Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-02-08
CONTINUED from page 81

Now, it may seem as if the people
outside were not watching this move
ment and were not as much inter-
ested in North Dakota as they really
are. We have got friends in Mime
sofa, and Minnesota as state would
like to join forces with us in opposing
this movement. They have timber
lands there which they would like
to settle, and we have prairie lands
here that we also on our part want
to settle, and there are people who
want timber lands and others who
want prairie, and if the people could
be retained here there would be adj
vantage to both those interests. The
fact is that in Minnesota as we'll as
in North Dakota, in certain places
there are not as many people now
as there were say seven years ago.
This fact was brought out by Presi-
dent James J. Hill a few weeks ago in
Minnesota. He exhorts them to wake
up, and shows by his monthly reports
and other means that many of the
towns in Minnesota have not as many
business than they were seven years
ago. :.
Some of these things are present
in other states, for instance in Iowa.
In the county of Fillmore, Minnesota,
there have been such extensive in
vestments made in Canadian lands
that the people felt the effects of it
considerably, and an investigation
was made and it was found that
more than one million dollars in that
old county alone had been invested in
Canadian lands. People had even
borrowed the money from the banks
and mortgaged their farms to: that
extent that in some localities the
bankers refused to longer loan any
more money for that purpose and to
that class of investors. The same
thing has been practiced in eastern
North Dakota. have some lands in
Barnes county, and T know people
there who have done the same thing
as the Fillmore county people. One
of the farmers there in Barnes county
went to Canada and bought two Sec
lions. He mortgaged his farm to
make the first payments, and expect
ed to make the remainder Of the
purchase price necessary cut of the
two sections he had bought, thus not
only crippling himself to begin with,
but depriving himself of everything
in the future for some years to come
to make these payments. This is only
one of those cases which might be
cited from the eastern part of this
state where money has gone out of
the state in this way. ~ -.
Now, we have friends outside, as
I said before, who would be glad to
unite with us in stopping this move
ment Of people and money out of the
country. The people of Minnesota
would be glad to take this matter up
with us. T know that from informa-
ton have obtained from the state
auditor OF Minnesota, who, differ
emily than in this state, manages the
matter of immigration for the state,
and also from the commercial clubs
of the cities of st. Paul and Mime
apolis. I was surprised to see how
all these people had been looking
ints this matter of the movement to
Canada during the last two or three
years. They realize what it meant.
They know perfectly we'll that the
development of those cities depends
upon the northwest; that they share
in the prosperity Of North Dakota.
The millions of bushels of grain mar
keted here every year find an outlet
into those cities. And they would be
very glad to cooperate with the peo-
pie of this state in turning these
people into North Dakota rather than
to have them go to Canada. Cap
plause.)
What we do from this time on /
hope viii determine some course of
action by which we can go out and
bring to the state what rightfully
should come here. And I hope that
In this meeting there will be the full
est freedom and that each man pres
emit here will feel it is his meeting,
and that before you go home the or
ganization which we hope for will
have been completed, and every man
present will feel that he has duty
to perform for the state of North
Dakota and for the northwest.
I thank you for your attention. ]
merely wanted to present these
points and hear from Others along
this line, and find what can be done
to stop the loss that we have sus-
tanned and are still sustaining both in
people and money. Il se.s
thank you for your kind atten-