Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1911-12-01

Never before in the history Of North
Dal ota has there been such gather
i.'e that Of last evening when over
three hundred resiia.ts of tho LAX:
FL g;cn remained IN tie BANQUET hall
Until, three CLOCK 10 the morning, in
tcrested auditors of men who have
mode the development: Of, the North
w,st their life study.
Gle remarkabilisv Of the gathering
liz: not in the fac. that there. were
three hundred prese,.5. for there have
been many gatherings at which that
number was trebled, not that the guest
of honor was James j. Hill, he is no
stranger in Devils Lake OF North Da-
kota, not that We had as our guests
prominent Commercial men from the
Twin Cities and Duluth, they have
been in Devils Lake before; but that
in North Dakota over three hundred
tiesmen, representing seven different
counties, would assemble for the pur.
pose Of discussing the betterment Of
farm conditions, to hear experts on
agricultural questions and that the
meeting was one Of such interest that
ST.. Paul, Minneapolis and Duiath not
only sent representatives from their
Commercial Clubs and Chambers of
Commerce but the newspapers Of those
cities detailed their best editorial and
political writer's to prepare compre'
hensinve report of the meeting. The
object of the banquet was well outlin-
ed at it's inception and the purpose was
not lost sight Of during single one OF
the fifteen addresses. The means and
methods of increasing not only the
value of the land in the Lake Region
but the products of every quarter sec
tion was a vital one to the men in at
tendance, the majority Of whom were
themselves land owners if not actual
operators.
The Banquet.
It was we'll after nine O'Clock be-
fore the doors of the dining room OF
the Great Northern hotel were thrown
open to the crowd that had assembled
in the lobby, meeting the strangers
greeting old friends and making new
ones. The spacious hall had been ar
tistically arranged. Cut flowers were
used in profusion on the tables and
the corps Of skilled Mattresses under
the capable supervision of number OF
local ladies were ready to attend te
the service Of the excellent menu
James j. Hill, accompanied by Presi
dent Horton, entered after the tables
had been filled and tremendous ova
tion was given the honored guest OF
the evening. Two hundred and nine
teen guests were seated while over one
hundred of those holding tickets were
obliged to stand in the lobby waiting
through the long banquet in order tt
hear the addresses which followed.
The Toasts.
Not until twenty minutes OF twelve
had the menu been completed and as
the guests pushed back their chairs
and lit their cigars, President Horton
Of the local Commercial club rose ani
opened the menu Of eloquence and rea
son that was to follow. Mr.. Horton
told of the Lake Region, its aims ani
ambitions, he compared its area, popu
lation and productive power with thu
other organizations Of a similar nature
and the comparisons were indeed ia
vorable to the Lake Region. By fig
ures, convincing and undisputable, hi
showed what had been done in the way
Of advancement and what could be
done if more people were secured fol
the North Dakota farms. Mr.. Horton
had vast stock of information at hi
finger tips and amazed even people Wit
had lived in this section for yeare BY
the astounding figures he presented re
garding our region. Mr.. Horton mad,
an excellent impression on the quest,
by his easy delivery and fluent address
Mr.. Hill Introduced.
IA man who pushed q RAILROAD
across . continent without one penn,