The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-06-07

cry OF thousands OF people n are
1warming 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 1t
after a few days in the state. They
can't help tits in the air.
tits 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
%'unearned increment get it by minis
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 n 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 a 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-
tor, and made to yield bonanza crops,
andt the comforts and Injuries Of mod
ern civilization secured. Is it any
> wonder they are proud and enthusiast
tic? Some unthinking strangers, thun-
der-struck by this universal spirit, call
1t egotism. but a few days Of inspection
makes them quickly change their
minds. On a railway train l recently
met a Chicago drummer, who is on
his tenth year In this territory. He
said:
when I first began making South
Dakota points 1 was considerably put
out by what l thought was the bun
combe, or egotism, Of the residents.
Their tales were Of the Munchausen
order. to my way of thinking. Now
I'm fully as garrulous and confident in
this kind Of talk as any Of them. l
simply can't help it. I've seen the
wonderful wealth Of the state, have
seen 1t increase at a 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
Nights? Yes. Well, Of course you re-
member the yarn about Aladdin and
his wonderful lamp? Say, that was
a great story, wasn't it? Well, you
take my word for 1t. Mr.. Aladdin
peve 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 a profitable real
ity."
Something About Land Values.
It Is the custom in South Dakota to
refer to the times when land was
cheap" IT.: cheap to-day, consider
ing its 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
communities where the population Is
large and Of desirable class the farms
are well titled, and churches, schools,
banks, ETC., reasonably numerous, lands
are naturally held at higher prices than
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 pillow, there will be no question
about the future.
As I have already said, the onward
march of civilization in South Dakota
Is a rapid one. The railway unloads
a few families on the bare prairie,
with nothing in view but a broad ex-
panse Of blue sky and an undulating
stretch Of grass covered land. Tents or
sod houses go up, the sod is broken,
and seed sown. The yield Is encourag-
ing and the hardy pioneers keep at
work, gradually subduing the wild
lands, intent on Transforming 1t into a
p%resentable farm. Some day he wakes
up to a realization that he Is an en-
pire builder. His tent or sod house,
An old Indian from the Southwest
has been In Washir gton for a while
and spends a good deal of his time in