The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1915-06-23

| the lumber is being stripped from
the hillsides, a more permanent in
dustry is taking it's place-the Oldest
industry in the world, farming. Al
| ready Bemidji ranks as the fourth
city in the state as a shipping center.
Only Minneapolis, St. Paul and Du-
luth outrank it in the number of cars
freight shipped in and out during
the course of a year.
Two Great Requisites.
Thus Bemidji has two great re-
quisites of city-topography and
climate to make it livable city, and
great natural resources back of it.
Bemidji today is the biggest little
"ity in the west. The streets are
= de and we'll kept, and the business
district has hustling, busy air that
would do credit to a community many
times it's size. The ordinary "new
town" has a street or dilapidated
frame buildings. Bemidji's main
street is lined with substantial brick,
stone or concrete structures.
There is no better index to the
general character of town or city
than it's hotels. Modern, we'll kept
hotels, with up-to-date service, be-
speak lively and growing commu-
nifty. Bemidji has such hotels They
are we'll patroniZed and that means
that outsiders have business to do in
Bemidji.
A Manufacturing Center.
Bemidji is rapidly forging ahead as
manufacturing center, and if it
were surrounded by desert instead
of fertile empire, it would have suf-
ficient reason for existence. The Great
Father of Waters is the source of this
factor in Bemidji's future. 1t sup
plies Bemidji with cheap power which
together with transportation facilities,
is the prime essential Of manufacture
ing. The electric light and power
company has already spent $4,000
on improvements which will enable
it to supply current to any locality
within a radius of thirty miles of
Bemidji. This power can never be-
come an irksome monopoly, for the
city owns an option on the plant
which can be exercised if the neces-
sity arises. With such power facili-
ties, and with such excellent railroad
connections, Bemidji is in posi-
tion to serve the great fertile do
minion Of which it is the center, not
only as distributing point but as
manufacturing center. Already the
city has fourteen manufacturing
plants which give employment to
some 1,4OO men. The list is grow
ing every year, and it will grow more
rapidly as the country develops and
the markets widen. There are three
newspapers, the daily and weekly
Pioneer and the Sentinel.
uU1lC Op1I1L AL A1u.
Public spirit has played big part
in the development of Bemidji to
date The Commercial club is
splendid body of wide-awake men.
The club occupies comfortable quar-
ters where both social and business
gatherings are held. The Bemidji
Auto club is also hustling organiza-
tion, and those two associations have
dore much for civic betterment. The
results of their work can be seen at
a glance. Bemidji owns it's own wa
ter plant, which furnishes the entire
city with the best of pure water from
artcsian wells, and with fire protec-
tion through twenty-eight blocks of
city mains. Bemidji has more than
three miles of paved streets and many
miles of good roads, thanks to the
activities of the automobile owners,
largely. 1t has an excellent sewer
age system, some twelve miles of
concrete walks, fine city hall, a
Carnegie library, a fire department
unequalled for a city of it's size, an
efficient police department and
schools and churches that are un-
surpassed. These necessary ad-
juncts of modern city but help to
make it a livable city. Three mod
ern school buildings house the young
people of the city, and every church
Continued from Page l.)