Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-06-01
SOUTH DAKOTA LAND
STEADY ADVANCE IN PRICE OF
FARMS BRINGS WEALTH.
People Are joyful and Prosperous
Farmers Make Money and Invest 1t
in Land and Get Rich-Some Dak-
ia Land Open to Homestead.

Land, land, more land. rms Is
the cry of thousands of people who
are swarming into& South ako
They come from every point Of the
cdmpass, but mainly from the central
and eastern states. All kinds and con-
d1qons of men seek here an opportu-
nifty of lettering their fortune by in
vestment in lands and most of them
And it. Som of them are hard hand
ed, 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 filling 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 boN
than the soil of South Dakota moth
ing 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 vocation or means, the
ambition of all is the same. They
want land and they want lots OF II.
The few who don't have this amDl-
ton to begin with quickly acquire 1t
after a few days in the state. They
cant help tits in the air.
Its not surprising" said one res
Iident, because all our wealth is based
on land. Those who are not k
money by what some economist call
i"unearned increment" get it by min
4fstering to the needs of those who TIL
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,"
South Dakota is certainly a wonder
full country, and those who make their
homes here a ample excuse for
their enthusiasm which is based on
the golden rewards which have at
tended their efforts. They came here
POOR and when land was cheap and
untitled. they have seen the popula-
kti0n increase by leaps and bounds, the
lprairies gradually brought under cul-
itivation, and made to yield bonanza
crops, and the comforts and luXurieS
Lof modern civilization cured is 1t
any wonder they are proud anu en-
Ethusiastic? Some unthinking strarg-
Iers, thunderstruck by this universal
Ispirit, call it egotism, but a few days
% l1iSEhN 2S~S
kChange their minds. On a railway
Train I recently met a Chicago drum
imer- who is on his tenth year in this
TERRITORY, he aid
when I first began making South
Dakota points I was considerably put
out by what 1 thought was the bum
icombe, or egotism Of the residents.
Their tales were of the M~unchausen
order, to my way of thinking Now
I'm fully as g%arrulous and confident
in this kind of talk as any of them. l
simply can't help it. I've seen n
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 Arabia
Nights? Yes. Well, of course you
remember the yarn about Aladdin and
his wonderful lamp? Say, that was a
great story, wasn't it? Well, sir, 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 a prohtapie
reality" vi
1t is the custom in South Dakota to
refer to the times when LAND was
cheap" It's cheap today, considering
its enormou productive capacity and
the steady manner in which values
keep on advancing. Like all compar-
atively new countries, the matter of
values 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
- .$Io- n, p nt0hhnrhnn1 1aSC ia
vored by the progress Of civilization.
All the lands in those western sections
ct the state are Just as rich and just
as susceptible of profitable improve
ment 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
lis a rapid one The railway unloads
b few families on the bare prairie,
with nothing in view but a broad ex- |
tIpanse 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 it into
q p~r6sentab1e farm. Some day he |
wakes up to a realization that he is an
xmpiEe builder. His tent or sod house. |
like that OF his neighbors, has grown
into q comfortable, well furnished
hone His farm is fenced and highly |
productive; instead of the primitive
hoe and scythe he has modern agricul-
ttural machines, and around him have
sprung villages and even cities. teeming
with life and prosperity. This is the
record Of the older part of South Da-
kota, and it is being duplicated today
in other sections of the state. IT
may be found an explanation of tae
in land values; of the fact
the holder of a farm is frequently
to learn hat there are eager
purchasers for his holdings at as
much as $50 or SIS ar acre, when it
only a few years ago they cost
him nothing but the entry fees.
South Dakota Is on the jump. The
last census, taken in 1905. gives the
state a population of 455,1s5, and this
is well distributed instead
of being massed in one or two large
In other words. economically
it is q healthy population.
The largest city in South Dakota has
only 12.2S2 people. while there are
200 cities and villages ranging from
5000 down to 100 inhabitants. This
means that a large proportion of the
apkira rpY,,1ofiau 6pdr ~ ptox,p,a $50 ~.