: 8 MONTANA-1916 ; 



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Montana's Fertile Prairies Are the Breadbasket of the World. 



Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, a division which crosses the main range 

 of the Rocky Mountains, was electrified and great electric motors replaced giant 

 steam locomotives for the hauling of freight and passenger trains. The electrification 

 is now being extended on this road through the entire mountainous section of the 

 State and within a few months the silent power, generated by Montana's great, water 

 falls, will pull transcontinental trains for a distance of more than four hundred miles 

 and across two great mountain ranges. 



The agricultural development of Montana, although in but its infancy, is making re- 

 markable progress. During the past sixteen years, the wheat production of this 

 state has increased from 1,929,000 bushels to 33,800,000 bushels; the production of 

 corn has increased from a paltry 23,000 bushels to 1,960,000 bushels; oats from 2,568,000 

 bushels to 31,200,000 bushels; potatoes from 640,000 bushels to 6,640,000 bushels 

 and yet, despite these vast increases, the fertile soil of Montana has scarcely been 

 scratched. Of the thirty-five million acres of land in Montana suitable for farming, 

 crops have thus far been produced on less than four million acres. In the light of 

 these facts, Montana looks forward to the day when she will take her place as the 

 premier agricultural state of the Union. 



The remarkable development which this State is undergoing at the present time 

 is largely due to the energetic character of its people and their ability to look into 

 the future and to build for days which are yet to come. 



It is fifty years now since Montana's first citizens were attracted to this then 

 territory by the discovery of numerous rich deposits of placer gold, but the pioneer 

 spirit is still a predominating influence among the people of this State. The 

 gold seekers, who came to Montana in the sixties, did not pack up their worldly 

 goods and return to their former homes when they had made their fortunes here. 



