Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1904-01-15
OFFICIAL PAPER OF THE COUNTY AND
THE CITY OF DEVILS LAKE.
FRIDAY, IAN. Is 1904.

There are approximately eight and
a half million acres of land open for
homesteads in the Bismarck land dis
trict That is probably the largest
open territory of any district in the
state and it is possible that it is the
largest in the United States outside
the arid regions of the southwest.
But in the fourteen counties forming
the Bismarck district, there is sufi-
cient land to give hometeads to So, 1876
actual families. Counting five persons
to the family, there would be in
round numbers 265, 900 people. This
merely gives an idea Of the wonder
full posi- oilities of the northwest,
and especially of North Dakota. True,
some Of the land is not available for
either agricultural or grazing pur-
poses but the percentage is actually
less than FIVE, 60 that this item need
hardly be considered. There are
homes for fifty three thousand fami-
lies to be had for the asking, and
in the oyercrowded east and in the
lands beyond the seas there are hun
dreds of thousands of people who are
selling their very lives into slavery
to provide for wife and children.
These people could not only find
homes at the cost of the la Dor to
construct them, but could earn far
better living while living on their
claim than they can in the sweat
shops of Europe and America. Then
too, every days labor on the farm
would add more than its worth to the
value Of the farm itself. and the
would have the advantage
of providing for his family and secur-
ing competency for his old age; at
1tbs same time. These things being
true, it is mystery why the home
steads of the west we're not filled up
years ago. One of the principal
reasons is the facts about the west,
and the northwest especially are moi
known, while all that is reported is
absolutely false and entirely mislead-
ing. The climate is the great OBJ.
lection to many. People readsof q
temperature thirty or forty below
zero, and compare it with the tenn
rerature in a., moist climate where
zero means freezingsto death, and q
a result think that living in such q
climate is mere torture. Could the
atmospheric conditions and the moist,
ure Of Pennsylvania winter be tax.
en- into consid Grafton IN fixing the &C.
tual thermal conditions. thirty O,
forty below zero in North Dakots
would about equal twenty above in
Pennsylvania. It will be necessary
te educate the people to this fact be-
fore extensive immigration will con &
from these sections. Nor is it profta
BILE to send those who have lived il
the west to tell the people in the east.
They are like the antedeluvians who
Knocked the preaching Of Noah con.
corning the flood. They simIly de.
nonnce the statements as western lies.
Nor do the poole believe the, to them,
fabulous tales Of the productiveness Of
the west. They reason that If the
coutry is like what it is represented
TO be, it sho.ld be full to oyericwina
with people. They fail to compre.
bend the axiom that nearly everyone
else is like unto themselves Aud
that the same reasons which kee /
them away would keep others ais o.
Then there is that old nonsensical
adage about rolling stone gathering
no moss Many a young man has
remained in the house in which be
was born, rather than pe called 8
rolling stone and getting out into the
world. They prefer to live the easy
life of Incidence rather than take
the advice of Horace Greeley. This
leaves the majority Of the settlers for
the northwest 10 come from the states
Iof the middle west They ore ii
most instances the sons Of those who
.sane to those new states as pioneers