The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-23
WESTERN FIGHTROR CAPITAL
NO APATHY IN SOUTH DAKOTA
POLITICS THIS YEAR.
The Town OF Mitchell Is Trying to Dust
Pierre as the Seat or the States Gov.
eminent and the War Ii Hot-Things
Said by the Rival Town Boomer.

Pierre rs the Seat or the States Gov.
eminent and the War Ii Hot-Things
Said by the Rival Town Boomers.
CANTON s. D., Oct. 22.-Other States
may complain of lack OF interest in the
election but no complaints Of that kind
are heard in South Dakota. National
politics may engross the attention Of other
commonwealth, but here the sole topic
Of debate is: Shall Pierre retain the State
capital or shall Mitchell get it2
Western county seat fight is hot
enough. When 1t comes to a Western
capital fight the descriptive vocabulary
fails.
In part the present contest, which is
agitating the State from end to end, is
fight between the Northwestern Railroad,
which champions Pierre, and the Mil
waukee, which is furnishing the funds for
Mitchell, each road being omnipotent In it's
respective locality.
Pierre is almost at the geographical
centre OF the State. Fourteen years ago
it won the capital by putting up superior
line of talk and by promises Of future great
ness, which have not been kept. Mitchell
was an unsuccessful contestant then, and
she has nursed her wounds since. Mitchell
is the county seat Of Dawson. 1t is in the
fifth tier of counties from the eastern
boundary and south of the centre.
Each town has u well organized gang of
boomers and volunteer orators. Pierre
sent down to Sioux City early in the sum
mer and secured the services OF ex-Mayor
Caldwell, an old newspaper man. to take
charge Of her literaryscampaign. Mitchell
has enlisted for similar service her brightest
journalist Clate h. Tinan. They have
been making things hum.
Pierre is at one disadvantage. 1t is
isolated in section which is sparsely set
tied and represents the western part Of
the State, which has only a scant popu-
lation. To get to the capital most Of the
people who have business there have TO
go to Sioux City, Ia, and catch the North
western trains. Mitchell has several lines
Of road and is in touch with the more pro-
gressve part Of the State.
Circulars by the thousand have been
sent to the voters by each disputant for
the honors The newspapers have been
lined up for or against removal, and joint
debates have been held in all Of the larger
towns. Every device that could be thought
of has been employed TO help out one side
or the other.
/ Pierre is supposed to be in natural
gas centre. 70 controvert the sneers OF
gallon jugs was sent for. These were filed
with surcharCed Gas water (the supply
comes from artcSian wells. sealed up and
shipped to the Various agents OF Pierre
in the southern and eastern parts OF the
State. These are uncorked at public
gatherings and match touched to. the
escaping gas, showing concusively that
Pierre really has gas wells.
To convince those who come to the
capital four inch stan6pipe has been
erected near the railroad station II stands
eight feet from .tha ground and at its sum
NIT flame the size Of the pipe burns night
a three-quarter inch standpipe with astop-
cock valve. As the gas concentrates it
finds escape through this small orifce
and rising to the top OF the larger pipe is
ignited
Each town has host OF agents directed
by a chief Their work is much the same
as those of political committees. The
supposed hostile section is divided into
districts and the agent is expected to see
every voter therein, get his views, ply
and zee that he votes right. So far no
money for votes has been seen, but each
town is accusing the other Of having cor
ruption fund in reserve.
The campaign began in June. and the
State has been pretty thoroughly covered.
Mitchell people say that the western half
of the State is unfit for cultivation, that
it is an alkali waste, with nothing but gulnbo
knobs and an aggregation OF dog towns.
The Pierre people. appeal to the western
half to resent the insult.
Just about the tine the capital was set at
Pierre. the Sioux Indian reservation to the
west of it was opened to settlement. The
Pierre boo!3ers ontended that this would
attract 100000 settlers. Mitchell is pro-
ducing figures to show thst in the last ten
years Pierre has lost third Of its own
population; that Stanley county, directly
west of it, as large as ten ordinary counties.
has gained only 1913 in population, Indians
and all, and that Of the $1,000 gain in the
State in ten years all but 1000 was made
by twentv-one counties close to the Mime
sofa and Iowa lines.
Mitchell holds that with $4,000 people
east Of the Missouri and only $1,000 west
of it, outside Of the Black Hills, the future
of Pierre is already settled. Mitchell in
sists that because the Pierre stock barons
insist on a free range law west Of the Mis-
souri, that part Of the State will never have
a dense population. She points out that
Kansas has population of 900 In the
the western half; that Nebraska shows
a43, 900 in the eastern half and only 10000
in tho remainder. and that in each the
eastern prepor derance is increasing, !.
Pierre retorts that the western halves OF
Kansas and Nebraska are no good for
farming while western South Dakota is all
right. Mitchell points out that while the
Sioux reservation in the western part OF
South Dakota, has been open for fifteen
wears. with land at so cents'an acre, 5000
homesteads remain untaken within a few
hours drive of the capital and $4,000 more
further on; while when the Rosebud. in
the eastern part, was opened at 81 an acre
more than 100000 persons sought to secure
homesteads at that price.
North Dakota ia pointed out as additional
proof OF the 127.O0o gain made between
1890 and 1900. the eastern half OF the State
secured 900 persons. Pierre asserts
that all that is needed in the western half is
railroads, and Mitchell retorts that western
Nebraska and Kansas have railroads in
plenty and no miracle follows.
The campaign is getting hotter and Pierre.
which looks to be loser, is getting her
| temper badly r,ff!ed. There are rurors
| that the gravestones are being carefully
conned ard the names thereon added to
the list of voters, but II there is any wide
discrepancy between the number Of votes
cast on President and that on the capital
proposition, 1t can be laid solely to the zeal
| ~ tho hoo,ners and not TO any desire to