Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1897-06-11
Stair Talks.

r T.
Stair Talks.
The following from the Detroit
Journal would indicate that Stair has
been interviewed:
In connection with the newly awak-
ened desire OF Detroit to make the
most of her exceptional opportunities,
it is interesting to note how towns far
less favored have been developed
through tact and enterprise. Mr.. and
Mrs. E. D. Stair have just. returned
from q trip that extended to San
Francisco and covered the great
northwest in detail. Mr.; Stair is an
old newspaper man. He was an edi-
tor and proprietor at Il. He kept
right on editing and owning till he
had some valuable newspaper holdings
in Michigan and then decided to take
q whirl at the palpitating west. His
first connection there was with the
Fargo Argus, then piloted by the re-
doubtable FATTY" Edwards, and in
the hey-day of its success. Mr.. Stairs
affinity on the paper was a big south
erner, q genuine representative of the
chivalry of which that section of the
union was formerly won't to boast.
just as q side issue, and because
such things came easy in those times,
Stair and the southerner looked after
q mail agency which required one of
them to make a daily run to Hope, a
town in what is now North Dakota.
The position was q sinecure and did
not interfere with newspaper work.
There was an eastern syndicate boom
ing q would-be town q little to the
south of Fargo and paying 40 cents q
line to the Argus as a boom organ.
The Cooper brothers, rich ranch own
ers a little to the northward, were
seized with an ambition to build up q
city and began laying pipe to that end.
Without seeing or corresponding with
them, Mr.. Stair looked the ground
over and soon had the Argus yelling
for Cooperstown. Edwards encour-
aged this volunteer championship be-
cause the more Stair wrote the more
the syndicate wrote, and the paper had
to be enlarged in order to produce
more lines at GAO per-.
The prairie bloomed and Coopers-
town became a reality. For q bud it
was q ''beaut' produced on paper
by @ scenic artist. 1t rejoiced in
parks, driveways, miniature lakes
and imposing buildings, all prospects
i've. When Stair moved in there to
start a newspaper and continue the
boom, his pinehut Office and the hotel,
which looked too small to carry the
flag that noated proudly above it,
constituted about all there was of the
city. You couldn't buy q box OF
matches in the place. Everything had
to be s'toted'' in and the steadiest job
in the town was to keep the roof on
the newspaper Office, for it was a
favorite freak with the festive blizzard
to come up through the floor of the
sanctum and blow the top off. Dur
ing cold snap the devil and the
proprietor took turns doing guard
duty, for in sleeping before the fire it
was absolutely necessary to turn over
within q time limit of 10 minutes to
prevent freezing.
But all this time the sale of town
sites went merrily on by mail. Enter
prising people who reached the pro-
spective metropolis had to stay there
as concession to pecuniary strict
ures, and tho place grew. Finally the
Northern Pacific agreed to run a spur
into Cooperstown, provided it were
made the county seat. Then began
one of those wars for which this coun-
try is somewhat notorious. Hope had
been made the county seat by the gov
ernor. but q vote of the people could
change it. Stair and his paper went
into the thick of the fray. When il
was learned that Hope was importing
voters, Cooperstown began running
them in the back way overland, lodg.
ing them in straw stacks and Other
| primitive storm shelters. BY virtue
of the larger Importation, the Coopers
won the day. When it became know.
that Hope intended TO monkey with the
returns, it was Editor Stair as mail
agent who mailed the returns in his
own pocket and saw that they were
counted.
Then it was an edict went forth from
q disgruntled gang ip Hope that Stair
must be wiped out. But he had busi-
ness there, for Cooperstown wanted
the records and Hope swore that they
should never be moved. Whenever he