Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1900-11-30
with him whose services had be-
come of such inestimable value.
AN OVERLOOKED INDus.
TRY.

TRY.
North Dakota is practically an
agricultural state, but it has also
many other industries of import
ance. There are the stock indus.
try, the coal industry, which is
every year becoming more import
ant, and other lines Of business
are attracting the attention of our
people. There is one business,
however, to which the state owes
a great share Of it's development,
which, in the minds Of most people
would not be classed as an indus
try at all if a list of the important
occupations Of the state were called
for. This is the newspaper bust
ness. The state Of North Dakota
owes a tremendous debt to its
newspapers, a debt greater than it
is likely to pay. THERE'S probably
not a state in the union in which.
after making due allowances for
density Of population and distance
from great commercial centers,
the people are so we'll informed by
their newspapers, daily and weekly
concerning the events Of the day,
local, national, and foreign. There
is no state in which the press bet
ter performs its duty as a public
educator than in North Dakota.
Nor is this all. The press Of this
state has advertised the states re-
sources as no other medium ever
could. There are in the state
some 200 papers, and day by day
or week by week these papers have
been describing the character of
our soil, the yields of our crops,
and a score of things which east
ern people wish to know about.
The real estate man who sends
out a few hundred circulars once a
year prides himself on having done
a great work for immigration, but
the average newspaper published
in the state occomplishes more for
the cause Of immigration with each
issue than the average real estate
man does in the course of the en-
tire year. The influence thus ex-
erted is both direct and indirect.
The existence of the papers them
selves, and the character of their
contents are standing ADVERTISE
mentsSof the enterprise and pro-
gsress of our people. The fact that
in places where a year ago there
was not a human habitation or an
evidence Of civilization. newspap-
r are now being published,
and are bringing to their readers
the news of the day, just as fresh,
just as up-to-date as any of the
eastern papers Of similar class, is
an evidence of the fact that our
people are progressive, that they
are of the class that move, and that
where they are there will be the
church, the school, and all the
other accomplishments Of an adj
vanced civilization. Such COM
,munities attract settlers, and at
tract capital settlers of the best
type, and capital to be invested in
enterprises of a permanent and
productive character.
The newspapers of the state have
given the state much, and have
asked little in return. They have
permitted an impression to exist
that when they have asked reason
able compensation for a portion of
their services they were asking for
unearned gratuities. They have
advanced the welfare of the state
in every way possible, but have
failed to show ordinary business
sense in matters which concern
their own 6nancialinterests. This
condition should be changed, and
there seems to be a disposition on
the part of the members Of the
press fraternity to change it.
Some Legislation in the interest Of
the press will probably be asked
for at the approaching session Of
the state legislature, and it should
be distinctly understood at the out