The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-03-25

the state and always will be, for
it is statistical fact that the
ratio of increase in population
in the eastern por tion of the state
is many times greater than that
of the middle and west of the
Missouri portions. You never
hear those Pierre boomers tell
of the trainloads of immigrants
who are coming to locate in the
eastern tier of counties of the
state this year.
You only hear of the fellows
who are filing on claims in
Hughes, Presho, Pratt and other
counties. That's all right let
them take their homesteads.
But how many Of them live on
their land and how many are
just simply land grabbers? How
many of them just 60 out three
or four times during the fourteen
months residence required be-
fore final proof can be made on
their homesteads, stay over
night in their shanty, hire some
fellow to put up a few rods Of
fence and plow a few burrows,
and how many go out there and
live during the entire fourteen
mon tbs?
Why is it that the land, mil
lions OF acres of it to be had for
the expense of homesteading,
making final proof, ETC., lies un-
touched, while there are thous-
ands of people ready today to
give even the S. per acre Presi-
dent Roosevelt thinks the Rose
bud lands should bring, and then
there is requirement of five
years constant residence to be
fulfilled beside?
Why do not people wanting
homesteads take the cheaper
lands with only fourteen months
residence, and not steady one
at that, that is required of them?
Why is this if one part of the
state is as good as another? The
lands around Pierre are all right
for certain purposes. The rich,
succulent buffalo grass has fat
tening qualities which makes
some of the cattle from that sec
tion look as though they had
walked out of picture and att
times they compete strongly /!
with the corn fed beeves of other
parts of the state and other
states. AS a range country,
as country where the cattle
man and horseman has made and I
will make fortunes the country
west of the river has no equal.
1t is all right in this respect.
But the center of population is
farther east.
Mitchell lies in the center of
Of the populous district and al
ways will be located there. This
is Mitchells strongest argument.
Place the capital where the peo-
Pile are. Make it easier Of access
to everyone in the state
Statistics show that the east
ern part of the state is growing
ten times as rapidly in population
as the country around Pierre is
and yet Pierre has had the cap
ital for years. Why is this? Be-
this part of the state will
supportc c denser population. Be-
there is room for thous-
ands of people in eastern South
Dakota and the country is filing
up with people from other states
right along but most of them
prefer to stay in the more popu-
lous eastern portion. Possibly
they too are knocking the state
because they select the eastern
portions in preference to the
lands farther west.
The land west Of the river is in
greater demand every year and
new settlers will locate there
right along, still those Pierre
boomers know full we'll that
there are thousands of acres out
there that will never be home
steaded. They do not belong to
he farming lands and even
;hough there is bound to be
great influx of new settlers, the
Pierre chaps cannot make an
intelligent public believe that the
great table lands some of them
four thousand feet above sea
evel, will ever be as thicklv
as the more fertile
ands further east.
Cut this talk Of "knocking the
) tate out for a while.
Dig up some other argum ent
hat will appeal more to the in
diligence of the people of South
Dakota Hudson Hudsonite.
For Over sixty Years. II