The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1904-09-09
zIMBALL. SOUTH DAKOTA FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER g. 1904
WHO is THE BIGGEST "KNOCKER?"
Is 1t Tinan Bureau Caldwell the
Isl If Huron2

'pery John LOnGStaff of Huron?
tion OF the state. The Huronite
would much rather see the country
west settle up and develope than
that lying to her east, but 1T can
not Share in the imaginary expec-
tations and optimistic predictions
oi our Pierre Register friends.
such an outcome is contrary to all
history Of settlement. The coun-
ties west of Bcadle will not set
tic up until there is a surplus pop
ulation in the counties to their
Destined to be slow in settlement
and development.
That's what Mitchell saws: that's all
that Mitchell says: that is the true
height and sum Of Mitchell's Offend
ing.
On July is, 1890, e. w. Caldwell
made the following prediction to the
Pierre people which was absolutely
true then and true now. He then
said
"The fact is that the location of
the capital at Pierre will not
stimulate the building of single
ROD of railroad. How could it?
is there anything in the seat of
state government which would
lead capitalists to put their money
into transportation enterprises?
Does the location OF the capital
add one iota to the productive ca
pacltics of the section in which it
may be situated: Does il stimu-
late immigration? Does it add to
the fertility of the land? Does
it do anything that makes IL rail-
road necessary? Certainly moth
ing. II Pierre is so situated that
there will be business for rail
roads, She will get them, other
wise she will not. ana there is
nothing in the capital which can
make her any business"
On August 5, 1890, fourteen years
ago. the Huronite, which up to the
time that its town was forever put
out of the running in the legislature
of 1903, has been the most active par
ticipant for pulling the capital back
among the people, contained dis
patch from one of the one hundred
memNers OF the South Dakota Press
association who had just been driven
from Pierre by team to Rapid City by
the Pierre board of trade and wired
back their impressions of the country
west OF Pierre, and this is what the
said.
''The editors have arrived here
after a four-dayS Journey. The
general impression OF the country
passed oyer is that it might be
good for stock, If there was more
water. but that it is almost Who'll
ly unfit for cultivation and eener-
al agricultural purposes. In 1865
miles travel we met only one man
trying to farm"
At the time when these editors
from Pierre to the Hills the
government census showed there were
,32l people living in what at present
Is Stanley county, yet the editors only
saw zone man trying to farm"
Speaking of the trip of the editors
the cattle country on July 81,
1890, in the Sioux Falls Press e. w.
Caldwell made the following QUOTA
tion from the Pierre Free Press of
II few days before which spoke of that
country as follows.
sit would be a black eve to the
interests of that country to take
one hundred writer's from all over
the state over the Deadwood trail
where it would be nothing but
bleak prospect and an up and
down hill view. That would an
swer for bull whackers and mule
SkinnerS as 1T has in years past,
but the editors deserve something
better"
The DeadwOod Pioneer, then a
Pierre, supporting newspaper. as it is
today. had this dirty fling to make at
the editors who crossed the cattle
country and Bad Lands. by hauling
several kegs of Missouri river water
for drinking purposes in their vehicles
because the editors would not call
that farming country" In it's
columns ol the last week in August,
1890, Editor Bonner said:
Ine EDITORS or South Dakota
who dead headed their way across
the recently ceded reservation to
the Hills, where they were shown
every possible courtesy, were with
few exceptions a scrubby lot.
Only Il small number of the better
class of papers was represented.
1t can be seen by reading the aboye
quotations that the capital fight four
teen years ago Pierre called everybody
KNOCKERS" and a ''scrubbv lot" who
would not misrepresent the grazing
lands and Bad Lands west of the Mis-
souri, river. They have now had the
state capital fourteen years, and they
have 1000 less people at Pierre and
1000 less in Hughes county. and 9,5GS
acres OF vacant government land in
their own county, nine times as much
vacant government land in the one
country where the capital has been
located fourteen years and the North
western railroad twenty-four years as
there are in the EIGHTEEN counties of