The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-15
ITS FUTURE HOPEFUL.

IT'S FUTURE HOPEFUL.
Ex-Lieuf. Gov. Ives, sa,-,,,a d..
diction for Minnesota.
A. L. Croker of Minneapolis, who
rs" ~sS 10 respond to the toast
commercial Organizations" could not
De present. President Noyes accord
lGgIy presented Lieut.. Gov. Ives. of ST
refer who delivered the following adj
aress on the topic, agriculture. the
tasis OF Minnesota's Prosperity"
Inc Inc subject assigned to me is not one on
n wiich can speak very largely from expert
say. ~ '-''e WIZ
We i plough and SOW; we are so very very
That we delve in the dirty CLAW
Till we bless the plain with the golden grain
ana the vale with the fragrant hay''
Yet understand to some extent the differ
ence between a threshing machine and the
roaming mill. or the sulky plow and the grub
noe. with the agricultural development of
minnesota. however, and of the great future
enat Is IN store for u.s. have ever been a
hrm and enthusiastic believer and upon these
points L do not feel myself incompetent to
give an opinion.
Nearly two hundred years since a party ot
explorers came into this part of the North
west Tor the purpose OF ascertaining its re-
sources, and the inducements which it would
aHord for colonization and settlement The
only discovery that they were able to make
was quantity of yellow glistening sand
found somewhere near the mouth of the Blue
Earth river. near the present site of Mankato
and as result part of a ship load of this
MoILnIess material was taken with them to
france In Journeying to and fro these men
passed through the valley of the Minnesota.
containing today the finest farming land in
the whole Northwest. If not upon this CONT
glistening sand, and left behind them soil
capable of producing more gold than the rich
est mine in the whole world
This failure to discover any mineral wealth
with other causes, set back the country for
nearly one hundred and fifty years Finally.
however, people began to find the gold that
was concealed in our inexhaustible soil, and
the news of this new Klondike was soon
heralded abroad. The hardy sons of toll came
to stake cut their claims. set up their homes
and commence the search for this hidden
wealth; All these hardy sons of toll. Injured
to hardship and privation of every kind, hay
Ing established their claims and secured the
necessary tools, began their search for gold
Have they succeeded in finding it?
Ask the traveller who has passed through
our state about harvest time, and seen its
millions of acres of golden, rpening grain,
its vast fields of magnificent corn, and the
many other products of our farm lands.
The statistician will inform you that from
a few thousand bushels Of grain in 1850. we
produced nearly forty millions of bushels of
wheat, thirty-five million bushels of oats and
from fifteen to twenty million bushels Of
corn in 1897, and that thedtotal value of our
crops for that year exceeded by considerable
amount the sum of one hundred millions of
dollars, or about SIS per capita for the entire
population.
He will also inform you of the evolution of
the dairy products. From the kind of butter
that the Indians refused to eat7 in the early
days, they have gradually improved the quail
ity until we are able to compete upon equal
terms, with the famous diaries Of our Eastern
states and Minnesota butter now commands
the highest prices in the markets of the
ri IRON hn nv ncfo oh Cd
experiment in 1889, nearby $50 were in sue
cessful operation during the past year.
The development and improvement Of the
farms and methods of farming have been
Just as remarkable. Fifty years since sod
houses and claim shanties predominated The
most primitive implements of agriculture were
employed; today upon these same farms
large and commodious dwelling houses
splendid barns and all the latest implements
of agriculture may be found. An entire
change has been made in the methods Of
farming in the state of Minnesota.
since we now find blooded and graded cattle
on nearly every farm in the state.
All this may seem to be little over
drawn, in view of what is continually being
said in relation to the condition Of our farm
ing class, and it is possible that in many of
the more recently settled portions of the state
the evolution Of the farm may not have
reached this state Of perfection, but in the
older counties one will find the condition to
be about as 1 have stated, and I know of
country who will fully come up to the de-
Scriptlon given.
In speaking Of the development of the agri-
cultural interests Of the state we should not
lose sight of the evolution of the farmer
himself. The nucleus from which our popu-
lation Is made up was drawn from all parts
of Europe and America; Many of them
could not then speak our language and very
few of them were men Of education. All
these various elements must needs then be
fused and welded together in order to pre-
M AFRO hn mo rinl En- hn cod
ture development Of this great commonwealth
What has been accomplished in this direction
visit to some Of our farms will show
Where then found only the rudest print
tive surroundings we now find evidences of
culture and refinement. The rude and I'M
painted living room has given1place to the
comfortable parlor. Musical instruments of
some character may be found in nearly every
house, and small library is not unusual
The polishing effect of our schools and uni
yersity may be noticed among the children
The numerous educational institutions of the
state, from the common schools to our splen-
did university, have accomplished this work
and the result has been that from this incon-
gruous mass OF material there has evolved
as representative and intelligent class of
citizens as may be found in any state in
the great Northwest. u +
So far in The history of this state the story
of its agricultural life practically includes
its material development, and upon this
basis all other improvements have been made.
whether in railroad development in the Dro
auction CT -four or the advance In our urban
population.
Will the mines we have discovered finally
become exhausted? The answer to this
problem is not difficult. We have in Mime
sofa an area Of about $4,000 square miles
more than double the size OF Indiana or Ken,
lucky, one-third larger than Illinois Iowa or
Michigan, and exceeding by more than two
hfths the area CT the great state of New York
Not more than one-fourth of the land in tbis
state. fit for agricultural purposes is in
actual use today, and much of 1t already en-
plOyed is susceptible of higher state of
cultivation. The great industry which has
grown up with such marvellous strides in
the northern part Of our state within the past
few years, and which is still in its infancy.
bids fair to exceed the productions of a1y
state of the Union. Last year its output of
ore could not have been less than 6 600 coo
tons. and this development is constantly and
rapidly increasing. This industry cannot