The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1904-12-30

$40 ACRES FOR SETTLERS
laFoIlette Hands the Sioux Falls Press
hot One

laF GILLETTE Hands the Sioux f FaIIs Press
Hot One
The Sioux Falls Press OF December
9th asserts that Congressman Martin
and the other members have "dis.
graced the state" by Offering bill
that permits a settler to get go sores
OF this semi.arid prairie land in the
west half OF the state. The Press
among other demogogic statements
lets go the following:
''ro one who has labored for more
than thirty yeaIS, through the grass
hopper raids. droutrs, floods and bllZ-
yards TO create and maintain Il reputa-
tion for the Dakotas and for South
Dakota, who has seen the line Of agri-
cultural development move steadily
westward over western Iowa and
Minnesota and eastern South Dakota
to the Missouri river there is profound
humiliation IN this effort to decredit
the capabilities Of as rich realm as
God has eyer given to the sons of toll }"
Yes, but all those thirty years that
the Press editor has distressingly
braved the grasshoppera, and thirsted
to overcome the drouths, and wore a
cork in bis hip pocket to ride on the
top waves of the floods and "labored"
to stay indoors during the billiards.,
he has kept himself WITHIN twenty to
thirty-fve miles Of the east line OF the
state, where it rained as much thirty
years ago as it does today, if the gov
ernment weather reports are to be re-
lied upon. and rain is what makes
floods and bllzzards If partly frozen,
and even grasshoppers can thrive with
a reasonable amount of it. 1t is true
that from 1865 to 1875 grasshoppers
prevailed more or less in AL the coun-
try from Texas to Canada, east of the
Rocky Mountains to che Mississippi
river, but with the exception of three
grasshopper years. and two dry years
in the seventies, an two in the eighth
es, and in 1894, the eastern counties OF
South Dakota to the jim river have
always produced good crops and that
is as we'll as Wisconsin, Illinois or
Ohio did during the same thirty years
But with all the Press editors
efforts ''to create and maintain re-
putation for South Dakota" he has
net been able to make that part of
South Dakota west Of the Tooth meri-
dian, or that part OF Nebraska. Kansas
or North Dakota in the same longi-
tude make one-tenth the agriculture
development" that the country has
where the editor has glided around
for thirty years, even il he does think
the semi-arid part of the Northwest
is "as rich a realm as God has ever
given to the sons of toll"
The part OF the state where the con-
gresham would give the actual settler
the $40 acres has shown some favor
able returns as a live stock grazing
country and that is the purpose of
giving the $40 acres to a man, so he
may raise cattle, but no country that
gives an average rainfall of from
thirteen to sixteen inches can eyer be
made a successful farming district,
hence the experience of thirty
years. in the country west OF the
Tooth meridian ought to teach such
an "agriculturist as the Press edi-
tor that the jig is up for finding white
men who can make a living on l6O
acres of Semi-arid land.
The lands west of the Missouri river
that have been decided the past dozen
years have more than half passed into
The hands OF successful live stock
growers, until you rarely find one OF
them over there now that does not
own from $40 to 5000 acres of those
lands.
Elsewhere in This issue of the GA.
zette isan article from the pen OF
John Hayes, editor Of the TT. Pierre
Stock Journal, "who has laboreii for
more than fifteen years through
grasskopper raids, drouths, floods and
blizzards to create and maintain a
reputation for South Dakota" and
his argument for $40 acre homestead
is respectfully referred to the Press
editor, for enlightment on the coun
try west OF the Missouri river where
Mr.. Hayes lives. as a neighbor of the
two congressman that the Press editor
thinks are "slandering" the section Of
the state that they reside IN.
The Press edlter should wake VI
and he Will find the capital fight i.
, oyer for all time to come, and al
though he helped keep it near these
, grazing lands so the cattle could see
the state buildings as they were beint
, loaded for the stock market, these
semi arid lands must be utilized, ant
they can only be by giving a settle
enough of them TO make a living on o
: permit them to pass into the hands o
;, ), the Cudahy and other packing com
: panies as fast as l60-acre homestead