The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-08-20
Grand Forks Business Men
Make an Auspicious Start
on a Five Days Trip of the
State-over Three Score in
the Party-Beautifully Ap-
pointed Special Train Pro-
vided by the Great Northern
Railway Company.
INCIDENTS OF THE FIRST
DAY "0uT" ARE TOLD

Lakota.Sarles Branch This After.
noon-Newspaper Men Accompany
the Party.
The "get acquainted" crowd of the
Commercial club left Grand Forks this
morning on special train of five
coaches, with nearly three score en-
thusiastic boomers aboard, for one of
the most interesting and, what is hoped
to be, advantageous trips ever UNDER
taken by commercial body from any
city of the northwest.
In addition to the members of the
club, the train, which was in charge
of Conductor Perry and Engineer
STIFFNESS, carried the Grand Forks City
band of more than twenty pieces. A
large and enthusiastic crowd was at
the depot to see them off and bid
them God-speed, and the enthusiasm
Of the members themselves, every
member being thoroughly imbued with
the importance of the work before him
during the next five days. The press
of the city is we'll represented, and the
city at large will have an abundance
of information as to the incidents and
value of the trip. The members are
designated by special ribbon badge
and button, the latter distinctively
showing the value of Grand Forks as
a distributing point, with the large
number of railroads traversing the
territory tributary to it, The matter
for distribution on the route, while not
elaborate, is of such character as to
specifically call attention to the city
as commercial distributing point and
its value as the gateway of the north
west and the metropolis of North Da-
kota.
After leaving the city the first stop
was made at Emerald, and while the
enthusiasm had not yet reached the
boiling point and the members had
hardly become accustomed to the work
before them, their reception by the
citizens of this splendid village showed
that the efforts of the Commercial club
to advertise the city had its effect, at
least, at this point With stop of
only ten minutes it was impossible to
make any extended visits with the bus
mess men in their places of business.
but the majority of the members, es-
pecially those engaged in mercantile
pursuits, improved the opportunity to
look over the town and to some extent
investigate the prosperous conditions
which marked the splendid progress
that they had made during the last
year.
After brief stop at Arvilla, Lari-
more was reached, where for half an
hour the party and citizens mingled in
a sort of commercial reunion, which
was simply destined to increase the
feeling of good-fellowship existing be-:
tween the county seat and Grand
Forks county's western metropolis.
Larimore is splendid town; its mer-
chants are progressive, up-to-date and
enthusiastic in their devotion to the
interests of their city. While SO near
that it is almost next-dOor neighbOr
to Grand Forks, there is much of hos
pitality and especially of business
fraternity to be developed between the
two, and the half hour spent by the
Commercial club in this city is the
foundation for the work which will
follow.
Beyond Larimore brief stops were
made at Niagara and Petersburg, and
then Michigan was reached, where the
Great Northern has recently con-
structed one of it's great watering
reservoirs. thereby making the city
rather important one for the railroad.
1t will be remembered that this city
suffered fire a few months ago in
which large portion of the business
section was burned, including the
stores, bank and some other businesses
owned by the Lamb Brothers as we'll
as a number of other citizens. A few
weeks after the fire Michigan City had
the appearance of field of desolation
rather than a place of business. Con-
ditions have changed some since then,
however, and the burned district is be-
ing rebuilt, and when completed, which
will be at no distant date, the town
will be better than ever.
Between Michigan City and Lakota
but one stop was made-at the splen-
did town of Mapes. which is rapidly
becoming a prosperous business Gen.
ter for the rich farming community
which surrounds it. From Mapes to
Lakota was brief run, and after a
stay of more than an hour the special
will leave the main line to traverse the
famous country through which the
branch from Lakota to Sarles passes.
The prospect of the farmers from
Grand Forks to Lakota cannot be
properly judged by observation from
car window, even by an expert like
Jones, much less would 1t be possible
for a newspaper correspondent to do
so, who must depend largely for his in
formation upon the stories told him.
But, If the eye can tell anything of the
present crop, there will be no starva-
ton for the farmers through this re-
gion. Every mile of the territory
traversed has witnessed the operation
Of the binder at work. The quantity
of straw can easily be determined from
the number Of shocks which stand up
on the field, but the amount of grain
which this straw will yield can only
be told by the thresher itself. How
ever, 1t would seem that unless the