The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1852-01-29
The Commercial Position Of 81. Paul.
1.-THE Railroad Policy.

The laws of Commerce are innnutable.
The point of extensive supplies, exchanges
and rrsnshipnents, must be place of trade
and commercial importance. Nothing can
prevent il. II it be sand bank, no matter,
Art will cover It with payements and side
walks. IL i, be a quasmire, Labor with its
thousand hands, will 6ll il up aud prepare
it for the necessities Of business; if il he a
rock, human industry will hsw it in pieces
and transform il into stores and palaces for
merchant princes. The existence and
growth Of New Orleans, AT the lower end
of the Mississippi river, to collect and store
and lisenlogue across all seas aud oceans
and to all the parts Of tho world, the an
nuaI production Of the Valley of the Mis-.
sissirpi and its tributaries, and to receive
and send back again through the whole ex-
tent OF that valley, tho supplies which those
productions are exchanged for, 10 not more
indispensable than is the existence and
growth Of Saint Paul at the upper end Of
the river, to perform the corresponding
! functions Of trade, commerce, tranship,nent
and storage. ... ....t
! The obstruction Of the upper Mississippi
! by ice, for six months Of the year, will rem
/ der the existence Of large city, well stored
with goods, n, the head Of nav igation, a
matter of absolute necessity, to supply the
demands Of trade, as well as to receive and
store the agricultural! AMI manufactured
products of our country, during half the
year, while all access to Eastern and South
ern cities, is completely cut off. This ad-
vantage, Obvious to keen-eyed Capital, can
not fail to draw into Saint Paul, all needfuI
capital for every mercantile aud manufac-
turing enterprise--an advantage which 1t
enjoys above al! other towns upon the river,
aud Of which il is not likely soon to be de-
/ prived. We regard the construction Of n
railroad parallel to the Mississippi river, to
connect with any of the lines Of railroad
extending eastward, TO be very ch,nerical
scheme, for yet these many years. When
The business of the Upper Mississippi, shall
correspond in amount with the business and
travel upon the Hudson, there will be more
sense and reason in holding railroad con-
ventions: San, Paul will then lie ready,
cooperating with ST. Louis, Galena, Chi
cago, Milwaukee and other business places
South aud East, to take the subject in hand
and have the work accomplished. Ia The
meantime, we havs not the slightest ohjec-
ton that the gassing politicians Of Dubuque
or Of ANY other town back amongst the
sloughs, that affects to he interested in The
trade Of this river, should vary their usuaI
winter employment Of making lines Of
paper steamboat packets, and resolving
their orn to be the great emporium of the
Northwest, by building paper railroads from
their own place, straight through, by the
great bend of The Minnesota, to the Red
river Of the North, and supplying the road
with paper depots and station houses aud
paper trains and paper locomotives, pro-
PEELED by gas. - ...
| Our attention has been called to this sub
Ject, by report which we find in The d.
huqus Tribune Of January 18th, Of rail-
road Convention, for "R abroad from Du-
buque to pembins," held In the getty of
Dubuque" a "city," famous for resolving
much and accomplishing but little. We
make All extract from the report, less for
any thing important in it, than to show tha,
the stauuch old veteran of the Black Hawk
War, Capt. John A. Wakefield, now Of
AIamakse county, Iowa, was there, and no.
bly, vindicatcd our Saint Paul.
"Mr. Davis alluded to the position and
Importance Of 81. Paul, and expressed the
opinion that any project for n railroad to
enter Minnesota, should not be determined
without considering that place.
| MIR. Wakefield, of AIamakee, was gla,l
to hear the suggestion of Mr.. Davis in re-
gard to ST. Paul. lie Mr.. W. had been
a resident Of that city, and was acquainted
with its position and importance. In his
opinion il would be better to- construct the
proposed road 10y the way Of ST. Paul than
by the way of The Great Bend Of the ST.
Peters. He considered the road as Of great
importance; il presenting high claims TO the
consideration Of Congress, aud desired that
its friends might be agreed and harmonious,
and arrange their plans in the best manner
for success. @ na
Mr.. Davis moved that "ihe Great Bend
of 81. Peters" be struck ont Of the Memo
rial, and "upon the most eligible anil sntis-
factory route," be inserted. Judge Lowell
opposed the motion at some length, and
gave as reason for doing 80, that Miiwau-
kie would construct a road to ST. Paul,
which city would also have connection by
Railroad with the St. Louis river, and Lake
Superior. Il was better for Dubuque, there
fore, that the proposed road to Red River
should 90 by the Great Bend of the ST. Pc
tere. - v faa ~ nF
The question being taken upon Mr., Da-
Wis motion, il was negatived. The res
olu,ions AMI memorial were then adopted
asreportrd.
Aiier some informal conversation, in re.
gard To the NEST appropriate time and place
for holding Convention Of the Northern
Counties upon the subject Of the Red Riv-