Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1906-05-31

| swarming into South Dakota. They
come from every point of the compass,
but mainly from the Central and East
ern states. All kinds and conditions of
men seek here an opportunity of bet
tering 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 hold,
ings in other states at big prices, and
| are here to reinveSt their money in
cheaper farms with the purpose of till
| ing them until the rise in values gives
| them excuse for another profitable
| speculation. Others are investors pure
and simple, people who have idle cap
ital and can find no better or surer
safety deposit box than the soil of
| South Dakota, nothing that will yield
| them the same big income in the form
/ of yearly rental and steady increase in
| valuation. Tradesmen, mechanics, pro-
fessional men and plain workers are
also here, all eager to find openings,
and the competent ones Invariably do
So. But, whatever their vocation Or
means the ambition of all is the same.
They want land and they want lots of
it. The few who don't have this ambi-
ton to begin with quickly acquire it
after few days in the state. They
can't help tits in the air.
cts not surprising" said one resi-
dent, because all our wealth is based
on land. Those who are not making
money by what some economists call
iro o,t h,, to
tering to the needs of those who till
the soil, and the result in the end is
the same. The man who buys South
! Dakota land, or the one who tills 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 wonder
full country, and those who make their
homes here have ample excuse for
their enthusiasm which have attended
their efforts. They came here poor
and when land was cheap and untitled.
They have seen the population in
crease by leaps and bounds, the prai-
ries gradually brought under cultiva-
ton, and made to yield bonanza crops,
and the comforts and luxuries of mod
ern civilization secured Is it any
wonder they are proud and enthusiasts
tic? Some unthinking strangers, thun-
der-struck by this universal spirit, call
! it egotism, but few days of inspection
makes them quickly change their
minds. On railway train I recently
met a Chicago drummer who is on
his tenth year in this territory. He
said:
when I first began making South
Dakota points I was considerably put
out by what I thought was the bun
combe, or egotism, of the residents.
Their tales were of the Munchausen
order, to my way of thinking. Now
Pm fully as garrulous and confident in
this kind Of talk as any Of them.
simply can't help it. I've seen the
wonderful wealth of the state, have
seen it increase at a rate which made
my head dizzy and must admit that
the stories one hears are, as a rule,
well founded Ever read the Arabian
Nights? Yes. Well, of course you re
member the yarn about Aladdin aud
his wonderful lamp? Say, that was
great story, wasn't it? Well, you
take my word for it. Mr.. Aladdin
never did anything half so magical as
the change which has been wrought in
South Dakota within the last twenty
five years. His deeds were cheap and
fakey. Here we have profitable real
ity."
Something About Land Values.
1t is the custom in South Dakota to
refer to the times when land was
cheap" It's cheap to-day, consider
ing its enormous productive capacity
and the steady manner in which values
kept on advancing. Like all compare
, lively new countries, the matter of val.
, ues is largely one of location. In
large and of desirable class the farms
are well titled, and churches, schools
banks, etc, reasonably numerous, lands
are naturally held at higher prices thar
, in neighborhoods less favored by the
progress of civilization. All the lands
. in those western sections Of the state
are just as rich and just as suscepti-
BILE of profitable Improvement as the
, eastern. They are merely awaiting the
coming Of the settlers. Once under
the plow, there will be no question
about the future.
AS have already said, the onward
march Of civilization in South Dakota
is rapid one. The railway unloads
few families on the bare prairie
with nothing in view but broad ex
panse of blue sky and an undulatins
stretch of grass covered land. Tents o.
. sod houses go up, the sod is broken
and seed sown. The yield is encourag
. ing and the hardy pioneers keep a
work, gradually subduing the wilt
lands, intent on transforming it into ;
presentable farm. Some day he wakes
up to realization that he is an EN-
, pire builder. His tent or sod house
! | ~4>~.~e~~-~~~~~~~~
An old Indian from the Southwest
. has been in Washington for a while
and spends a good deal of his time II
the senate gallery. He seemed to pay
special attention to Senators Spooner
Teller and Beve1idge. The other da,