The Glasgow courier., 1916-03-03
DEVELOPMENT OF
TREASURE STATE

velOpment Of the west is one of the
most absorbing interesting ;tudies,
and especially so, if combined with
the glamor and romance of the
border country as it's frontier line
was slowly, for long period, but
constantly pushed west, for, aside
from the less important incidents and
the many colored side lights, here and
there are points. of live interest that
have found places in the pages of per-
manent history" says writer in the
Livingston Enterprise.
"Here at Livingston is at least one
fact of recorded history that will for
all time be of special local interest,
and Of more than usual interest be-
cause it is designated spot in the
trail of exploration, that secured the
first definite knowledge of the great
country that stretched from the Ohio
to the placid waters of the Pacific,
and was in fact, the first feeble effort
of the desire to go west acting
through an adventurous soul.
"Some 10 years ago when John
Clark Of the Lewis and Clark expedi-
tion was making his way back to St.
Louis, he reached the Yellowstone
river at this point, and being en-
tranced with the wonderful kaleido-
scope of scenic beauty, camped for
some time on the present site of the
city, and the fact is made of local
record through a monument erected
in the west Northern Pacific park by
the association of the Daughters Of
the Revolution.
"From that time and for almost
three-fourths of a century following,
the opening of the country west, and
its settlement and development was
extremely slow, as it was the fash
ion then to let development and prog
ress in every line take it's own tardy
time, and SO continued until it came to
the settlement of Dakota.
"Then the boosting spirit took
strong hold on the moving spirits of
the little town of Fargo. They as
sembled the first booster meeting of
the western country and agreed that
life was too short to wait fifty years
for the agricultural settlement Of that
section. and during all that time drag
out half-dead-half -alive existence in
a town that was growing with COM
parative slowness. So they deter
mined to discard the shiftless policy
and force the settlement of the coun-
try and the building of their city
and they did, accomplishing as much
settlement in five years as Minnesota
had in fifty.
"They built live, sizeable and i'm
portant city where the only excuse
for anything more pretentious than a
village, was the wide awake energy OF
it's business and professional men
and in the rapid and vigorous building
and development, their business and
professions extended and they indi-
vidually prospered and grew rich.
"Men who owned city property saw
it advance substantially from year to
year, the landlord fattened on advanc-
ing rents, and the occupants enjoyed
the paying because their businesses
were constantly increasing and their
profits were growing; the profess
sional man was constantly extending
his clientele that was the first
northwestern example Of boosting and
its certain results.
"From this period on, the policy of
forcing settlement and making cities
grow, was adopted by every ambitious
and wide-awake community and then
the west began to really grow and
the broad ranges that had been silent
ly and fruitlessly beckoning the i'm
migrant, were quickly occupied, cities
were built on the rush, and activity
and energetic progress surcharged
the air so that it's breating was a
boosting exhilarant and all the west
forged ahead by meets and bounds
all except Montana.
"The Treasure state was inactive
1t remained idle and unappreciative
of the great activity that was going
on about it. A few were awake to the
opportunities, but the many cried
them down-and the great states to
the west and. surrounding Montana
and Canada to the north, We're popu-
lated and thousands of towns, vii
lagos and cities were built, while this
great state, with it's wonderful re-
sources, kept the offering of her un-
equalled opportunities hidden under
the bushel of her inactive and SOM
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