Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1904-07-28
NUMBER 4s
LANDS TO ADVANCE
WHY LANDS IN NORTH DA-,
KOTA ARE DESTINED TO
ADVANCE IN PRICE.


ADVANCE IN PRICE.
Chicago Live Stock World: AS q
general thing people who 20 from
the east to seek new home in a new
country. especially II they settle in
the west, become devoted champions
and life long admirers Of that new
country which they select for their
future homes. 1t is this trait,
doubtless. to which the rapid growth
and development Of the great North
west is principally due. People have
gone there, made their homes there
raised their families there. In fact,
all their worldly interests have be-
come identified with the country
which they have selected,
During recent trip through North
Dakota, representative of this pa
per, had the pleasure of meeting G.
A. Grettum, manager of the land
department of the Red River VALLEY
Land Co, of Fargo. But ho is q
sane enthusiast and does not allow
his prejudice to get the better Of his
judgment. Here is what he says of
North DAKOTA:
II have lived here in North Da-
kota for twenty-four years. The
first eight years of my residence here
l operated farm of my own, which
farm still own and on account Of it
being my first home in the state. l
have no desire to part with it. 1
am still farming, and farming a good
deal more land besides this first farm
that l acquired, but am doing like a
great many others-I am renting my
farms. I have t1aversed the country
from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
am frank to say, without any boast
ing, that / have never seen country
that had as many inducements to
offer, for men with limited means, as
this country has, and it is also equal
ly as good, proportionately, for men
with money who wish to make in
vestments.
"When you take into consideration
that twenty-four years ago this state
was practically one vast ocean OF
prairie grass, largely run over by the
buffalo and Indians, (no Indians
here now. as some think) it is some
thing remarkable to note the develop
ment that has been made here in
such a short time and the wealth
that this state has produced. Com
ing to this state, a person should
bear this in mind, that Illinois was
better settled in lS4S and Minnesota
in 1860, Iowa in 1855, Wisconsin in
1850, than North Dakota in 1880,
twenty-four years ago. Men in CEN
tral Illinois have told me that from
1856 to 1865 corn was an experiment
with them; they imagined that they
were to far north to be in the corn
belt and did most of their expert
menting with small Indian varieties.
Such were the conditions in north
western Iowa until about 1915, and
North Dakota has to pass through
the same ordeal. The farmers in
North Dakota have learned that
their lands are adapted to a variety
of crops and that to be successful,
they must rotate their corps, the
same as in other states, from the
same experience the farmer in
Illinois and Iowa learned 1t. Now
instead OF having the exclusive crop
raised to be wheat, you will see the
same diversity of crops you see in
other states of the North. Fifteen
years ago I was in the vicinity OF
Sheldon and Hawarden, Iowa, ana
could have then bought the incest
quarter section for from IS to sl2
per acre. Now the same land sells
for from S65 to SS5 per acre. The
same thing is going to occur in
North Dakota within the next few
years. These are absolute facts and
based upon what the past has been
from the time Of settlement, from
New York state. west. When you
take into considerat ion the natural
increase in population, together with
the foreign immigration that is pour
ing into this great country, aggregat-
ing in round numbers at the rate or
a million and half per annum, and
then take into consideration that
practically all the homestead lands
that are adapted for agricultural pur-
poses are thing of the past. This
in itself, I think every fair thinking
man will admit that it will very
materially have tendency OF caus-
ing good agricultural lands to en-
nance great deal more in proper
tion in the future than they have in
the past.