The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1917-01-25
Entered June 10. 1902, as second
class matter, at the postoffice ut 4inot,
N. D., under the act Of Congress Of
March 8, 1879.
NORTH DAKOTA BIDS WELCOME

03fCn ., lotO.
NORTH DAKOTA BIDS WELCOME
The Independent does not pretend
that this issue is an exposition of the
states complete resources, nor in so
limited number can we give the
makers of this section of our fertile
state one-tenth the credit that is due
them. We have attempted to show in
a small way what has been done dur
ing the short time that has elapsed
since northwestern North Dakota was
claimed by the men who have made
our prairies blossom like rose. Dur
ing the fifteen years since the writer |
cast his lot in Minot, we have seen the |
virgin sod of our fertile prairies con-
verted into well improved farms that |
will compare favorably with those of |
our states that have been settled for |
more than half century. We have |
seen farmers who came here with very I
little means become Independently |
wealthy. We have seen the sod house |
and car-roofed claim shacks replaced |
by modern farm homes, with electric |
lights, furnaces and all the conven-
fences Of the city homes. The whole |
country is a perfect network of rural |
telephone lines. Many of the smaller |
towns have electric lights and num-
Der of farms in the vicinity of Minot
have become electrified, so that their |
lighting, feed grinding, pumping,
washing, and even milking machines
are run by electricity. Rural mail
routes run almost everywhere and in
many of the districts there are Cen
trail schools where the higher branches
are taught and to which the children
are conveyed in covered, comfortable
vehicles. We have our Normal schools
which turn out well equipped teachers.
The school system of North Dakota
compares with the best in the United
States. Every community has it's
churches as we'll as it's schools Our
farmers have become awakened as to
marketing conditions, and societies
have been formed enabling them to
secure their needs at the minimum fig
ures. The fuel problem was solved in
North Dakota many years ago when
the mines of valuable Ignite coal were
opened. North Dakota's coal fields
will furnish fuel for thousands of
years and are greater than those of
Pennsylvania. Ignite coal at the
mines can be secured at as low a price
as two dollars per ton. We recollect
when it was but few years ago that
horses, cattle and hogs. Today many
of our farmers are producing as fine
a lot of draft horses as can be found
in the United States: They all have
cattle and hogs to ship and most of
them have gone into the blooded stock
business. A few years ago the man
who tried to grow corn in North Da-
kota was laughed at. Today the prai-
ries are dotted with silos and nearly
every farmer grows good sized field
of corn. Every industry has grown
at remarkable rate, and particularly
dairying. Every community has its
creamery and every farmer his dairy
cows. Many farmers pay all of their
expenses by the sale of their dairy
products, which always command the
very highest prices. And the rural
districts have not been alone in their
development. We have seen our own
city for instance, grow from small
cowboy village to the greatest city in
North Dakota and second in size only
to Fargo. North Dakotans have had
a good time in making all of these de-
velopments. They have lived we'll dur
ing all this time. They are among the
greatest travellers in the United States.
They make great deal of money and
are good spenders. A quarter doesn't
look as large to the average North
Dakotan as nickel does to many of
our friends in the old settled eastern
states. They ride in automobiles
There's one automobile to every TWEEN.
ty of our states 100000 people. There
are enough autos in Ward county SO
that all of our inhabitants could be
given a ride at the same time. While
we spend a good deal of money fol-
gasoline, John D. doesn't get it all
There's plenty left for building gooc
homes, taking vacation occasionally
buying good food and wearing gooc
clothes. There are no "pikers" il
North Dakota. If you happen to b.
one Of those tight-fsted individual!
who have become so thru condition!
imposed upon you, and you really dom
want to change, you'd better sta,
where you are. But if you want t,
share in our prosperity, if you want t.
join the greatest band of potimist
in the world and if you desire to bull
up happy home for yourself and chill
dren within few years, this is tn
spot for you and you'll receive tn
hearty western welcome. Thousand
are coming to North Dakota annual
and but few move away. There
room for hundreds Of thousands more
There's little free land left but ther
are many opportunities for those VIII
desire to rent land for few years be
fore buying and there is still consid
cradle good land for sale at reason
able figure. But our land values ar
going up quite rapidly and those VIII
buy within the next few years will b
able to look back to the time when h
made wise investment.
There's many man who is merel
eking out an existence in the lare
er cities who could come to North DE-
kota and with very small investmer
make good on a truck farm. It doesn
take long to produce a large flock (
chickens and with fresh eggs at s
cents a dozen and poultry at prese1
market prices, few hundred hens wi