The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-02-19

MhitchcH in Position to be
Reached From Any Quarter
OF the Stale Quickly

"nco VI the cataract during the
meeting of the retail grocers and ed
itors one would think that it was a
Mltcneil jubilee. Of course Pierre
had friends there but the sentiment
and crowd all seemed in favor Of
Mitchell, and prominenent stony
Falls old timer remarked that
mitchell is geographically the CEN
ter of population at present and al
WAYS will remain so, not because 9th
er parts OF the state will not grow
and prosper, but from the fact that
the population of the state Will hold
It's present and future relation to a
we'll defined center, and Mitchell
seems to be that center in spite of
! all other conditions which surround
other growing centers of population,
Yankton Mitchell, Redfeld and Alb
erdeen are the leading business cen
ters of north line leading through
the center of the state. Watertown,
Brookings, Sioux Falls, Canton and
/ Elk point represent the eastern line
of commercial activity and all are
within easy distance of the proposed
capital location at Mitchell From
Elk Point, Vermillion, Gayville,
Gankton, Scotland, Springfield and
Tyndall, Mitchell is but few hours
distant. From Canton, Worthing,
: Lennox, Parker, Marion Junction,
Bridgewater and Alexandria Mitchell
! Is neighbor. The Northwestern
takes you up at Alcester, or at Beres-
ford, Centerville, Hurley or Parker
and drops you at Salem, where the
Sioux Falls branch of the Northwest
ern picks you up and you are at
Mltchell IN very short time. From
! Watertown or Brookings or Madison
you run out west aud Jump onto the
! train with it many connections at
| Aberdeen. which picks up travellers
| from the east and west at Redfeld,
! Wolsey and WoOnsocket and again
you are close to Mitchell when they
get to the east side of the river. The
same is true of those who are on the
west side of the Missouri when they
reach Pierre. The Black Hills people
won't have to ride all day and part of
the night to reach Mitchill, as tl.ey
do now to reach Pierre. If the Mil |
waukee builds vest from Chamber |
lain and Everts, and this will be
DO e, then the entire country from
Hot Springs and Edgemont to Bell
aourche will be within reasonable
distance from Mitchell'
IhuS spoke man who seems to |
nave given the location question some
study as to the convenience of the
public, and when one looks over the
railroad map of the state Mitchell is
found to be population and railroad
center, which one can reach from any
point IN the state east of the Black
Hills, with ease and comfort. and
not a nights ride any where only
coming from Pierre to Woolsev.
When man has to ride all day and
the greater part of the night in the
winter time to reach state capital ,
1t Is time it was changed to some ,
point where the people could get ..
there between meals.
After the first winter session of {
the legislature at Pierre, a constant
and growing demand for the removal
OF the capital has been heard all over
the state with the exception of the
local interest embraced within a cir [
Gle of 80 miles. If the capital had
been located at Mitchell, Sioux Falls,
Huron or Redfield in the beginning,
no one would ever have heard of a
removal combination. Pierre is not
to blame for the conditions that
favor more central point.
There is no use in "knocking" any
part OF the state in discussing the
capital relocation. Just ask anv man
who has ever gone to Pierre in the
winter or during the legislature,
what he thinks of the location, and
of the charming night ride?
We have heard expressions about the
present capital location that would
not do in print. Every man in the
state who has gone to Pierre in the
summer or in the winter knows that
Pierre is not the proper location for
the capital of South Dakota. People
living in Yankton, Mitchell, Huron,
Redheld. Aberdeen or Watertown can
go to Chicago about as quick as they
can go to Pierre, and for comfort on
the Illinois route as between th at and
Pierre don't ever mention it, Had
the capital gone to any town in the
populOus center of the state between
Yankton and Aberdeen the peoble
would have been satisfied. The cap
ltal Is OF no benefit to Pierre and
never would be if it remained there
for all time, because the condition
OF the country west of Pierre will
always keep at least three quarters
OF the population east of the Missouri
river for the same reason that yo
find the bulk of the population in
Nebraska and Kansas in the eastern
half of these states. Railroads will
be built across the reservation and
on west for through traffic just as the
Burlington built from Edgemont, S.
d., to Billings, Montana, through
country where little grows but sage /,
brush and catcus, but it is q great {
sheep country, just as the west half !
of our state is a great cattle country, ]
and we are proud of the splendid pos s
sibiblities of the reservation country
for poor men to make fortunes in cat {
tie and horses, but no reservation
boomer looks for any thing more than
a cattle country population, and we
all know what that is.
1t will be blessing to Pierre when
the capital is moved, for then her !
people will go ahead and do some I
thing for themselves. Sometimes \
capital will help town, but it was
always curse to Yankton and it has +
been no benefit to Pierre-it came q
near bankrupting every man that +
had dollar to put up. t
The capital at Mitchell would not