Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1915-10-27
M|N0T THE MECCA OF
MANY SPECTATORS
land-Seekers Require Special
Trains and Over Crowd
hinot Hotels.

MInot Hotels.
Siezed last Saturday with a sudden
desire to take advantage of the cheap
rate offered by the Great Northern
from here to Minot and return, the fare
costing but $500, and to see how Un-
Gle Sam conducts his big land lotter-
les, the city editor of the Willmar
Tribune, together with Arthur Carlson
and Homer Chase, boarded No. 3. Sun
day morning, bound for the wilds of
North Dakota. We were extremely
fortunate in being able to secure
berths, even tho they were uppers,
as practically everything was engaged
way ahead. A heavy, gray sky greeted
us Sunday morning when we awoke in
North Dakota and before we reached
Minot, steady drizzle had set in.
On reaching our destination it was
soon evident that hotel accommoda-
tions we're scarce. At the Leland Ho-
tel we were informed that there were
some five hundred demands for rooms
Lexington, and, as luck would have it,
there happened to be one bed which
was unOccupied. We grabbed it. A
number of Benson people were staying
at the Lexington and Art Carlson man
aged to find accommodations with
them, so we were well fixed.
The second section of No. 3, which
pulled into Minot at $40 p. M, was
sight to behold. A double header,
with twenty-five cars, including day
coaches and tourist sleepers, carrying
about twelve hundred people, all of
whom piled off at the already overly
populated metropolis of Ward county.
The business section of the city was
as a whole, wide open Sunday after
noon and evening. Motion picture
theatres, billiard rooms, etc., were do
ing land Office business, as the
steady downpour of rain, made it dis
agreeable to remain out of doors.
One thing that was conspicuous by
it's absence, in great crowd like that,
was the lack Of any rough house or
quarreling of any sort. This in spite
of the fact that there wasn't a uni
| formed officer of the law in sight, altho
there were plenty Of plain clothes men
on hand. The Great Northern alone
had fourteen extra yard cops on hand,
in case of trouble.
Another noticeable thing was the
extremely moderate prices demanded
for lodging at the hotels and for meals
at the restaurants. It didn't seem to
be- the desire of the. business men of
the city to "bleed' the visitors.
! The city of Minot is certainly en-.
Toying a great wave of prosperity.
With splendid railroad connections,
and situated in the heart of a good
farming community, it is growing by
leaps and bounds. In almost every
section of the business portion of the
city, new buildings are springing up
and many beautiful residences have
been built recently. The residence
section has extended greatly in the
past few years, and now many of the
choice homes in the city, lie on the
hillsides to the east and south. The
Great Northern station, which a few
years ago, was nearly on the outskirts
of town, is now but few steps from
the heart of the business district. Ar
overhead bridge provides a safe pass
age for pedestrians in crossing the
tracks.
Sunday was quiet day around the
registration headquarters. The build
ing was closed at midnight Saturday
and re-opened at one o'clock Monday
morning. Early in the evening, q line
began to form near the entrance o1
the building, and this gradually ex
tended until it reached a block OF
more in each direction. Many of those
standing in line wished to register ear
ly, so as to take the early morninf
trains for their homes. Between thu
hours of one and five a. m. no les.
than twelve hundred persons regis
tered. It kept force Of some twelv,
or fifteen notaries busy They worket
in shifts, eight hours to each shift.
Altogether, up until the middle O
the afternoon, Monday, about 22,0O
people had registered at Minot, and
was estimated with those who wer
filing at Bismarck and Plaza, the tota
| would be in the neighborhood of 5000
persons.
Monday dawned an entirely differ
ent day than Sunday. The sun shon
brightly, and it was cold. A terrifi
/ wind blew over the prairie from tn
/ northwest. Monday found many 9
the restaurants and eating place
/ without enough food to supply the d.
mand, and nearly every dairy in tn
city, was drained to the last drop.
It was estimated that between eigh
and ten thousand people were on tn
streets of the city Saturday evenin,
and fully half that number were wal
dering around Sunday afternoon lool
Il ing for quarters to get in out of tn
rain.
Il Many of the visitors left on the ca
4 ly trains for the west, and on the spe
ial train for the east, at about min
o'clock. We remained until No. 2, {
l 4:35 p. M, and once more were luck
enough to secure berths in the slee
er, when such thing seemed an in
Il possibility.
4 One thing very noticeable about tt
city of Minot, and which suffere
greatly in comparison with our ow
city, was the untidy manner in whi<
the streets and lawns in the residen'
| section, were kept up. When it come
to upkeep of lawns, streets and boul