The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1922-09-08
NUMBER 80.
THE WEALTH THAT COUNTS

When the aLventurcrs that followed
III the wake at CU'urEus came to The
ne" world, they sought quick riches
"l %old and p"m>. thinking to sail
away with cargce, OF treasure worth
fabulous amounts II is recalled .,)w
Il dirt that Gl'ttercd was loaded into
the hullS OF some vessels and taken TO
Europe, where it was found to be
worthless. Then there were MANY
stories told by the Indians Of gold
mines, and these were eagerly sought
by the carly explorers. America has
seemed to have lure of wealth from
the very beginning of its history.
That idea, prevailed for centuries,
and, with many, it prevails today The
pioneers who crossed the plains in '49
had drcams-not of an empires con-
quest, but of treasure found and car
rcd away. gold and silver and, may
be, precious stones. They desired to
be rich Immediately. The story is old,
hut it may be told again how the quest
for gold and silver blazed the trail for
millions who were destined to cstab-
llSh along the trails wealth of far
greater Importance than all the gold
and the silver and other metals that
were held secret in the ground. The
precious metals were exhaustible, and,
OF course, the wealth they represented
was not of much Importance. True,
ITS presence there was the lure west
ward, but the wealth that counts is
that which can be and is produced
year after year, and which will be
brought forth long after the gold and
the silver and the copper and the iron
and other metals and minerals are
gone.
An incXhaustible wealth is better
for the foundation of life. The riches
tiDt grow in the fields and the Or
chards are Of account, for, although
they are perishable as individual crops
they may be repeated for the service
Of man. and he will cheerfully pay for
that. Someone said of the wheat field
that it was " field Of gold" The
metaphysics Npt; lipened wheat re.
minds of'nothng quite so much. Corn
is not golden except when the fall days
cause the blades to rustic in the wind
but is is a source of wealth unending
to the American growers. The prod
ucts of the land that grow--these rep
resent the wealth that counts.
Minnesota is one of the leading
states in dairying. That state pro-
duccd butter last year that sold for
$G5 SO5, 5,969.24 In its best days the
territory of Alaska never produced
more than about $40, 900, 100000 in gold
within Il single year, and yet that re-
non was reckOned one Of amazing
richness. II might be better then, to
have herd of cows than gold mine.
liz the long run the COWS will produce
more wealth The gold in the butter
tat Is inexhaustible. The same thing
may be SAID Of hogs, or horses, or
sheep. a garden may be veritable
gold mine, only better by comparison.
for the soil Of the garden may be kept
up, whereas the precious metal never
increases as to quality. Indeed, peas
and hcans and carrots and cabbages
NAV be more attractive than nuggets,
even if the romance seems to be lack
ing for the moment.
America is still rich in precious
metals and minerals. It's coal mines
are vast, and so are those Of iron and
copper and lead and nickel, but the
wealth that counts is that which is
produced every year. one with another.
md which is worth billions instead Of
millions. The riches come from the
land all alike, but the gold that grows
IS the gold that ought to have the
- 1rCnuCr lnrc -Sioux City TOu,uol