The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1906-01-19
i'IlItl 10 .''Pk
one THIRD
DRAINAGE SYSTEM WILL GREAT.
~ INCREASE VALUE OF RED
RIVER VALLEY LANDS.
INTERSTATE STA :. BfoR1 ASKED
PRESIDENT OF THE GREAT
NORTHERN MAKES SPEECH
At GRAND FORKS.
INTERSTATE Effort ASKED

At GRAND FORKS.
Grand Forks, N. D.-President James J.
Hill. of the Great Northern railway, gave
practical demonstration of his interest
In drainage. when he offered to pay a
.h,r rac Of ,t the cost of getting the work
IF it costs $4,000 he said. count
on mo for $4,000. or whatever the cost
aepSse am tt, va: deeets1 Mh
the matter with Jim Hill?'' was answered
With With thunderous chorus. "FIe's all
Mr. Hills address was the feature of
the session of the states drainage con-
venttOn. The Metropolitan opera house
was packed to the doors. 1t was an au-
d ing e, Of men-thsre was bare sprink.
the practical purpose of learning how to
better themselves materially. and they
listened eagerly sto Mr.. Hills address.
ming to end. Mr.. Hill was introduced at
the n meeting by Chairman J. 4. Cassel of
| man who paved the way to the coast,
and who opened markets across the sea-
Mr.. Hill said:
/ am 1oa not oa, going In. to attsr you to-day;
came here to add my voice, while 1 have
any left to what is being said, and with
the hope that more will be done to put
your land where 1t ought to be.
Can Double the Value.
Il remember when people said I was
| crazy because said publicly that every
acre of land in the Red river valley was
| worth $40 an acre fifteen or twenty years
ago. 1t was. and 1t is to-day worth 500.
If you will go to work intelligently and
| systematically to prepare this system of
drainage that will take the water off
SO then yoI ha ean
with some good system of rotation, you
can double the value of everything in
the valley. And why shouldn't you do It?
II feel greatly encouraged to see u lot
Of gentlemen here on an occasion like
this. You have never undertaken before
ANYTHING that means m So much to YOU
kota. and to this valley in particular.
Il want to talk with you. and want
every man to feel that speak from an
| interested motive entirely, and my in
way that Is at the foundation, next the
| sol! itself. Next to the mother earth. the
railway is the foundation Of your prog
eve make it possible for you to go out
and live on these distant prai,ies and ia
| cultivate the soil and market what you
raise from the. soil with a profit. You
can go away whenever you are tired, but
We can't take our railway away. We
have to prosper with you or be poor will,
you. The growth Of the country, the de-
ture. the Increased crop, all bring fish,
to our net; and the contrary takes them
from us.
Some Of the people on the other side
ton. in very kindly way (and they are
all friends of nine). to what said about
portions of the valley on the other side.
Inc, aney nave nave wrong notion. We won
country through which our lines are laid
but, as you would If you had field that
would raise two bushels of wheat or
twice the yield of hay that any other
field would raise. you would cultivate
that field and you would think more of
it than you did the field that with the
same SAM labor raised less; That is why We
You do more. We get more from you
and we are glad to he able to put means
within your reach in any way that we
get it to market at a cheaper and lower
rate Of carriage.
III Next to Lowest.
| "Iet me say this: Some of our friends
on the other side Of the river rather init
not for the Red river valley we would
have been broke. I want to tell you right
here that the Red river valley yields a
density of traffic-which is measured by
the number of tons carried one mile for
each mile of rnilrOad-nOt to exceed ONE
third that of the Milk river valley. It is
next to the lowest of any division on the
entrs system ten ri and it always has been
system of the railroad. Naturally it
ought to have the heaviest production.
And how are you going to get it?
an Intelligent system of drainage. 1t is
Just as necessary for you to get rid Of
the surplus water as it is that You should
have an abundance of water to nOurish
your plants. II You have too much ..;ou
drown them out.
ut is heart-rending ut times to ride
through the valley after crops have. grown
cred with tountiful green; two or three
| days and nights Of heavy rain-and q
week later tlie whole thing has TUNED
lost Ills crop and We feel for ourselves YES.
We might as well run through n sand
desert instead Of running through tho
most fertile soil in the countrsr. The fall
for. drainage In the Red river valley is
nearly uniform for Its entire length: that
| ts,r for the portion nearest, the Red river.
and that Is where the greatest trouble
Comparison II striking.
1.-THE fall is between four and five feet
| to the mile. The Mississippi river be-
tween st. Paul and Rock Island has IA
fall of five or SIX inches TO the mile ana
1t drains an immense area.
4 But to tnaugurslte a system of drain
age you must have q correct topograpf-
ical map Of every township and OF every
square mile in the valley where you ex-
pect to Furnish any drainage. Ultimately
most of this land will be tile drained, and
you must make main drains to carry off
the surplus water collected by the tile.
Now. to do this you might get the gem
eral government interested. but at this
time It is interested in a great MANY
things Il s.;ss1', q r
1T Is building canal. Nobody knows
what y ls going t., cost Nobody has any
idea The man who was our chief enRi.
neer for seventeen years or thercal,outs
is the chief engineer and he has IL in
charge. Il they will build lock caral
he thinks he can nnfsh 1t during his life
Girl Mama ger Of Big Ranch.
Miss Georgia Burns, formerly a Kansas