The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-04-08
POOR INNOCENT PIERRE
Playing the Innocent and Disclaims
All knowledge OF Anything
in the Land Filings.

VI llAC lolku Il1ll@Ss
Kimball Graphic: More "Pierre
and Purity" This time the guile
less Capital-Journal turns it lose, as
follows:
The Sioux City Tribune is never
allowing an opportunity slip to plug
western South Dakota, and Mitchell
papers eagerly jump at the articles
prepared by the Tribune. One of
the latest is a yellow story about
land frauds in the Pierre district,
which is so worded as to lead to the
belief that the whole land business
of this district is based on a fraud.
Ii the whole land business in the
Pierre district is not based on fraud.
it come so neal it that the ordinary
individual can not distinguish the
difference. This may be due as
much, perhaps, to the lax admins
tration of the land laws as the IN
i scrupdlous methods Of the whole
Pierre outfit when the question of a
capital location is up. Putting one
i with the other it makes a combina-
ton by the side of which the postal
service graft is mighty small pota-
toes.
The Sioux City Tribune Is abund-
antly able to take care of itself.
But it is interesting to note that it
comes with poor grace, this criti-
cism Of the Tribune after it has Civ
en- columns OF valuable space to the
rot that has been sent from Pierre
to boom its capital chances disguised
as news specials-and for which the
Tribune has paid for to boot.
The only special article prepared
by the Tribune was in the nature of
an interview with the United States
inspector on bis way to Pierre to look
up the reported irregularities in the
land business-unless in some pre-
vious accounts of Sioux City men
who were induced to file on land
west Of Pierre under misrepresenta-
tion of what would be required of
them. There is no getting around
the fact that the land men at Pierre,
with the encouragement and conniv-
ance of the Pierre Loard of trade,
have flooded the country with. circu-
lars and descriptive matter telling
how easily ~ can get a quarter sec
tion Of land in Stanley county and in
so doing grossly misrepresented the
requirements of the land laws. On
der such circumstances non but a
ninnyhammer would believe that a
greater part of the filings were not
made by men so deceived and many
final proofs made under the same
conditions.
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 a Few Miles
West of the State Capital at Pierre.
"You may file on a claim ana mold
same by being on the land over night
every six months.
ga house built on the homestead
within six months after locating is
required-this would cost very little
less than $50.
"Married men don't have to bring
their families to live on the homes
stead"
It's small wonder that the govern
ment thought best to send an in
spector to Pierre.
1t is still less remarkable that when
it got noised about that Uncle Sam
was going to investigate matters
that n had forty-two r%elinquish-
ments put in to his hands for sale in
less than a week.
Altogether. it looks mighty du-
bious for the South Omaha colony
west of Pierre. We are afraid they
will find the bosom of their families
near the packing houses more con
Portable than a single nights snooze
under a blackboard west of Pierre
and the latter minus their votes next
November.