St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-03-10
LARGE NUMBERS OF y,yMycRANTs
ARE HEADING TO lard THE
NORTHWEST.
A TALK WITH A. E. JOHNSON.
HIS FIRM IN SIT. PAUL RECrIyINn
A HUNDRED LETTERS OF IN
CURRY DAILY.
VOLUME of FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS.
ne says, VIII BE Larger Than the
Northwest Has Seen for Many
Years.

A. e. Johnson, the well known steam
ship and immigration agent, came to
st. Paul yesterday morning from New
York to confer with his partner, Olaf
o. Searle, regarding the expected i'm
migration into the Northwest the COM
ing spring. According to Mr. Johnson
there will be not less than 100000
new settlers in this section Of the coun-
try by the time summer begins. Mr..
Johnson spent some time yesterday in
the st. Paul office looking over cor
reSpondence, etc, and expresses much
qualification at the amount of inquiry
concerning Northwestern lands. He
was seen last night at the Ryan by
a q o e reporter, and said, in sub
stance:
The expectation for immigration this
year is that the best sort Of results
will accrue from the big immigration
convention which was held in st. Paul
in November. In the first place the
organization of local associations In
our own state has developed an I'M
usual interest among all classes of
people. The two Dakotas have followed
Mlnnesota's example, and all signs
point to renewal of what has been
termed Dakota immigration. There has
been more inquiry for information at
our main immigration office located in
thls city than at any time since 1883,
ana most Of it is concerning North
Dakota. We are receiving in st. Paul
ABOUT 100 letters a day, and taking the
combined inquiry at the ST. Paul Min
neapolis and Eastern Offices, perhaps
we have as many as 300 communica-
lions daily. Later on in the present
month this number will probably be
sWelled to 500. Settlers have been ar
irving since March l. Only last Sat-
urday we had seventeen families from
Illinois, to Morrison county. the heads
OF which all bought land last year. i'm
proved it, and are now moving onto
it.
"The Red Lake Indian reservation
Will be the Mecca to which many set
tiers will fly. Indeed, it is difficult to
estimate, but we can safely say that
the government lands opened for
homestead and presumption will be TAX
en- during the months OF May and
June, although the reservation will
only be thrown open on May l. AS is
usually the case, large percentage
OF prospective settlers will think there
is time enough, but they will be dis
appointed, so far as the Red Lake
reservation is concerned They will
lind abundant choice lands in the Red
river valley and park region in Min
nesota, at such moderate prices and
SO near to the markets as to be really
preferable to government lands at a
greater distance from the railroads and
markets. So much for domestic immi-
grafton.
Regarding foreign immigration, I
can say that the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
lean farmers of the Northwest who
visited their native countries. Sweden
Norway and Denmark, last fall are
now returning, and are bringing with
them well-to-do young and vigorous
Scand1navians The Thingvalla steam
er which left Christiania last Satur-
day has on board 400 Scandinavian
passengers, of whom $50 are bound for
the Northwest OF this number per-
haps half are American citizens. the
balance being made I'D of relatives
and friends, and all the steamers Ieav-
ing scandinavian and British ports
Ior the next two months will bring
back their quota of returning North
western farmers with their contin-
gent or immigrants and settlers The
AIiiiu' OpcA winter anu early spring in
the Northwest have brought the farm
ers back from abroad earlier than
usual, and the sale of the prepaid pas
sage tickets from Scandinavia through
TO the Northwest has been as large
during February as is usual in March.
All these, l take it, are unmistakable
signs Of an early influx Of foreign i'm
migration in the spring, and there is
every indication that we will receive n
larger volume of both foreign and do
nestle immigrants than we have had
for many years.
There is considerable demand and
inquiry from investors for Northwest
ern lands, but this, as far as possible,
we discourage, as we have had con-
siderable experience in the past with
the ownership by non-residents of our
choicest lands, with the sale of same
at prices above what they should be
sold for directly to the actual settler.
We realize now the need of avoiding
everything resembling the boom proc
ess, and must be satisfied with the
natural progress of immigration and
the legitimate development of the re-
sources of the Northwest"
Mr. Johnson will spend today in
Minneapolis, and will return East to-
night.