2/8/2010:
As the year 1906 drew to a close, North Dakotans looked forward to a prosperous new year. In the past year, the crops and livestock thrived, and a record number of settlers sought their fortunes in the flourishing western frontier. An article in the White Earth Record declared that for the coming year "there was every indication that the tide of immigration would be the best in the history of the Northwest." However, in the first few weeks o f 1907, severe snowstorms, a coal shortage, and a series of exaggerated stories in the national press threatened to destroy the state's promising year.
While North Dakotans were prepared to endure the bitter blizzards that struck, they were not prepared for a sudden shortage of railcars to distribute coal throughout the state. Understandably, many feared a coal famine and a hard winter.
When newspapers in the surrounding states caught wind of North Dakota's troubles, tales of woe spread like wildfire. Newspapers throughout the United States printed dismal stories predicting mass hunger and fuel shortages. One Pennsylvania newspaper predicted that another blizzard "would result in untold loss of life and greatest suffering," while another paper claimed that "many a homesteader is certain to be found frozen to death after the storm." Other papers reported snow drifts 50-70 feet deep.
Despite the newspapers' grim reports, it was determined by the end of January that the storms were not as bad as originally thought and that North Dakotans could survive the winter without assistance. But the damage to the state's reputation had already been done. The newspapers' gloomy stories made the state sound uninhabitable, and thousands of would-be settlers gave up plans to immigrate there.
The negative press became such a threat to North Dakota's economy that the state legislative assembly adopted a resolution officially denying the exaggerated reports of food and fuel famine. On this date in 1907, the assembly's resolution appeared in the White Earth Record declaring there was absolutely no necessity for aid of any kind for the settlers in the state, saying they "possess every appearance of present and permanent prosperity." Despite the assembly's efforts to reverse the damage, sensationalism in the national media left an indelible mark on North Dakota that year.
Dakota Datebook written by Carol Wilson
Sources
White Earth Record, February 8, 1907.
White Earth Record, February 22, 1907.
White Earth Record, March 1, 1907.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 28, 1907.
Wilkes-Barre Times, January 4, 1907.
Belleville News-Democrat, January 22, 1907.
The Idaho Daily Statesman, January 20, 1907.