The Bad River news. [volume] (Philip, Stanley County, S.D.) 19??-1912, 1910-10-20
A STRONG DIVISION ARGUMENT
Favorng the Proposed Iowa County Proposition and Some
Pertinent Facts that Ought to Induce all West
Enders to Vote Eyes" on the Question

l am writing to you to tell you
why l am for county division.
You no doubt heard good many
reasons why the county should not
be divided. Please let me tell you
why it should be. Let me ask you
| why it should be. Let me ask
you first; Why is state divided up
into counties in the first placeg
The answer is; That in order to
reach all the people and render
justice to them, it is absolutely
necessary to have a county seat or
court of justice convenient to them,
and if this were not the case. JUS
tice to all would be an impossible
| ty. 1t was possible when there
were but few people in Stanley
county, to live a hundred or more
miles from a doctor, but fearfuiIy
inconvenient and frightfully ex-
pensive. But when the country
began to settle up and doctors
moved out into our midst. no one
said it was too soon OF that it
would raise their taxes. If there
were no doctors in Stanley county
now west of Fort Pierre, people
would nearly break their necks and
would spend fifty thousand dollars
If necessary to get one near us,
and still if there is any mystery
whatever about a death away out
here, the county coroner must be
summoned and he would scarcely
get to the further corner of Stan
ley county before the body would
be decomposed and it would cost
the county pretty large sum too.
And the same is true of anything
else we need from the seat of JUS
tice, it takes to long to get it and
costs too much when we do get it.
Let me give you just one exam
pie. One of our3 customers came
into our Office one day last week
and we were speaking about taxes,
he said he had been taxed on his
quarter of land for a year. before
he made application for final proof.
1t was an injustice and he was try
ing to get it back and had not
only spent good deal of time,
but so far had spent seventy five
dollars in cash, to get back less
than twenty FIVE dollars and had
not got it yet. Now he is entitled
to this and should have it, but the
chances are that he will never get
it, for if he does, he will have
to 90 to the county seat and camp
until exactly the right time, the
moment when all the officials of
this great county have the time and
opportunity to attend to his case.
There are scores of parallel cases
where justice should be rendered
but is not because it costs too much
to get it.
If you live in a community where
you have a lawless ncighbor who
will not take care of his stock, and
they destroy all that lies between
your family and starvation till you
raise another, all you can do is
to quietly submit to the inevitable,
for it would cost you five dollars
for every one you got back if you
had to spend your own time and
pay for the time and expense of
dragging dozen ,or'so of witness
es hundred miles to the county
seat. We had trials this season
in the westend of the county, where
innocent people have had 10 neglect
their business and spend several
days of their time, and the county
has spent thousands Of dollars for
excess mileage that would have
been saved if our seat Of govern
mont had been nearer home. So
my FIRST great reason for division
is to get justice to al which we do
not get . il is, and which every
American citizen Is justly entitled
70. Ny second reason is to get
Justice = : reasonable price. I
'have nnst 10 objection = division,