Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1907-07-11
The Discovery Of the West.

- AHAtSHs0 " ~ SAAS " $3.50
But q few days ago a New York bus
iness man had occaetotl TO travel over a
& greater portion Of South Dakota Up
on returning TO his home he declared
he had discovered the best aud most
prosperous state on the globe, and he
4 was willing to swear that the state
ment was true to make it strong.
S Prompted by the utterances OF a resi-
dent the Wall Street Journal says:
The enthusiasm which the traveller
from the east brings back with him
3 from the west often leads to the I'M.
I preston that he has discovered some.
\ thing new. But quite the contrary is
& the case, because the discovery of the
I west is as old as the impulse which
terminated In tho voyage of Columbus
4 to America, and as young as the latest
return of a dweller in the east who has
come back with The spirit of the west
4 upon him.
Phe fact is that the west is not so
much the name of geographical local
i ity as of temperamental attitude
caused by association with an energetic
4 people who are more closely III contact
with the soil than is the case in other
parts of the world. Here is an empire
of the open and free spirit which man
TESTS itself to the newcomer la a way
that communicates itself to him and
\ sends him back to the east as a m is.
4 sionary.
The spirit Of the VESTS not easily
assayed There is q love Of hard work
In it, and readiness to work hand III
hand, a degree of pluck and strength
& Of purpose, and q high measure of faith
in the future, all of which figure con-
h stantly In laying the foundations and
D building aloft the structure Of empire.
The east is so different that the
4 change from the east TO the west, no
3 matter how often 1t is made, has the
nature Of g voyage OF discovery, dur
ing which new points Of view, new
facts Of life, new appreciation Of per
s0nal and business forces are disclosed
Il as fresh discoveries, unlike the things
which belong to the modes Of thought
and methods Of business in the east
Because of the investment power
which the west represents, itbecomes
more important than ever for those
whose lot is cast in the east to partake.
occanip ;ialy Of this accidentation as a
I means tof understanding the western
position and point of view This pos
ition is characterized by an increased
financial independence of the east,
4 more radical at itude OH many of the
newer public questions, and the dispos q
ition tOselect the better things from all
ssourses, unhampered by limitations of
tradition This fact shows itself in
4 their institutional development as we'll
as in their business methods.
Tie accumulation OF western re-
sources is beginning to react directly
upon the east, Western men. and west
! ern capital are constantly turning east
I for q wider field for their energ les.
The drift from tie west to. the east is
quite as definite, though possibly not
quite SO large as that of She east to5the
west. after all, east ana west, north
and south, are but SO many great as,
poets Of the same national life which
nsed % bs mingled to keep the pro
yincial ID US from narrowing our vision
or from accepting the Illusion that a
part is greater than the whole.