Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1895-11-29
A, the Immigration Convention.

AT the recent great immigration con
ventiou in St. Paul composed OF over
u thousand delegates from the North
west-Gnv. Worst was one Of the speak
ers, and the Associated Press says that
1T was one Of the most Interesting ad-
dresses of the day." Following are his
remarks:
Dakota at best are conjecture. The
| stalisticlan may elaborate upon It's pro.
| ductinn-its crops of wheat. oats, barley,
rye flax corn. hay and potatoes-of tho
| number If cattle, horses swine and sheen
| within it's boundaries, to say nothing Of
its native coal and building stone, and
yet the full statement Is but fraction of
the possibilities of the state.
The resources of state are its posi-.
bilities, developed scientifically and eco
| n0mically, and not its present produc.
available acre was titled according to
prevailing methods. which are faulty
from necessity. With farms ranging
from quarter section up to twenty sec.
| tons. farmers cannot be- expected to
more than obtain fragmentary results.
Depending upon hobo labor for its man.
agemrnt during all critical periods. waste
and deficient help diminish the net pro.
ceeds besides paying ou, millions of
dollars annually which goes away and
never returns. Though thu actual income
of the state amounts to fifty or sixty
million dollars the major portion of It
is carried outside IF the state in the
p"ckets Ut transient lab0rers or for i'm.
ported supplies.
Even at the depressed prices for all
cereal products, could the money actu-
ally received for them be retained within
the state (the labor having been per-
formed by the farmers themselves. which
implies smaller farms and greMter
number OF farmers. and the money spent
ut homr), the commonwealth would be
enriched many million dollars Tue net
balance under the bnnanz. system of
Conducting farm operations is not a fair
t'st by which to measure the resources
of The state.
The resources of the state would be
largely increased II the finished product
instead of the raw material were ex-
ported. The ability to do this is one Of
the paramount resources Of the state.
Home mills should convert every
bushel of wheat that grows upon our
prairies into -four, oats into oatmeal, aud
potatoes into starch. Our inexhaua,ible
coal fields will furnish motive power and
| fuel for every engine. stove and furnace
within our borders for ages. The prairie
grass annually consumed by fire. il con-
vertec into beef. mutton, wool, butter
and cheese, would alone enrich the state.
TO stay the rnvages 0f prairie fire Is but
Il feeble problem aside Of hundreds
already solved.
The soil of North Dakota is exceed.
ingly fertile. II the world does not
want our wheat ut remunerative price.
1t is easier tO change our products than
to change the wants of the world, Il
falls within the resources of the state to
cnrtail our imporiations by supplying
many Of our domestic necessities
| There should not be pound Of butter,
cheese, pork or lard shipped west of the
Mississippi river, and our wool should be
carded, spun and woven at home.
No state iu the Union offers superior
inducements to entelprising settlers. nor
offers wider range for the profitable
investment of money.
Instead of about 100000 population,
North Dakota can support 2. 100000, and
she invites them to come. Every one
now there and everyone who comes will
be benefited Six million acres await the
plowshnle. The bonanza farms are
waiting to he subdivided, when, with
better tillage, one acre will equal two at
present in productive capacity. The in.
l
schools, the churches. business of All
kinds aud the profession. The bulk. Of
the labor being performed by citizens,
the money earned will remain at home.
| At present our state is undeveloped.
Only the surface has been stirred, and
every activity has been along the lines Of
least resistance. This is true of necessity
rather than of choice. Many of our
farmers knew nothing of farming before
coming here, and few have learned but
little SINCE.
The severity Of winter IS an exploded
myth. IN SO far as it materially lnterfereS
with the general prosperity Of the
country In many respects it is blessing
rather than curse. No climate 10 moro
conducive to domestic happiness, because
IN no country Is the family relation mora
closely cemented. The long winter
Digh,s afford time for reading and reflcc-
ton: The best thoughts come from
northern latitudes, and they always viii,
Here the farmer works in the summer
| and rests from his labor during the
winter months, and with his family. And
| then their best enjoyment.
With homes for thousands more. with
native coal iu as many hills, and milliona
of acres of virgin soil as fertile as M
valley of the ancient Nile, and thot,sa nils
| of square miles Of natural pasturare for
horses and cattle and sheep these. when
fully developed and utilized, will exem.
plify the resources Of the state. =.
Immigration, alone will hasten ths
work. I