The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-07-27

newspaper and also the local news OF
spontaneous origin published herein.
All rights Of republication Of oil other
matter herein are also reserved.
Must There Be an Exodus?
Suggestion by DR.. Elwood Mead,
federal reclamation commissioner
that the western half Of the Dakotas
and the whole eastern slope Of the
Rocky Mountains must be evacuated
by tens Of thousands Of people be-
fore agricultural prosperity can be
restored, comes as something Of .
shock to even those persons who have
been advocating . return to grass as
q part Of our agricultural program.
It suggests . harsh alternative be-
cause no one likes to give up his home
and seek new fields. Most Of US. like
shakespeares hero. would rather
bear those ills we have than fly to
others which we know not Of II 1t Is
humanity possible to do 20.
It would b infinitely better for
all affected by current conditions to
move II, by 50 doing. they can bene-
fit themselves.
Putting it in better light than
the enforced breaking Of home ties,
is q comparison with the spirit OF
pioneers who settled this part Of the
country in the first place. They came
here because they felt they could
better themselves by so doing. The
rich prairie lands beckoned and they
came.
They were justified in SO doing. as
the records of early agricultural pro-
duction prove, but there Is no denying
that those records show . continued
decadence and the question now Is
what to do about It. .......
Americans never have been reluc-
tant to move il they felt It was to
their advantage to do so. That still
IS the dominant spirit. Thousands
have made inquiry Of the Tennessee
Valley Authority, for example. Of the
prospective opportunities In the area
covered by that great governmental
experiment. They are willing to 60
there If, by so doing, they can win
new opportunity.
From . state standpoint, no one
will welcome . general exodus from
North Dakota. There may be and
there are alternatives to such de-
velopment. Our soil still IS unmatch-
ed In fertility. All 1t needs Is water
to make this q real garden spot. II
and when it Is obtained, North Da-
kota will bloom like the proverbial
rose.
Ono cannot blame DR.. Mead for ex-
pressing Encouragement In the face
Of existing conditions. The spectacle
presented by parts Of this once lush
land is enough to make angels weep.
But neither is there reason for adopt
ing . bearish attitude too soon. Our
possibilities still are tremendous and
we are beginning to find methods Of
realizing them.
A large part Of our cultivated land
must be restored to grass, Of course
II not the buffalo grass which DR.
Mead mentions, then other and more
productive grasses. He Is right In
asserting that we cannot achieve the
kind Of agricultural development We
have attempted. He may be right IN
asserting that, temporarily, this land
cannot support the people who have
tried to live on 1t.
But there Is no denying that Il
can be made to do 50, and Thousands
moro with them. Our industrial pos
sibilities still are practically untouch-
ed and our agricultural opportunities
have by no means been exhausted.
We must agree that 1t Is better tc
have fewer and more prosperous peo-
pie than q statewide communion Of
misery, but there Is ample ground fo'
the belief that, eventually, We viii
not only have more people than VI
have now but that they will be u
prosperous as those anywhere.
Because our light has been limited
we may not have operated In thu
manner best calculated to achieve
our highest destiny, but adversely s
an excellent teacher and it hal
brought home to US more and hettel
lessons than that Of loss Of faith
accompanied by an indiscriminate re.
treat.