Evening star., 1924-12-02
GRAIN LANDS TURN
T0F|ELDS Of GOLD
Ragged, Hungry Cinderella
of Northwest Transformed
Into Princess.
By Consolidated Press.

MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, December
2.-The Northwest now offers
thrilling and melodramatic story, re-
plete with figures revealing that
facts are indeed stranger than fiction;
that the from rags to riches"
formula works out In real life, and
that the unloved stepchild sometime
does blossom into the plumed and b.
jeweled princess.
Six months ago the Northwest W.
literally ragged. Its farmers were
in dire straits and its business men
were whistling in the dark to hide
the fact that affairs were on an
extremely ragged edge. Appeals were
being made to the Government for
aid for wheat growers and discou-
tent was general. The sheriff was
literally at the door, the old home
stead was about to be sacrificed and
the child cast out into the cruel
world.
l. Coming of Delugc.
Today q crop valued at sl,G53.-
100000 has been heaped upon plat
ter licked painfully clean. The deluse
has come with suddenness that has
North and South Dakota, Montana
and Minnesota, a trif1e hewildered.
How thoroughgOiRg has been tic
change Is perhaps best Illustrated b.
the story bankers at Surrey, \. Dai:..
tell OF Il farmer who left his half sec
ton Of land and went TO California
because of rebuffs in the last threa
years.
A volunteer" wheat crop appeared
n ~ a ~
neiehbor wrote him to come bacI.
and harvest it. He did. goes tEa
story, and paid off $500 in obi
cations, and had $500 In cash To
bank.
In six short months the spectac.a
OF banks closing with the rapidit-.
OF paper boats sinking In a gale 3,
sea has changed to ore where hrt
dreds of banks in the NorthW@-'
have so much cash on hand that So
are advertising for loans.
Farmers Pay Debts.
Farmers who could no, get . -
Of -four at the country store and wE1
had mortgaged every bit of proper
they possessed TO its utmost farthiI.:
hnd themselves with chattel NOR
cages, interest, back taxes and store
bills paid. and in hundreds of cases
share, II not all OF the first mort
cages on their lands cleared up.
BusinesS is booming under this
last-rninute TRANSMISSION Of blood, and
the Northwest finds itself suddenly IN
better shape than II has been in five
years.
This magical transformation is the
result of the greatest small grain
crops in the history of the territory,
coupled with prices which few
months ago were thought impossible.
North Dakota, which last year
raised 5s,80G,000 bushels of wheat
and had to sell it for Sc cents per
bushel on an average. this year raised
15,0o0,o0e bushels of hard wheat and
Is selling It for from $1.26 to $3.50.
Montana, where thousands of farmers
deserted their farms and left In de-
spair last year, has made comeback
equally as startling. Business has
jumped so per cent within 80 days in
South Dakota, where every crop, e2
cept corn, broke all previous records.
The northwest part OF Minnesota, still
big grain territory, was equally
fortunate.
Exceed Land Value.
In northwest North Dakota. CEN
tering at Minot, crops of wheat bar
ley, rye and fax were commonly
raised this year which exceeded this
value OF the land. Land in this dis
tr!ct is listed at from $50 to SIS an
acre. This year an average OF better
than 21 bushels of wheat to the acre
was made. The crops were so heavy
that threshing has just been COM
pleted, fax shocks being pulled out
OF snow drifts.
Al Fargo the big banks are adver
tising for loans for the first time in
q years All lines of business are
reported booming.
AT Aberdeen, South Dakota. the
farmers have not yet had time TO
come into town to settle with heir
bankers, as they are still busy finish
ing hogs for Fall shipment. But
northwest South Dakota alone has
been paid s50.00o,00o for its Spring
wheat.
At Great Falls. Mont. banks arc
financing farmers in big sheen prof
ects as the result of the grain croi.
The new agricultural wealth, %
which North Dakota alone Will re-
ceive 3432, 100000, has reduced tho
loans of the Federal Reserve Bank OF
the ninth district to S5,630,eo0. the
lowest figure since the war. and g
drop of S110.00O.oo0 during the past
four years.
The average prairie quarter section
returned $4,000 In grain crops. But
in spite OF the turn OF the wheel of
fortune the Northwest farmer is
playing it safe. There will be no
silk shirt epidemic. He has been
burned sufficiently in the last three
yAars to learL a lesson.