Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-12-16
"OCCIDENT is NO ACCIDENT

descriptive of the growth and devel-
opment Of any enterprise, that has
v,er received at this office Is a.
artiscally illustrated booklet entitl-
ed "Occident Is no Accident" 1t is
the history of great North Dakota
milling success, the original begin
nings Of which were at Jamestown
and Valley City and all conceived and
brought about by North Dakota men.
The story is told of two little mills,
owned by the same company, running
from 1882 to 1901, grinding the hard
wheat of North Dakota. While the
output was small, it always found a
ready market both at home and
abroad; and this was chapter first.
The superiority of this -four however
has not been entirely due to the su-
perior wheat of the region, but Is
due to the process of milling which
the head miller of the company
which now manufactures the Occident
flour; and the subsequent history Of
the -four and its output might be said
to constitute chapter second.
Russell-Miller Milling Company I'M
dertook to build up a great milling
business, starting with one mill at
Valley City, as the other small mill
at jamestown had burned to the
ground; and the company began to
grow with the initial capacity OF
only 225 barrels a day. Their pur-
pose of making a higher grade OF
flour than was found on the market
became the fixed object of their ef-
forts: and it was decided to sell such
-four at high enough price to permit
of it's production and to distinguish
it from the brands of cheap hour
which flooded the market.
The success of the new company
was apparent from the start and
within a year, the jamestown mill
had been rebuilt with enlarged Ca
pacity, and a fine milling equipment
Installed. The mill at Grand Forks
had been purchased and rebuilt, max
ing it equal to the jamestown mill;
the old Valley City mill was also
torn down and rebuilt.
Occident flour commenced to per-
meate to all parts of the country,
to find its way across the waters OF
the ocean, and began making us
name known to consumers of flour
wherever the best was wanted. Tne
new Valley City mill which was
burned a year after it's completion,
was replaced with the plant OF LOO
barrels daily capacity. The James
town and Grand Forks mills were en-
larged to 500 barrels capacity each,
per day. The washing Of wheat was
added. A second of 500 barrels was
added at Valley City, three years
ago. In 1907 the Minot mill, of 500
barrels capacity was built, thus CIV
ing the company 1000 barrels ca
pacity per day. All brought about
within six years time. A 1880 bar
rel flour mill was then erected at
recognized as the "Peer-
less Flour Mill Of the World" An
other large mill of the latest con-
struction was added to the series of
mills at the little town of Beach in
a new wheat producing region IN
western North Dakota, and, in addi- |
ton, new mill at Billings, Mont,
was erected. The company then pur-
chased the old established mills at
Mandan, Bismarck and Dickinson
and these latest additions will be
changed and remodelled in equipment
to produce the standard Occident |
-four, and when the work is complet-
ed the company will have the great
capacity of 10000 barrels Of
-four a day. >,
In order to secure wheat at all
times, for these mills a line of ele-
vators bearing the name of the -four
which the mills produce, was secured
and at present the company owns
and operates 81 country elevators.
having a combined storage capacity
of 2,5OO, 200 bushels of grain.
The business success of this big
milling enterprise is due entirely to
the active efforts of a group Of North
Dakota men, headed by Edward P.
Wells, for many years resident OF
whose acumen and fin
ancial support have been mainly in
in bringing about the
present status of the Russell-Miller
Milling company. Associated with