The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1906-05-18

/ IL
South Dakota this spring after an alb
sence OF from three to five years are
| Invariably astonished by the tangible
evidences of prosperous advancement
an advancement which it is practically
| impossible to report accurately in any
| thing short of fig ures, and these are
| never interesting except to expert sta
| tisticians,
Il used to think myself pretty we'll
| informed concerning the resources of
| the state" said resident Of Water
town. but the country is developing
so fast that | can't keep track of things
as did few years ago. OF course,
we all know about the rapid influx OF
new settlers and the bringing into
productive state OF hundreds of thou
sands of acres of prairie land yearly.
| All this. while no doubt surprising to
visitors. has become an old story to
South Dakota people, and we no longer
| gaze open-mouthed at the develop
ments in this direction. What inter-
ests us the most nowadays are the UNI
mistakable signs of prosperity. 1t is
| only few years ago that farmers and
ranchmen in this section We're content
with their rough fare, and made no
effort to obtain the Injuries or even
the comforts Of life. Their homes
were mostly shacks, and the sodhouse
was in common use. Live stock had
the most primitive kind of shelter and
was generally of primitive breed. or
no breed at ADJUST cattle. Schools
and churches were scarce, and society
was unknown. In fact. the settlers
| didn't act as II they had much conf
| dence in the stability of the land. They
We're reaping big crops OF wheat and
raising big herds of cattle, but they
made no attempt to improve their
homes or their farms, save in few
rare instances.
Land Of Beautiful Homes.
| Look about you to-day and note the
change. Travel all over South Dakota.
and wherever you go you will find
peace and plenty, land flowing with
milk and honey If you will permit
me to drop in Biblical expression.
| Shacks and dugouts and sodhouses
have given place to fine, we'll built
homes, some of them really artistic in
design. but all comfortable, and in
many instances equipped with such
modern devices as heating furnaces.
| bathrooms, running water and gas.
| The value of floral ornamentation. the
| beauty of we'll kept lawns, the benefits
of stately shade trees, are all appre-
| ciated, and we find them wherever we
| turn
Nor is this ALL The farms them
selves are improved. They are, as
rule. we'll fenced and kept under good
| cultivation. Rotation OF crops is fol-
| lowed intelligently and with very
| appreciable result in Increased yields.
| Spacious barns are abundant and live
| stock is we'll housed. Moreover there
| has been remarkable Improvement in
| the character of the stock Farmers
and ranchmen understand that it costs
no more to raise good cattle than poor,
and the profits are much larger and
surer 1t has all had most healthy
| effect AS one land owner begins i'm
| provements of this nature the example
| thus given becomes contagious, and a
| good natured rivalry sets in.
81 can take you into thousands OF
homes in South Dakota where the girls
| have their pianos and sewing ma
| chimes; where you will find lace cur
| tains on the windows good rugs or
carpets on the floors. pictures on the
! walls and we'll stocked bookcases The
| kitchens have modern cooking conven-
| fences and washing machines are con-
| sidered a necessity. The boys have
| their fine horses and first-class buggies
| and gold watches. I'm glad of it,
| Things We're different when | came
| here in 1880, but, l repeat, am glad to
| see the change. 1t is strong object
| lesson on the solid and material pros
| perity we are enjoying"
| Picture Is True One.
| In no wise is this old settlers sketch
| overdrawn. 1t is true picture of con-
| dtions as they exist in South Eakota
| at the present time DO not wish to
| be understood as asserting that 1t ap-
| plies to every farm or ranch-such a
| claim would be preposterous applied
| universally here, or to any other state
| in the Union Wherever one goes he
| will find certain thriftless individuals,
| too lazy or incompetent to take advan-
| tage Of the resources nature spreads
| before them. But this undesirable class
| is scarce in South Dakota. 1t takes
| vim and pluck and energy to win sue
| cess in a new country, and the pio-
| neers who came here In the years be-
| tween 1871 and 1890 had all these quail
| tiles And these same traits predomi-
| nate in the men who are to-day EXTEND
| ing and improving the work so we'll
| begun by the pioneer. In this may be
| found fair explanation Of the pros
| perity which is so self-evident Pluck,
| brains and muscle and. above ali a
| bulldog confidence In the future of the
state have won battle for civilization
| and hundreds Of thousands of people
are reapng the rewards.
1t is almost incredible, but an his
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