The Minneapolis journal., 1906-05-18
FORTUNES MADE IN
50. DAKOTA LAND
STEADY ADVANCE IN THE PRICE
OF FARMS. "a ->.~.-+..s =. =
Newcomers Find Many Locations III
Which to Repeat the Successes Of the
Pioneer Settlers of the State.
BY HERBERT VANDERHOOF,

| Land, land more land" This is the
cry Of thousands of people who are
swarming into South Dakota They
come from every point of the compass,
but mainly from the Central and Eastern
states All kinds and conditions of men
seek here an opportunity of bettering
their fortune by investment in lands. and
most Of them find it. Some Of them are
hard handed practical farmers, who have
sold out their holdings in other states at
big prices, and are here to reinvest their
money in cheaper farms with the purpose
Of tiling them until the rise in values
gives them excuse for another profitable |
speculation. Others are investors pure
and simple, people who have idle capital
and can find no better or surer safety |
deposit box than the soil of South Da-
! kota, nothing that will yield them the
same big income in the form of yearly |
rental and steady increase in valuation.
Tradesmen, mechanics professional men
and plain workers are also here all eager
to find openings and the competent ones
invariably do so. But whatever their
voca ton or means the ambition of all |
is the same. They want land and they |
this ambition to begin with quickly ac-
Quire it after a few days in the state.
They can't help tits in the air.
IT'S not surprising said one resi-,
on land: Those who are not making
money by what some economists call
unearned increment get 1t by minister
ing to the needs of those who till the
same. The man who buys South Dakota
land, the one who tils it, Or he who
sells goods to either of them will get
wealthy, and that's all there is to It,
People joyful and Prosperous.
South Dakota is certainly a wonderful
country. and those who make their homes
here have ample excuse for their en-
thusiasm. an enthusiasm which is
based on the. golden rewards which
have attended their efforts. They
came here poor and when land was
cheap and untitled. They have seen the
population increase by leaps and bounds,
! the prairies gradually brought under cul-
tivation, and made to yield bonanza crops,
and the comforts and luxuries Of mod
der they are proud and enthusiastic?
Some unthinlzing strangers. thunder
struck by this universal spirit, call it
egotism, but a few days Of inspection
On railway train I recently met a Chi
cago drummer, who is on his tenth year
in this territory. He said
/ When I first began making South Da-
kota points 1 was considerably put out
1 by what thought was the buncombe. or
4 egotism, of the residents. Their tales
were Of the Munchausen order, to my
way of thinking. Now I'm fully as gar
talk as any of them. simply can't
help, it. I've seen the wonderful wealth
! of the state, have seen it increase at q
rate which made my head dizzy, and
must admit that the stories one hears
/ are, as a rule, we'll founded Ever read
] the Arabian Nights3. Yes. Well. af course
snd hs ap? say hat %as
| a great story. wasn't it? Well, 'ir take
my word for it,, Mr.. Aladdin never did
anything half so magical as the change
kota within the last twenty-five years.
4 His deeds were cheap and fakey.> Here
4 we have profitable reality" -,
1 Something About Land Values.
4 1t is the custom in South Dakota to re-
! fer to the times when land was cheap"
I It's cheap today, considering its enor-
4 nous productive capacity and the steady
manner in which values kept on advance
ing. Like all comparatively new coun-
4 tries, the matter of values. is largely
4 one of location. In communities where
. the population is large and of desirable
= class the farms are we'll titled. and
81 numerous, lands are naturally held at
a higher prices than in neighborhoods less
q favored by the progress Of civilization.
d All the lands in those western sections of
n the state are just as rich and just as
M susceptible of profitable Improvement as
= the eastern. They are merely awaiting
y the coming of the settlers. Once under
a the plow, there will be no question about
81 the future
n AS 1 have already said, the onward
NJ march Of civilization in South Dakota
81 is a rapid one. The railway unoads a few
81 families on the bare prairie, with nothing
gsi in view but a broad expanse of blue sky
8 and an unduating stretch of grass cov-
sa cred land. Tents or sod houses go up
sA the sod is broken, and seed sown. The
NJ yield Is encouraging and the hardy piO-
aJ neers keep at work, gradually subduing
|% the wild lands, intent on Transforming il
]. into a presentable farm. Some day he
s wakes up to a realization that he is ar
ssa empire builder. His tent or sod house
lsg like that Of his neighbors, has grown
III into a comfortable, we'll furnished home
H, His farm is fenced and highly produc
HS tive; instead of the primitive hoe ant
;S sss scythe he has modern agricultural ma
# chimes, and around him have sprung VI
s villages and even cities, teeming will
So life and prosperity This is the record o
being duplicated today in other sections
50 of the state. In it may be found ex
ia planaton of the increase in land values
81 of the fact that the holder of a farm
E are eager purchasers for his holding
M at as much as $50 or SIS an acre. whe
n it was only a few years ago they cos
III him nothing but the entry fees.
M State Is on the Jump.
III South Dakota is on the jump The las
"a census taken in 1905, gives the state
"a popula ton of 455.1S5, and this popuiatio
E is we'll distributed instead of :*.bein
"a massed in one or two large cities, I
M other words. economically speaking it
"a healthy populations. The largest cit
n in South Dakota has only 1922 people
III while there are 200 cities and village
81 ranging from 5000 down to 100 inhabi
E ta1its. This means that a large. proper
A ton of the entire population finds employ
M ment farms and ranches. adding dali
Isl and yearly to the material wealth an
M prosperity of the state.
~ L don't farm any more said on
b man to me as we sat on the porch
W his comfortable home In thriving tow
a Of 5000 people. Il don't have to. I di
d for a time and made money. at it. Thi
Ea money 1 kept: putting into land and l
n a short time accumulated an extensiv
81 tract. Some of this I rent out, an
ECO some has been sold at prices which hav
. made me independent. AS you see, W
live in comfort and don't have. to worr
about anything J.. sEs[<.
And this mans history has many, man
duplicates all over South Dakota. Th