The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1919-07-03
GOOD ROADS ARE
AB|G NECESSITY
BROOkINGS COUNTY Il IG AT
THE GATEWAY OF iE
STATE NEEDS TIL
ONE AND ONE-HAlF MILLION Z EDED
If This County is to Maintain I :, 'ric
Of Her Agricultural Lands SIS
Must Be Done at Once.

At the gateway of the state, 9 he
big through trail from Chicago he
rich country of the Black Hills, Brook
ings county is today the first of the
fruitful prairie lands of South Dako-
ia that greet the eye of the traveller.
Nowhere in the whole extent of the
rich Sioux valley is there any land
that exceeds it in productiveness. No
where is the science of farming more
fully and thoroughly practiced. Her
fine fields, fat herds of cattle and
swine, well improved farms, all strike
the eye of the traveller and tell him
that he has reached a country where
nature is at her best and where man
has given her all of his strength and
talent in developing the resources so
bountfully placed here by the Crea-
tor. The price for this splendid land
has steadily mounted, until today the
price per acre has reached almost to
. the mark of two hundred and fifty
dollars. Farmers who have titled the
soil of Illinois and Iowa come here
and buy because they find it as good
and as productive as the soil they
have grown up with. They see here
future that needs only careful plant
ing, hard honest toll and a knowledge
of the science of agriculture They
know that this is a rich, fruitful and
productive country. But then there
comes a drawback, that in way they
cannot understand. Why, with all
these possibilities before us, are the
roads Of the county is such horrible
condition. Why, have the men who
own this fine land allowed their high
ways to become mere dirt paths, a
ready victim to the action of every
passing storm. A county south of us,
with no better land, no better advan-
tages of nature, no woalthier people,
are today bonding for two and one
half millions of dollars to make their
roads safe and secure. Is there any
reason why this county should sit still
and allow the progress of the times
to receive no help at her hands. Is
it possible that our farmers do not
realize that good roads mean better
transportation to market. Is it pos
sible that they have not figured out
the cost of moving the crops they
raise, be those crops, grain, cattle,
swine or anything else that must be
delivered to the railroad for shipment
Are these men who have struggled
up from the pioneer days of oxen and
walking plows to remain satisfied with
the dirt roads that were typical Of
the past. Having all Of the comforts
that modern science has invented for
the home, the kitchen, the farm and
the field, why is it that this question
of transportation is now neglected and
Brookines county is at the mercy Of
any hard rain, SO that the inhabitants
of the country are cut off from their
markets, the mail service and their
home towns. Is this an indication of
progress, advancement and thrift? Or
is it the fear that a few dollars will
be assessed to pay for the very thing
that will raise the price of land and
make more money come into the pock-
cts of those who till the soil and need
these modern highways for the haul
ing of their produce to market. To
him who would say that this means
an added burden in taxes, we say let
the county build roads by the issu-
ance of bonds and those pass on to
those who come after and reap the
larger rewards in the increased value
of this land, pay their full share of
the cost of making these lands SO
valuable and profitable. Every man
who raises products for market must
figure in on his cost sheet, as he
balances his books for the year. one
item that always has been largely ov-
erlooked. That is the item of trans
portation. The planting, the cultivat-
ing, the reaping, the care, all these
are carefully figured, but how many
men have worked out on paper just
how much it costs them to get that
product to the market where it can
be converted into money. The gov
ernment has figured this all out and
in any of the agricultural papers, tne
magazines, the club periodicals, you
can find that the carriage of the crop,
whatever it may be, figures up very
largely in making the profit that comes
after it is sold. If you double the
amount of product that you car carry
at one time then you eliminate a per-
centage not only on the first load.
but on every other load of that prod
uct that you transport. II the men
who own land in Brookings county
expect that 1t is going to advance
further in price, as it should II the
men who farm here expect to make
a profit out of their labor, II those
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