Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1905-03-24
THE ..0oLDEN nOOF."
Speech Of Dugald Campbell, Of Em-
mons County, Before the Tri.
State GRAIN Growers Convention
Recently Held at Fargo.

So far have dwelt on the Dakota
sheep raisers' disadvantages; and,
thinking of them, one may we'll ask,
"Why should we continue to try to
compete with more favored localities?"
Compete" in this connection is a bad
word, for where hunger and cold exist
we cannot produce too much food and
Great combinations of cap.
ital may hinder, and the channels Of
commerce may not be made to assist
us as they should in the interchange
of commodities; but, In spite Of trusts
and mergers, we producers are coming
nearer to a square deal. Is not the
handwriting appearing even now on
the very walls of the White House?
AS to our advantages-and we have
them-there are tons of literature sent
broadcast over our land telling you of
them, and any one pamphlet will
draw Il more roseate picture for you
in five minutes that l could in day.
The crowning advantage we have is
the glorious covering Of grasses which
carpet such q large area Of our state,
and which are available for grazing
during eight or nine months of the
year. Who ever heard Of shortage of
grass in the Dakotas? Inconjunction
with an abundance of natural grasses,
we in the semi-arid districts are
learning-thanks very larg ely to our
state and national Experiment stat ions
that we can successfully raise EN-.
mer, hardy corn, mile and macaroni
wheat to supplement what Nature
provided ages ago for the buffalo and
elk.
Another advantage worth consider.
ing is our comparative proximity to
the great meat markets of South St.
Paul and Chicago. Any of you who
have shipped stock from the far west.
ern states will realize what that
means.
Another very important factor in
raising sheep, or any other stock, is
healthfulness; and we can certainly
justly claim that our states are pre-
eminently healthful for man or beast.
In my experience in North Dakota
have come across only two serious
diseases. One is want OF grub in the
sleeps stomach and the other is
want Of ordinary common sense in the
shepherds head. Both are deadly.
Now, what I have been leading to
is the question:: How can we best over
come our drawbacks and utilize our
advantages? To condense the answer
that facts are forcing on us, would
say that for us farther west we shall
have to fence and farm, and you here
in the valley will have to co mbine
some form Of fencing with your farm
ing. Fencing with dog-proof fences
will enable US to be independent Of
herders and keep our sheep safe from
wolves. Farming will permit us to
give our sheep variety Of feed. which
will carry them through the winter
no matter how long-in more thrifty
condition than is possible to do on
natural hay only. Natural grass will
long continue to be our mainstay;
but,t to make the most Of it, we shall
have to do less rustling and more
farming and fencing.
II we look around a little and COM
pare existing conditions In other
c0untries-such as New Zealand, Texas
and Oklahoma, for instance-with the
situation as 1t was only q short gener.
alton ago under the range system, we
will find that fencing and farming
have doubled and trebled their pro.
ductiveness.
But, until Uncle Sam turns the wa
ters of the Missouri loose over our
prairies and teaches US how to dam up
and utilize the melting snow, we shall
have to continue to be more grazers
than grain.growers. With you here
IN the valley 1t is different. The reign
Of your natural grass is over, thanks
to your greater rainfall. But even
here, in the national bread-basket, !"
you are learning that you cannot ever
lastingly take from the soil and give
nothing in return. or late years,
while 1t has been dawning on you that
even your wonderful soil is not inex-
haustible, you have had opportunities
to acquaint yourselves with the feed
ing value and marvellous vitality Of
bronze grass; and even now the red
clover, with its scent Of Home, Sweet
HOme," Is quietly working its way
along your rOad-sides, inviting you Il
give it a chance to repeat for you here
the soil-renovating miracles it la,
performed heretofore in the land your
fathers came from.
| 1t is by fenciHg in some mannel
that you can most advantageously usl
those and other grasses, not only t,
renew and keep up the fertility Ol
your soil, but also to accord to th,
COW and the sheep q chance to hell
you to overcome the primeval curse
| enabling you to keep down the thorn
and the thistles, and to eat breat
= without tho much sweat on w