The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1920-12-17
Later on some Of these newer states

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saw the BENEFITS thrt had been deriy-
eo from this governmental encourage
ment given the railroad builders and
they enacted laws whereby the people
might vote bonds to aid the building
Of still more railroads. At present we
have Kansas In mind, and practically
every mile Of railroad that has been
built In that state, even unto this day,
has been builc by either governmentsl
land grants, or by voting either coun-
ty, township or municipal aid bonds,
and the result is that the great state
has made rapid strides In the way of
developing It's less populated sections.
1t pays to give the railroad builder
| little assistance and encouragement
to venture out little In undeveloped
fields and in advance of the line where
enough business has been developed
to make the new road paying propo-
sition from the very start.
Up until the election two years ago,
ing Of law that would permit the
people to vote aid bonds for railroad
but at the election two years ago, the
electorate Of this state SO amended
our constitution that now We can en-
act such law and 1t will be constitu.
tional.
We out Lere west of the river stand
in great need Of some such law. and
if the Forthcoming legislature would
enact such a law, we believe that we
would experience wonderful era of
railroad building within the next few
years, and as direct result OF snch
activity the country would be more
denselv settled more real farmers
would come in, the old cow man Of
days gone by, would move on to pas
lures new, aud the country would
come into it's own and what the crea-
tor intended it to be- real farming
country.
Some will argue, that the railroads
will come anyway. Certainly, but
when? Not until they see that they
can no longer ward OF the demand Of
the. people for better marketing facil-
ities, when they can clearly see that
all extension or newToads would be
a real money maker from the day 1t
was put In operation. or when the
railroad that was taking care Of the
traffic of a certain territory found an
other, or a competing road getting
ready to encrouch upon Its territory.
We came to Mellette county In 1912
and at that time the people here had
visions of the extension Of the Win.
ner branch of the G. Il n. w. and al
interval ever since we have had ru-
mors that the road would surely be
built the following spring, even now
there are rumoes floating around that
this road will surely be built next
spring, but we have no real assurance
that 1t will be built next spring or at
any dehnate date In the future, and
as penalty, the pioneers who came
to this country and are developing it
and making 1t what 1t Is today, they
are having to pay as high as forty and
forty five dollars ton for coal, they
have to pay an overland freight charge
OF from seventy-6ye cents to one dol.
lar per hundred pounds for every
pound of freight that Is shipped In or
that they have to take to the railroad
for the eastern market. That Is what
is retarding the development of this
country, that Is what is keeping many
a good thrifty farmer from casting
his lot among US and helping to make
this still better country to live In,
and besides. all this is q terrible tax
to pay for the privilege Of pioneering
80 therefore We are strongly advo.
eating the introducing and passing at
the coming session Of the South Da.
kota legislature a measure that will
empower organized counties. town.
ships or municipalities, to vote bonds
in reasonable amount, to aid In
the building Of steam or electric rail.
roads in this great undeveloped coun.
try west Of the river, aud If such
law is placed on the statute books, We
venture to say that there will be an
era Of renewed activity In railroad
building in this part Of the state, and
as result we will be able to get away
from this heavy overland freight tax
we now have to bear, we will have
market connections, and the value of
our lands will increase. and there will
be heavy emigration to this sec ion
Of the state. Such a law is . real
need, especially for this west Of the
river country.