The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1907-03-07

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all these things that have been
aaid of us during the month Of
January, when We got scared,
were not so. North Dakota did
actually get scared, and appealed
not only to the governor Of the
state but to the two United
States senators at Washington to
urge transportation lines to get
coal into our borders. Why, sir
we appealed for coal in the new
northwestern portion Of our state
with 100000 acres of it, with
! its coal deposits running in veins
from four to ten feet underlying,
and often on the surface of one
third of our great extent Of ter
ritory. There is practically H.
600 square miles of. coal in this
section Of the state. The mind
cannot grasp it! There is enough
coal in this sectionof our state to
heat all the homes in North Da-
kota, and the homes of all the
states III the Union during all the
winters that the children of our
present generation will see, and
all the winters that our children's
children will see, and then there
will be enough to heat all the
homes in the Union for a hundred
years to come, and yet - we
feared that we might suffer in
the northwest portion of the
state by reason Of the inability Of
the railroads to bring us coal
from the East, Notwithstanding
that during all the months of
summer and early fall, the farmer
in that section could stand within
his own threshold and see coal
mines, or the place where coal
could be gotten, and everywhere
evidence of Gods providence,
ready to be taken for the mere
labor of getting it.
And now I want to ask why
we should appeal for aid when
there is enough coal lying west of
the Capitol city Of Bismarck and
west Of the Imperial city of Mi
not to supply all the states of the
Union for this generation and
and the next to come. Yet we
are endeavoring to offset that
impression by stating that in
some instances it was not so.
But, unfortunately, it was so. It
was so very much so that the
governor and our two United
States senators, through appeals
from the different towns and Sec
lions of the state, urged the pres
idents of the Great Northern,
Northern Pacific and 500 to has
ten with all possible speed to the
relief of the state. We cannot
very we'll deny this fact, and I,
for one, am not going to try to
do it. It is too late in the day to
attempt to apologize for the
great state Of North Dakota, and
if you people here wish to take
that shot, then / am not going
to apologize for the, New North
west, for we need none. North
Dakota should not be held re-
sponsible for the fact that we
had so much wheat, flax, oats
and stock raised in our section of
the state last season that it
blocked all the railroads and
filled all the elevators to an ex-
tent that no railroad, no matter
hsw progressive, could hurry it
out in the length Of time givenit
to do so, and / am not going to
apologize for that. Neither should
we apologize for the fact that
very early in the fall the snow
fell, and because of that fact and
the lack of proper transportation
facilities, railroads were unable
to keep apace with the great in
crease and progress of our peo-
pie, and we are not responsible
for that. We are responsible fol
some things, and ! am going t.
enumerate a few: We have the
best University in the Union,
taking into consideration the age
of our state. The University
with its 800 students, with an en-
dowment of 10000 acres, ane
4 which will some day amount II
over q million dollars, is to-day ,
bstter institution Of learning
bstter equipped and endowed
than the University Of Virgin,
vhiah / atbon1ea VIXEN it was q
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