The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1897-06-18
RURAL CITIES. {"

uSI uOW, Will tIlS GXIGllSlOU OI IIl0
railroad from Cavalier to Walhalla and
from Langdon northwards, there is more
or less speculation as to the results to the
towns that are left to be s'way-stations"
and to the places hereafter to be made
terminals. Such expressions as ''it will
kill Cavalier" and ''Walhalla is bound to
be big town. "etc. are heard, and one
would think thatall prosperity depended
on the railroads. In this valley we have
twenty years of experience and there are
hundreds of examples of the effect of
railroad building on towns and cities all
over the Red and James valleys. First,
we may notice that no where in the great
northwestern agricultural states, both of
the Mississippi and Missouri valleys, are
there any ''great" cities which have been
made great by railroads Or farmers or by
both. In every case where cities have
grown to the extent that can be callsd
':large" other factors are present and
necessary. In the smaller towns and
cities the same thing is also true, but not
always so evident.
Railroads alone have but little creative
power. Even where towns form the
junction of several roads, the influence
goes but little farther than that produced
by the employees, and the stopping over
of travellers. Farm trade is the poorest
trade of all to build up town. The rea-
son is, that the farmer needs and does
buy less than any other class. In this
valley, the farmer raises his own bread,
butter, most Of his meat, vegetables, and
except clothing, tea, coffee and sugar, has
but little to buy of the necessaries of life.
The farmer buys very little of the luxur-
les. He and his family are comparative
ly isolated from society, and they have
little need or desire for silks, satins and
broadcloths, fine furniture, bric-a-brac or
such goods. Hence, we may take it for
an axiom, that it takes more than rail-
roads and farmers to build big town.
Here in this valley, the average railroad
station may depend on the trade of a
farm population contained in an area of
from four to eight miles radius about it.
II, as has been the case of Cavalier and
Langdon, and Grafton. for some years it
is the terminal point of railroad, and
thereby becomes the distributing point of
a much larger section of country, such
towns almost invariably, for reasons ap-
parent, get good start, and provided
the Boom" don't get too great, then
when the railroad goes on and thereby
cuts off some of the tributary country,
they are still able to hold their own and
go on prospering, and particularly so if
they are peopled by the right kind of
business men. But prosperity in such
cases does not mean growth in size so
much as improvement in what is already
there. Instead of more stores it means
more homes and better class of dwell
ings. It means better stores and more
reliable, certain and regular trade. Less
boom and more legitimate business.
So far as the prospects of Cavalier are
affected by the extension of the road, we
believe that Cavalier has had a good
start but has escaped the boom, so that
it will easily hold its own, and while tenn
porarily, some familiar faces from the
north may be missed from its business
places. yetthe gradually increasing popu-
lation Immediately about it, the certainly