The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-02-12
SUGGESTIVE.

If Grand Forks is to be city of
great magnitud" it is quite evident
that somethin. must be done to de-
velop manufacturing industries. 1t
is up to the Commercial club to look
after this feature as we'll as every
other feature of development.
The first thing necessary to accom-
plish is to get cheap power and raw
material at price sufficiently low
to make it possible to compete with
outside manufacturers. 1t looked at
one time as though we would be sup
piled with Red Lake Falls power very
cheaply but for some reason this mat
ter seems to be in the back ground
now. This should be reviewed. What
is our Commercial club doing about it?
We have a large saw and planning
mill just across the river in East
Grand Forks Something should be
done to induce the proprietors to saw
hard wood and to use their surplus
saw dust in kiln drying and prepar-
ing this hard wood for manufacturing
purposes.
The next point necessary to gain
is to get manufacturers interested.
This may be done by inducing capital
list with poor paying plants in other
localities to locate in Grand Forks.
The situation must be thoroughly gone
over and a careful estimate made as
to the proper kind of articles to manu-
facture-what will meet with quickest
sale for home consumption. Before
we can induce outside capital to invest
we must show conclusive evidence
that there is a good opening here. We
must show that we can furnish the
power, cheaply and the raw material
cheaply and that our markets will be
good for the output.
There is another plan which seems
feasible and one which we believe
holds out better prospects than that
of trying to induce outside capital to
venture. All over North Dakota may
be found inventive geniuses enough
who have insufficient capital to es-
tablish an enterprise of their own but
whose combine capital coupled with
their genius would be a power for
good. These geniuses should be in
terviewed and induced to locate in
Grand Forks. On a farm near Rey-
nolds this county there lives a Ger
man who can make anything that can
be made from iron He has a shop
on his farm and during the winter
months gets out many jobs in fine iron
fences for cemeteries in his locality
and last year put specimen Of his
work in at the Grand Forks cemetery.
At Grafton to the north there lives
a Bohemian who can make anything
that can be made from wood. Local
stores have some of his handiwork in
the way of counters, shelving and pre-
scription cases that cannot be dupli-
Gated for the price. Desks, bookcases
and all kinds of office and home furn-
iture and church furniture of original
and unique designs are made by this
genius of the wood-carving class. At
Park River there is local genius who
has made bicycles and automobiles
and carries an ad in the local paper
of the Holland Runabout He has
made many ingenious devices for the
use of man. At Grafton there are two
young geniuses who devote their
spare time to developing something
along the useful line. They have just
installed machine for making a
cigar-box cover holder an invention
of their own. These young men have
natural talents which will bring them
fame and riches if they continue. All
they need is proper encouragement
and little assistance. Another gen.
ius who lives on a farm near Grafton
has made many useful home articles,
all of which If put on the market and
manufactured by proper machinery in
stead Of by hand would bring good
returns. There are many others in
the state who at odd spare moments
from their regular work are making
useful devices by hand, which, If made
by suitable machinery and put on the
market by able exponents would bring
handsome returns. What we need
now Is gathering of these geniuses