qualities Of the soil and the climate,
began to make investments and de-
velop the country. During the last
five years the results of the labor put
upon the fields Of South Dakota have
been marvellous, and today all those
who have knowledge of the real facts
are free to say that the days Of exper-
iment In South Dakota are over.
That commonwealth has taken it's
place among the great agricultural
states Of the west, there to remain,
and to become more important as the
years go by.
The counties of South Dakota that
border on northwestern Iowa and
southern Minnesota possess a soil and
enjoy d climate that are identical
with the soil and climate of north
western Iowa and southwestern Min
nesota. The only thing that held
them back and made their lands less
v~alulL.' than those Of Iowa was poor
farming. For years it was customary
four or five years. A single individual
with a single team attempted to farm
a whole section. The only prepara-
ton made for IL crop was to burn the
stubble. The grain was then sown
and narrowed in. If the soil had
not been wonderfully rich. no crops
at all would have been harvested.
But these methods have passed away.
and with careful cultivation an acre
of land in southeastern South Dakota
will raise just as much small grain or
corn as an acre Of Iowa land.
Farther west the rainfall is not
sufficient for some crops, but it is
valuable as a grazing country, and as
such it is now being used with profit.
An Investment in South Dakota to-
day is just as safe as it is any other
place in the union.