The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1921-07-07
THE RESULT OF A
RIGHT IDEA
Continued from Page One)

: edge OF the prairie: good land, bU
not the sort to stand granting tn
way black dirt will. Tween shor
9 crops and chinch bugs and arm
worms, we were pretty badly crimp
ed in this section twenty to twenty
five years ago. In 1902 our tota
bank deposits were S52O,0OO. Today
they're over S4,0OO,0 600. Not al
farmers money, of course, but i
practically all came from the farms
"Just about all Holstein here, ism
it?" | asked.
Somewhere around 800 herd:
within a ffteen-mile circle round the
town. You might put down in your
notebook that Mortified had the first
Holstein club in America outside the
National Association. We've never
made a gambling game out of our
breeding but have kept on a strictly
utility basis. We've gone to good
type, good individuals, rather than
speculative records. When our stuff
is sold it goes to real buyers. None
of it stays on the farm where it was
bred-just run through a sale at big
fictitious figures to make a catch mar
ket for suckers. We don't do business
that way. Plenty of buyers have been
coming after our cattle, but we serve
our neighbors first. Our first auction
sale was held last fall, 100 head that
made an average of S507 a head.
Some mighty fine stuff"
"But how did it all start?" l asked.
"How did almost everybody come to
take up H~olsteins?"
He laughed. you'd better ask
Will Schilling that. He's the man that
put it over"
/ acted on the suggestion, but not
before getting this little story:
Back in 1897, at the Rice County
Fair, W. F. Schilling, then editor of
the Mortified News, was sitting on
a bale of hay outside one of the
tents with Tom Delaney, an impor-
ter of Percheron horses.
"Tom," the editor suddenly asked,
'where do you get those horses of
yours?" What makes 'em worth SO
much more than ours?"
Bring 'em from LIE Perche,
France" Tom answered. They're
worth more'n our'n cause they're
quadrupeds." And he went on
20 explain how LIE Perche was a
breeding center for ~Percherons, and
now it had been made famous by the
of its equine product. He
lid not notice the glow of a new idea
n the editors face.
"Why couldn't we do something
ike that here?" was the quick ques-
ion when Tom had finished.
"Why couldn't we what?" The old
was a little deaf.
make Mortified famous for some
,reed of stock. Holstein cattle, for
nstance," replied Schilling.
Croft" Tom retorted. eff one man
took up Holsteins, another'd go
o breeding Jerseys, just to have
iomething different. We're like that
n this country. We've got more in
dependence or ideas or cussedness or
omething."
Gust your notion" the editor an
81 believe a great dairy and
,reeding center can be built right
ound Mortified. There IRE the
win Cities for a market, growing
all the time. This is a natur-
/ dairy country, rolling soil, well
rained. lots of good water. 1t will
row clover like a weed, good corn
nd grain. but it won't stand steady
ropping with no return to the land.
we've been doing too much of that,
nd that's the trouble with our farms
ow. We've got to build 'em up and
uild a permanent agriculture thatH
upport good homes and make high
lass citizens. l believe dairying IS
ust what we need, and | believe the
FORTIFIED News can put this commu-
ity idea over. Watch us boost Hol-
Through the Mortified News and
V conversation whenever he met a
or neighbor, by a talk when
yer he could get a group of North
ED folks together, w. F. Schilling
ook up the fight. There we're a few
airy cows in the community, mostly :
{ mixed breeding, so that the en-
1usiastic young editor was not al {
,gether bearing a banner with a t
device. Nor did he carry the {
amer alone. The Mortified Com !
lercial club was, even in those days, t
n earnest group of forward-minded /
.tizenry who saw that the town had G
S roots in the country. They got q
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