Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-06-04
FIGURES OF WEALTH.

FIGURES OF WEALTH.
At a recent banquet at Fargo,
where he delivered an address upon
the wealth and resources of North
Dakota, Senator Talcott of Cass coun-
ty set forth some accurate figures as
showing the wealth of the state and
the value of it's product. Estimating
the average assessment of property
at twenty-five per cent, he reckoned
the wealth of the state in visible
property at a billion and half of
dollars, or $4,000 per capita. The
present population of the state is
pretty safely estimated at three
quarters of million.
There were presented also some in
teresting details as to the distribu-
ton of this wealth. Within the past
sixty days, the speaker showed, some
Sc, 900 acres of raw school land have
been sold. Many sales were made as
high as $50 to $45 an acre, but the
average price received was nearly
81 an acre. The value of the 31,OOO,-
900 acres of assessed land in the
state is estimated at $575, 0O0, 900 and
of the homestead, state and school
land not yet taxable, $112,000,OO0. The
value Of the coal in the state cannot
at the present time be accurately es-
timated but it is set down at 10 less
than 500, 100000, and this is con-
sentative. The. value of the coal will
increase as its utility is demonstrate
ed and it is made better and wider
use of.
~ The products of the state for the
year 1908 are reckoned by the COM
missioner of agriculture at $170,000,-
900, or $3.50 per capita, and all of this
was in actual and real wealth-grain,
foodstuffs, live. stock, wool, poultry,
eggs, butter and the products of the
farm. Wheat is the chief source of
production of wealth, and the value
OF last years crop is reckoned at
f44, OOO, 900; oats and fax, 100000
600; barley, $7,000,~.~, live stock
shipped and sold, 100000, and
wealth of other products.
-. The whole address was interesting
and instructive, and should serve as
a good immigration document. In
reviewing the growth of the state in
a quarter Of century, Senator Tai
colt said:
Forty years ago there was not
white settler along the whole of this
Red river valley from Fort Aber-
crombie on the south to Pembina on
the north. In the early seventies the
first rail was laid in the state, and in
the spring Of 1878 the Northern Pa
cif1c had pushed its line of railroad
two hundred miles, through to Bis
marck on the Missouri river.
"Now we have four trans-continen-
tai lines traversing our state, two
crossing it from east to west, one en-
tering at the southeast corner, runs
diagonally across in northwesterly
direction and finds its exit almost in
the northwest corner of the state.
While the fourth line which had al
ready put out it's feeders into our
state from the south and east, last
summer in completing it's main line
crossed the southwestern counties.
These great trunk lines have crossed
and gridironed our state with feeders
and branches until now 5000 miles of
" railroad are rapidly increasing as
prospective lines in view the coming
summer than for some years past.
The changes have been so rapid that
it seems almost incredible In the
actual experience Of these early set
tiers who have seen and lived, and
taken part in the wonderful develop
ment of the past thirty years. Then
our population was no greater IN
thousands than it is now in hundreds
a of thousands; then the western half
Z of the state was unknown except to
{ army garrisons, post traders and a
few adventures, frontiersmen and
ranchmen. Now there is no longer
need OF an army post, except for the
peaceful purpose of quartering our
d soldiers and the post trader has NOV
q ed with the Indians onto the reserva-
tions, which are fast bein4 opened up
4 for settlement. The ranchman with
# his immense herds OF cattle and his
sheep fattening on thousands of
Il acres OF our native grass has had his
q day and is being pushed farther west
ward by the ever increasing zhordes
pf settlers; while the frontiersmaE
n has either passed away or long ago
q settled down into a filler Of the soil.
Just one illustration Of the wonder
4 full growth and Development, particu1-
arIy in the western part OF the state
during the past few years. In one OF
the neu counties organized less than