The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-04-20
DakotaS Pyairies Noe Yielding Golden
Harvest Once DeSbiSed as Desert Waste

4 outstrippinE her older sisters in
many lines OF activity.
Banks Are MiIsstonea.
Some one has remarked that
i hanks are milestones along the
hlazed trail Of Industrial and agri-
1 cultural progress" Perhaps. then.
our best method Of measuring the
advancement Of our state in the last
i two decades IS BY q glance into the
1 mirror OF our financial institutions,
/ In 1905 there were in North Dakota
I 269 state banks. transacttng a bust
I ness Of SIS,AES. sSo.Ss. In 1915 there
I were SIS state banks and four trust
l companies. with total footings Of
4 S72 LIS, 4S5.1S. In this period loans
increased over $43, ZOO, 600 and capt.
tai and surplus over $1,000. 600. In
1915 the state banks showed q total
capitalization OF $40. $4,000 and de-
poSits OF SCI. 500, 600. The national
banks within the state at the same
time showed s5.To0.0o capital and
Sc. 500, 600 deposits. North Dakota
ranks first in wealth per capita
among the states OF the union. and
second in hank deposits per capita
proud record indeed for q state
AA0& Ct ANA4AN YEARS @40-
Throughout the period OF rapid
economic Development the educa-
tional needs Of youth were not over
looked. with remarkable foresight
and devotion 10 duty the sturdy
pioneers founded upon the open
prairie the University Of North
Dakota seven years before the
state itself came into being. The
founding OF the Agricultural college
for the training OF men in the art of
huShRndTy, the many other institu-
tons OF higher learning, the splendid
public school system. and the num-
erous state institutions for the care
OF defective persons, are an index
20 the splendid spirit Of progressive
ness which characterfzes the people
OF the state.
North Dakota In Step.
In the mighty march OF twentieth
century progress North Dakota has
swung into step I'm the first rank.
Every new invention in labor-saving
machinery finds ready acceptance in
her industries. every Improvement
in transportation Is welcomed by her
commercial leaders: every progress
siva idea Is sent broadcast through
her institutions OF learning; the
best in the fields OF science and art
finds audience among her people. On
her farms the latest types Of ma
Chinery have replaced the Flooding
oxen and the hand pillow; fast trans
continental trains connect her wheat
fields with the primary markets OF
the world constantly improving Il
fntersect in all directions, j
and a network Of telephone and
telegraph lines provides easy inter-
with the outside world.
Where once the kinEly bison
roamed 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 tower
ing chimney bears testimony to a
great industry; where the totem
pole once stood. a monument 70
spirits Of earth. the church spire
now raises itself against the sky the
token OF idea1ism: where the patient
Ok drew the numbering wooden cart
across the unbroken prairie, the
farmer now bowls along
over a well graded road In his
luxurious touring car. where once
put hts wares in return for the skins
u beasts. now the banker stands as
he medium through whom the mer-
shant and the populace transact
heir business.
Prairies Yield Abundantly.
Today. North Dakota Is first
.monr the states in the production
4 FAX: and her once despised
lrairieS yield annually nearly one
hundred and fifty million bushels Of
wheat. besides great crops Of oats.
Iarley and other grains. Dairying
nd stock-raisinE have not been
neglected. and the tendency toward
diversified farming In ever increas-
ne. Great deposits OF coal and clay,
My recently opened np, give prom
se OF fabulous future wealth for tia
tate. On every hand there Is ad-
'ancement. progresS-and ever the
.eopIe push on toward the goal that
xista only In dreams.
The way has not been easy. There
les been many a rough and rugged
allie In the climb Of the last forty
ears. but ever the faith or the peo-
lie has been anchored in their splen-
IA financial institutions. and ever
hese have remained arm and sound,
aileHtones along the way Of prog
ess. The First National Bank OF
fargo, first to enter the field. has
emained and grown with the state
he splendid steady increase in the
euustts OF this one bank from ST6.-
90 in 1878 co more than $4,000. 900
D 1918, $ a monument 20 its pioneer
1underH. The pioneer trapper and
Her Of the soil. the indian dEhteri
nd the buffalo hunter have long
cen praised Ia song and story. They
~ picturesque figures indeed IN our
rama. and without them much Of
" action must be omlttodg bat Jet
s reach back across the years and4
asp hands for d moment with
lose other pioneers who. through
.ur decades have been the Gounda
ou rocks az our economic structure.
.e beacon 8lHhta of Gun progress
.e aankeFa q Nerta 8akaia