The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1909-09-30


ed upon successful tillage of
the soil and in the years follow
ing his sermons, which fell up
on the ears of millions, were
supplemented by donations of
blooded stock, premiums for
good farming, free excursions
to the seats of agricultural
learning and liberal donations
to the public institutions of the
agricultural West.
From the seed of good will
thus judiciously planted has
been grown and harvested a
crop of confidence and respect
until now our public gather.
ings are not considered COM
plete without his presence and
our people in thousands flock
for miles to listen to the friend
" words of counsel of James ].
Hill.
Different t railroads have
played their part in the devel-
opment of different parts of our
state. To the north N. P. early
entrenched itself; to the cen.
trail part of the state tie great
500 system carried it's service.
Neither of these roads however
had any particular part in the
development of our section. So
far as they have touched our
territory at all they came after
we were we'll started on our
growth, and when the old set
tier here thinks of railroad de
velopment he thinks in single
terms of the old St.Paul, Mime
apolis and Manitoba, now a
part of the Great Northern sys-
tenn ;e".-,-----~~,--ss4s '-s
= I would not be understood as
saying that the influence of the
settler and the railroad builder
were alone in our development.
They were the denoninating
Influences, but lying between
them were many lesser lines.
The fertility of our soil and the
ease with which it could be re-
duced to a condition of profit
producing agriculture " a
early recognized by another,
lesser, class of capitalists, and
over our borders came such
men as the Grandins, the Dali
rymples, the Dwights, Adam.
ses and Soules. Bringing with
them resourcefulness and
forehandedness not possessed
by the ordinary settlers they
succeeded in an incredibly
short space of time in reducing
vast tracts of our prairia to pro
fit bearing conditions, thus fur
nishing the demonstration of
the practical possibilities of the
soil, and with the demonstration
an advertisement that went
forth all over the world and
brought people to us by thou
sands. They brought annually
into the country hundreds of
men who came to labor in their
fields and remained to acquire
and cultivate farms of their
own. Their vast fields of per-
feet crops were an inspiration
and encouragement to the poor
homesteader with his twenty
acres of poorly cultivated
ground producing only half the
expected return,to remain until
he could place his land under
the system of thorough cultiva-
ton that made profits possible.
From early spring until late in
the fall their W e nty mule
teams toiled back and forth
along their section lines turn
piking the roads and in con-
nection Herewith constructing
vast drainage systems that car
ried away not only their own
surplus water but furnished
the outlet for lesser drains for
b undreds of homesteaders. To.
day may be seen around the
Dwight, Adames and Keystone
farms a hundred miles of
bitches, and fifty miles of the
best roads in Richland county,
all of which have existed for
twenty-five years. and saved
hundreds of thousands of dol.
lars of crops from destruction.
The Bonanza farm has been
looked upon by some as akin
to a curse to the country. Per-
haps they have lived the full