The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-05-20
WILL NOT EFFECT LAND
VALUES
Capital Removal Will Not De-
press the Value of Land
West OF the Missouri

Fulton Advocates: The 500 Falls
Press, in noting the sale of school
lands IN Brown county, ascribed the
high price for which they sold to their
nearness to the growing city of Aber-
deen whereupon a Mr.. Mckenzie from
| Groton writes the Press as follows:
| desire to call your attention to an
error of Judgment in your editorial
oh land values in your daily issue of
the 25th inst.
You stated therein that the reason
of land selling SO high in Brown
county vas on account of it's prox-
unity to the growing city of Aber-
deem.
Every acre of land sold in Brown
county at the big prices is close to
the city of Groton and nowhere near
Aberdeen. Lands in the vicinity of
Groton have been selling all the way
from $15 to S25 an acre above the
lands near Aberdeen. The school
lands have all been sold to parties
adjoining them and were bought by
them by reason of their intrinsic
values, regardless of proximity to
any town or towns. You are certain
ly not familiar with the existing con-
ditiOns as to land values in Brown
county.
This corroborates the position of
the Advocate that values are not de-
pendent on location near large cities
but in their quality and productive
capacity. While nearness to a large
city or Town is a convenience, it is not
a necessity, and the real farmers will
not sacrifice quality to location. In
this connection it will naturally occur
to every thoughtful person that the
cry of Pierre that the removal of the
capital to Mitchell will effect the value
of the state lands west of the river has
no merit. If the capital is such a pO-
tent factor in fixing land values it's
influence seems to be of a depressing
rather than %elevating nature. Why,
else, should the land in Hughes coun-
ty in which the capital is situated and
, in Hyde county, adjoining, be cheaper
than anywhere else in the state east of
= the Missouri? If the Pierre country
is good as any other section of the
state and this is the effect of Ia years
capital she ought to be eager to have
it removed.
Those who profess to believe that
the capital will build up its own local
lty n tear down remote localities,
are referred to our sister state to the
east, Minnesota. Here the capital is
scarcely more than a stones throw
from the east line Of the state. Ac-
cording to Pierre logic the country
contiguous to the capital should be
much more thickly settled and farm
land much more valuable than in the
western part of the state. But the
reverse is true. There is a greater
farm population in the west than in
the east half of the state, and the val
ues of farm lands in counties adioin-
ing South Dakota, average consider
ably higher than within a radius of
fifty miles of ST. Paul. According to
the gospel of ST. Pierre, this should
not be, but it is, and is also a con
elusive answer to the Pierre idea.
The land in the west part Of the state
is higher because it is better land.
All the talk of 'knockin@n the state
and effecting the value OF the state
lands IS ~buncombe. pure and simple.
Having no real basis on which to ask
for the retention Of the capital Pierre
raises these bogus issues, trusting tC
the thoughtlessness of the voters for
their effect.