The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1904-08-20
THE BARGAIN
COUNTER HOMES
An 0nIooker Gives His Theory for the
Rush for Homes on the Devils
Lake and Rosebud Reserves.

The tremendous rush Of people
called ''homeseekers" to take adj
vantage Of the opening Of the Rose
bud and Devils Lake Indian Res
in North and South Da-
kota respectively, serves as a text
for many daily newspaper sermons
on the land hunger of the race and
the alleged fact that land in the
United States is becoming scarce
that the public lands have been
given away and sold until now
there is nothing left. In my opin-
ion, you might as we'll say that the
crowd around bargain counter in
a big derartment store is evidence
that there is not enough goods, of
the particular kind there displayed
to supply the demand, These dis
tributions of land are simply Uncle
SANS bargain counter attractions.
The lands are not given away as
once they were, but they are sold
for very much less than their value
to those who are fortunate enough
to be able to buy them, conse-
quently there has been and there
will be a tremendous rush for the
chances.
It is probable that the rush for a
forty-to-one chance is not so much
due to land hunger as to the craze
for bargain and to the quicken
ing Of the gambling instinct which
exists in every race Of people. If
every one Of the thousands could
have been supplied with a quarter
section at the given prices, we i'm
agine that the interest would not
have been nearly SO great. If there
had been 100000 quarter sections
of equal value in the Rosebud, we
will venture that there would have
been 100000 people after them.
But since there were only $500
quarter sections, there were 100, 900
people that wanted the chance. The
interest is enhanced by the fact
that not only is there chance about
getting any of the allotments, but
there is a further gamble on the
character of the allotment. The
average register at the Rosbud is
interested first in the question as
to whether or not he will be lucky
enough to be permitted to file, and
in the second place as to the char
acter of his allotment. He may
get land that is worth 500 an acre,
or he may get land that is not worth
what he paid for it. How attract
i've this is to the gambling element
in all Of us.
That land hunger alone is not
responsible for the rush is shown
further by the fact that there are
three million acres Of government
land open for settlement under the
homestead act, and other millions
Of state lands and grant lands to be
purchased at as low a price as was
charged for the Rosebud lands,
which these crazy people will not
look at. even though they be just
as good or better. There are fine
lands in the Rosebud reservation
and other fine lands at Devils Lake
but there is plenty of fine lands
which can be bought on as easy
terms, and can be brought to a
profit producing point in a shorter
time; yet your reservation land
boomer will have none of it.
To a certain extent, the rush is
the result of advertising. Other
desirable lands, many times greater
in area, are not being especially
advertised. They are scattered
in larger or smaller bodies, here
and there throughout the western
half Of the United States. They
require a little independent inves-
tigation to discover. But when it
comes to the opening of a reserva-
ton, Uncle Sam himself comes
CONTINUED ON the Last Page.)