Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-30
THE ODESSA FRAUD.

\ Devils Lake Town Site Bubble Pretty
Thoroughly pricked.
HOW THE BOOMERS WORK 1T,
And Take In the GudgeOns Who Are
AnxioustO be Plucked.
To the Editor of the Globe:
GRAND FORKS, D. T., Dec. 16, 1SS2.-Per-
NIT me through your valuable paper, to
call the attention of your readers to one of
the most nefarious townsite schemes in
Northern Dakota, at present being adver-
tised to too easily deceived ...h..::cc. You
have probably heard of the famous Odessa I
on Devils lake, prospective townsite |
which has lately been exte- Asiyely adver.
tised in this northern cor .ntry through the
columns of the local pr .pers and also to
Ief'ain 'hroo Oh the Pioneer Pr ess.
IN view OF the ia st that the lots ip said
'o"nsi.e arc going to be placed on the
marker III ,our own city and NJ nneanolis
a.: a: SUN As the Grand Forks public have
y. >sered that they have cen too easily
.ped "a fact which by Il. is time is pretty
{ thoroughly known,) f. ,el 1t my duty to
ventilate the scheme as far as possible
/ through your vaus' ole columns. Early in
the fall it becaU.e known that the Hon.
Geo. II. Walsh, the present famous mem
Der OF the Dakota council, the Hon. Jud
LaMOure. equally famous for the promi-
lleRt part he has taken in Dakota politics,
ii as we'll as his cultivated speech before the
a Republican convention at this city, the
Y Hon. o. NJ. Towner, the Missourian who,
through the aid of few influential Nor
! wegians beat the regularly nominated
candidate to the Dakota legislature from
Trail county during the last campaign,
/, and whose name probably will be familiar
, to your readers as the party who imported
Missouri negroes to the Elk valley farms
for the purpose of proving up pre-emp.
tons for the incorporators Of the said
Elk Valley Farming company, in connec.
ton with Messrs. Eshslman 4 Griggs, had
united themselves for the purpose of es.
> tablishing townsite on DEVILS lake in
Dakota, a scheme which promised to be
. highly remunsrative TO the participants
therein.
Il The prospective townsite, was of course
! going to be the county seat of Ramsey
! county, Dakota. and to induce the
too credible public to believe that this was
/ really the intention, two of the originators
I of the scheme, Messrs. Waldron and Towner,
, made strenuous efforts to be elected to the
coming Dakota legislature. The Hon.
NJ hoo M
pre-emptors on tract of land situated on
= the Larimore extension, about twelve miles
e northwest of Stump lake, and this, in con
q nection with the fact that Mr.. Townel
: seemed decidedly too anxious to 60 to the
q legislature, came near spelling the scheme
! of the incorporators. Mr.. Walsh conceived
: the idea that Mr.. Towner,s endeavors were
. not entirely disinterested, but that the
e scheme was to have the county seat of the
f future county established ON Mr.. Towner's
: land on the Larimore extension, and just
= before the election Mr.. Walsh who, though
:. q regularly nominated Republican candi.
= date for the Dakota council, up to this
time tacitly had been supporting Towner
came to the front and denounced Townel
as tone who intended to divide the county
"a scheme by the way which Mr.. Walsh
9 himself fondly cherishes.) It. was, how
Q ever, too late, and Nh. Towner was elected
e by majority of some 800 throughout the
r Legislative district. Since the election
matters have, however, been serene, ani
9 the Odessa scheme seems at present to alb
= sorb the attention of the two antagonist,
y interests.
A. E. johnson, the emigration commits
: sioner of the Manitoba road, cuts another
i rather unenviable figure in the affair. tt
i the unwary he represents the Manitobs
!. road and Jim Hill, and this indicates con
clusively that the road will make Odesss
!, their headquarters for the western divis
,, ion. Let us, however, Mr.. Editor, for g
minute look at the facts in the case. Tn,
, grading of the Manitoba road is at presen
e about seven miles north of Stump lake
e If continued on direct lin,
= towards Devils Lake, it would reach
o a point about three or four miles north O.
Odessa. To reach Odessa the road wouli
- have to diverge from the surveyed line in
I southwesterly direction, and traverse thu
: alkali swamps surrounding Odessa. Ac
Q cording to the surveyed plat of the town
q site, the objective point seems to be For
TOtten.
Nov, Mr.. Editor, if you can solve tn,
conundrum, what object the Aanitob,
4 railway WOuAu kUIA W tI6VotDAuR soo W0o1'
!, length of the Indian reservation on tn
Il south side of Devils lake, I think 70,
D would certainly confer q great favor or
It your readers and the prospective spsCu
4 lators in Odessa town lots. The Who'll,
scheme is branded on its face a. one sim
|. liar to the Harrisburg, on the Stsml
:, lake, scheme, some Of the originaters o,
which are now Is zsalously booming TIT
Odessa townsits e. they ever before ad
/ vocated Harrisburg. These are the men
. Mr.. Editor, who at present ocsupy tn.
prominent social and political position
J. in the northern country, who so shectual
Q ~, up to this date, have brought the fai
name of Dakota and its inhabitants int<
disrepvte in the eastern states, for whom
no scheme is too serdid, if it, will ONLY
serve their own pecuniary interests.
IL need not tell you that there is not thu
slightest prospect for a railroad At Odessa
l. That when the lots are all sold out Tor q.
e nearly as they can beg the syndicate" vii
f turn their anxious eyes in another direc
o ton toward some similar scheme by which
a they can effectually rope in the too con
= fding public. To Us who live in proximity
to the scene of action the scheme and the