We leased the North Nebraska Argus at Dakota City, the county seat of Dakota County. The paper had been established and conducted by “Father” Martin, an odd but benevolent retired pioneer minister. He had been writing a ”continued” story in the paper, which was entitled “The Conflict, Love or Money,” and a provision in the lease was that I should continue printing this story, which I did.

The printing outfit was small and primitive, with a Washington hand press to print the sheet. I moved my family to Dakota City and we lived very happily during the two-year lease, which was successful, if not highly profitable.

My next venture was the establishment of the Dakota County Democrat at South Sioux City, the small but ambitious new city, opposite Sioux City. Business was quite successful for a few years and the paper cut some figure, as well as the editor, and was quite active in politics and public affairs of the county. The editor became acquainted in practically all parts of the county and finally could boast that he knew practically every permanent resident of the county.

It is not out of place here to explain somewhat the beginning and some of the early history of South Sioux City. One of the oldest villages in Nebraska was Covington, directly across the Missouri river from Sioux City. Covington and Jackson vied with one another to get credit as the earliest villages in northeast Nebraska, both in Dakota county.

While these communities were settled by many of the old and honored pioneers, they also became the most notorious, so far as morality was concerned. Saloons from the earliest days were taken as a matter of course by most of the people, and this attracted an element that is to be deplored in any community.

The location of Sioux City, across the river in Iowa, had its deplorable effect on the Nebraska villages. At intervals, attempts were made to enforce prohibition in Iowa and Sioux City. At such times the saloons and bawdy houses and gamblers, with the exception of the usual bootleggers and hidden lawlessness, migrated to Covington, where law enforcement was slack, and as a consequence, Covington became notorious as a crime and law breaking center.

In the latter part of the last century, a few enterprising boosters and promoters came on the scene to build a city of morality and progress, near the old town. At that time, South Sioux City was established with an elaborate and large town site. Some of the most prominent financiers of Sioux City got behind to help boost the new Nebraska town.

It grew rapidly the first few years and this grew into a real boom, from which developed the building finally of the big combination bridge across the Missouri, the final completion of a railroad from Sioux City to O’Neill, and many other big and little enterprises, of which it is impossible to mention in detail. After a number of years old Covington was incorporated as a part of South Sioux City, and from that time on its morals somewhat improved, but not before it had gained a notoriety for crime and lawlessness that were deplorable, to say the least.

This editor cast his lot with the new city at almost its first beginning, where he established a home and as stated heretofore, he established the Dakota County Democrat. While the early years were fraught with struggles and hard work, the Democrat grew and prospered, the paper and its editor taking a prominent place in the advancement of community and educational affairs, as well as that he was identified with the political and civic affairs of the county; engaged in several “battles” that brought clashes with the Republican newspaper located at Dakota City, the county seat. These disputes some times became personal, with name-calling and flings at one another, which were not a credit to either side, but seemed to be part of “journalism” in those early days.