Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1904-05-06
POOR INNOCENT PIERRE.
Playing tho innocent and Dis.
claims All Knowledge OF
Anything in the Land !,
Filings.

| rtlt /,
Kimball Graphic: More "Pierre
and Purify" This time the guileless
lCapital.J0urnal turns it lose, as fol
lows:
The Sioux City Tribune is never al
lowing an opportunity slip to plug west.
ern South Dakota, and Mitchell papers
eagerly jump at the articles prepared
by the Tribune. One of the latest is q
yellow story about land frauds in the
Pierre district. which is so worded ae
to lead to the belief that the whole
land business Of this district is based %
q fraud Fl q
If the whole land business in the
Pierre district Is not based on fraud
II comes so near it that the ordinary IN
dividusl can not distinguish the differ.
ence. This may be due as much, per.
haps, to the lax administration of the
land laws as the unscrupnlous methods
of the whole Pierre. outfit when the
question of a capital is up. Putting
one with the other it makes y combina-
tion by the side Of which the postal
graft is migty small potatoes.
The Sioux City Tribune is abundant
ly able to take care OF itself. But it ia
interesting to note that it comes with
poor grace, this criticism Of the Tri.
bune after it has given columns of valu'
able space to the rot that has been sent
from Pierre to boom its capital chances
disguised as news specials and foz
which the Tribune has paid for to boot.
The only special article prepared by
the Tribune was in the nature of an in
teryiew with the United States inspect.
or on his way to Pierre to look up the
reported Irregularities in the land bust
ness unless in some previous accounts
Of Sioux City men who were induced
to file on land west OF Pierre under mis-.
representation Of what wonld be requir'
ed of them. There is no getting around
the fact that the land men at Pierre.
with the encouragement and connivance
Of the Pierre board of trade, have food
ed the country with circulars and des.
criptive matter telling how easily one
can get . quarter section Of land in
Stanley county and in so doing grossly
misrepressnted the requirements Of the
land laws Under such circumstances
none but ninnyhammer would believe
that . greater part Of the filings were
not made by men 80 deceived and many
final proofs made under the same con.
ditions.
One Of the circulars sent out from
Pierre contains the following:
'.Six Thousand Homesteads in South
Dakota Now Open to Entry in Stanley
County Only . Few Miles West of the
State Capital at Pierre.
''You may file on a claim and hold
same by being on the land over night
every six months.
"A house built on the homestead
within six months after locating is re-.
quired-this would cost very little less
than $50.
Married men don't have to bring
their families to live on the homestead. "
It's small wonder that the govern
mont thought best to send an inspector
to Pierre.
It is still less remarkable that when
1t got noissd about that Uncle Sam was
going TO investigate matters that one
had forty.two relinquishments put into
his hands for sale in less than week.
Altogether. it looks mighty dubious
for the South Omaha colony west Of
Pierre. We are afraid they will find
the bosom of their families near the
packing houses more comfortable than
q single nights snooze under buck
board west of Pierre-and the latter