Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-04-22

900. In 1916 the state banks showed
a total capitalization of $~10,194,000
and deposits of sol, 500, 900. The ma
tional banks within the state at the
same timed showed s5,7O0,00O CAPT.
tai and $63,500.00 deposits. North
Dakota ranks first in wealth per CAPT.
ia, among the states of the union, and
a proud record indeed for a state not
yet thirty years old.
Throughout the period Of rapid
economic development, the educa-
tional needs of youth were not over
looked. With remarkable foresight
and devotion to duty the sturdy pio-
neers founded upon the open prairie
the University of North Dakota. seven
years before. the state itself came in
to being. The founding Of the Agri-
cultural college for the training Of
men in h art OF husbandry, the
many other institutions of higher
learning, the splendid public school
system, and the numerous state in
stitutions for the care of defective
persons, are an index to the splendid
spirit of progressiveness which char
a%cterizes the. people of the state.
North Dakota III Step.
In the mighty march of, twentieth
century progress North Dakota has
swung into step in the first rank. Ev-
cry new invention in la~bor-saving ma
chinery finds ready acceptance in her
industries; every improvement in
transportation is welcomed by her
commercial leaders; every progressive
institutions of learning; the best lin
the fields of science and art finds
audience non her people. On her
farms the latest types of machinery
have replaced the plodding oxen and
the hand pillow; fast transcontinental
trains connec her wheat fields with
the primary markets of the world
constantly improving highways inter-
sect in all directions, and a network
of telephone M telegraph wires pro-
! vides easy intercourse with the out
side world.
Where once the kingly bison roam
! ed the prairies unmolested now the
waving grain beckons to the reaper;
where once a slender column of blue
smoke curled lazily from some
squaw's campfire, now the black
stream pouring from a towering
chimney bears testimony to a great
industry; where the totem-pole once
stoodt a monument to the spirits of
earth, the church spire now raises it
self against the sky, the token of
idealism; where the patient OK drew
the numbering wooden cart across the
unbroken prairie, the prosperous
farmer now bowls along over a well
graded road in his luxurious touring
car; where once the factor Of the
trading post dealt out his wares in re-
turn for the skins of beasts, now the
banker stands as the medium through
whom the merchant and the populace
transact their business.
Prairies Yield Abundantly.
Today, North Dakota is first among
the states in the production OF fax;
and her once despised prairies yield
tarnnally nearly n hundred and fifty
million bushels Of wheat. besides
great crops OF oats, barley an other
grains. Dairying and s~tock-raising
have not been neglected, and the
tendency toward diversified farming
is ever increasing. Great deposits Of
up, give promise Of fabulous future
wealth for the state. On every hand
there is advancement, progress-and
ever the people push or toward the
goal that exists only in dreams.
The way has not been easy. There
has been many a rough n rugged
mile in the climb of the last forty
years. but ever the faith of the peo-
pie has been anchored in their splen-
wv OAbo oAN SSS
these have remained firm and sound,
milestones along the way of progress.
The First National Bank of Fargo,
first to enter the field, has remained
and grown with h state. The splen-
did steady increase in the deposits of
this one bank from $4,000 in 1873 to
more than $6,000,O00. in 1913. is a
monument to its pioneer founders
The pioneer .trapper and tiller of the
soil, the Indian fighter and the buffalo
hunter rave long been praised in song
and story. They are picturesque fig
ures indeed in odr drama, and with.
out them much Of the action must be
omitted: but let us reach back across
the year and clasp hands for a mo.
ment with those other pioneers who
through Jour decades have been the
foundation rocks of our economic
structure, the beacon lights OF OF
progress-the bankers of North Da.
kota.
Say = Liberty Bond-
5 A neglected opportunity never call.
] again.
A husband in hand is worth two
that are beyond control.