The Dickinson press., 1909-08-07
GOOD paper ::
BY HISTORIAN
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Idaho were all territories. By the year
1890 these four states were so well
started on their career of development
that they were taken into the Union as
states. In the last twenty years the
volume of traffic of the MP. has trebled
and freight rates have been cut in two.
Over 80, 900, 900 acres of the land grant
has been sold, the most of it at mini
mum prices and the company has still
some 10, 600, 900 of their land to sell.
When the railroad crossed the Missouri
river in the winter Of 1879, on the ice,
the era of prosperity and notoriety of the
west Missouri country began and has
new ceased. True we have seen some
hardship: and disappointments. but as
a rule there has been no failure and
there has at least been abundant
health; there has been no accumulation
of paupers, no restitution. The people
who came first brought with them mostly
the habits and customs of the well-to-do
class of society and they quickly became
homogeneous. and though the population
represent ed so various q nationality
there was such sterling friendship and
such evident bon homme evinced that
the duties Of building up the country
was done with the best intentions and
in the most substantial and perfect
harmony !; so much so that the differ
ence of securing as locations the differ
ent and various public buildings and
institutions has rarely created more
than q volatile strife among the rival
towns that, were seeking 10 get these
locations.
When the first settlers came in the
spring of 1882. there came from almost
all points of the compass men and
women who were sanguine that this was
the famed Eldorado. The glamour of
the prairies was in their eyes and I
heard the Rev. Charles Dobson remark
not more than two years ago that this
glamour had never lessened for him.
There is something about North Dakota's
prairies that has caused more than one
person to assert. when their friends or
acquaintance were about to seek homes
else where, 'Oh they will come back
again sometime; people always come
back to North Dakota.
However, I must bring this paper to a
close, just remarking by way of ending
that prosperity has sure followed the
four states mentioned as being brought
into the union since 1890. The follow
ing figures as to the agricultural pros
perity of the four named states is shown
in these figures viz: The farms of the
six states traversed by the N. P. pro-
duced 1856. 900, 900 bushels of spring
wheat, so. 600, 600 of corn, IS, 600, 600
bushels of oats, 80, 900, 600 of barley,
IS, 600, 900 bushels of flax, rye and buck
wheat each, 5000, 900 tons of hay,
besides %, 600, 600 bushels of potatoes.
In addition to this there has been pro-
duced q vast amount of unclassifed
produce hat has been turned into
money and comes under the head of
raw agricultural products.
Then who shall say that the country
has not prospered? Who can deny that
not only the west country but the entire
west has come to be what it is today
through the pioneer efforts of the rail-
way builder mainly. However, there
had to be brave men and women to
complete the dominion of the soil and
the prosperity of the railway itself is
due to the fact that these men and
women have peopled the lands lying
tributary to the railway, built school
houses and churches ; and their inspira-
ton has been the sturdy sons and
daughters that have been born to them
on the soil of these western states.
And now to close let me just say that
the only way to prosperity is along the
royal highway of faithful honest labor.
My next years. paper, if I am privil-
eyed to write it. will be q history of
some of the treaties made with the
Indians by the national government.
Later still perhaps there will come the
public institutions of this state and
the most notable public buildings.
We loan money on Homesteads, Farm
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