St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1859-07-21
ST, CLOUD, STEARNS CO; MINNESOTA, THURSDAY, =

4; i. THURSDAY, },
Your Speaker hunted birds all over tho
prese at town site Of st. CLOUD in 1854 and
saw no signs Of an intention on the part of
any one to erect a building, when st.,
Cloud with its 3 or 400 buildings and
1900 inhabitants was not. then in the
brain Of either Or any of the vast assem-
blage here con ngregated. There are very
many evidences Of the enterprise and per-
severeing energy Of the people Of Mime
sofa to be found all along the banks Of
her noble rivers, and strewn with lavish
hand over her wide extended Prairies.-
The first bridge that ever spanned ''The
Father Of Waters" was the suspension
bridge at the Falls Of st. Anthony. That
graceful and fairy like structure has 30
far withstood the raging Of foods and
tempests, and though later and apparent
ly tirmer structures have been carried a.
way in the recent war Of the elements, it
yet affords safe and facile passage way
for the march of empire toward the set
ting of the sun. The Machinery now in
use in the Pioneer Steamer, cans North
was first used in the old "Goyernor Ram
sey' built at St. Anthony, for the naviga-
tioa of the Mississippi above the Falls
And so I might point you to many other
successful enterprises planned and carried
into execution by our people, all tending
to the development Of our resources and
capacities. 80 ~..:s.7E. .@@i:~ = -. :. :
Is it any wodner then that after a d.
cade Of Territorial experience, we felt
strong enough to undertake the mann ge-
ment of our own affairs, and that on the
1lth day of May 1858 another star was
added to the brig constellation on that
Banner, there representing upon its folds
to all Peoples and nations as it proudly
floats in every port and harbor of the
world, on every ocean and sea, the North
Star State, our own loved MINNESOTA p
Let US for a few moments Mr.: Chairman
and Fellow citizens turn 70 the considera-
ton of those elements necessary to the
making up of a great and prosperous
State. =: :-.s - 2<s-s :
-" Pennsy }laania, my old native home, has
her mines Of Iron and Coal and her locali-
of rich soil, her beautiful rivers and tow
ering mountains.
New York has her lake and ocean navi-
cation, her Hudson and Niagara, her fer
tile valleys and vast forests. ,--.>. s.
Ohio has her rich prairies, her lake and
navigable rivers. And so with other
States, some have an abundance of one or
more elements and corresponding pauci-
ty in respect Of others. =
1t seems to me that the first essential to
be considered is Climate. What have we
here in Minnesota? We have an atmos-
phere dry and bracing, every. breath Of
which is tonic, and one, which is now
just beginning to be appreciated by seek
crs after health. If Juan Ponce de Leon
had but known Of the existence of St.
Cloud Prairie, his life and that Of his in
fatuated followers, would not have been
spent in the everglanes of Florida, in
search of the fountain Of Eternal Youth
We have it is trne, rapid and sudden
and great changes of temperature
the thermometer often marking. an aston
ishing rise or fall, but the high degree Of
oxygenation of our atmosphere, makes our
climate vastly preferable to that affected
by the Atlantic winds, with their damps
and chills. And the fact that individuals
accustomed to out door labor in the East,
bear uniform testimony in favor of our
coolest winter weather, with the thermom-
eter at 20 or even 80 degrees below zero,
preferring it even to the mildest days in
winter on the Atlantic shore, speaks VOL
umcs in our favor. .:s| "':,
The Hygenic benefits of our air are be-.
Shining to be fully appreciated, and inval-
ids whose span Of live was visibly shorten
ing in their old homes at the East. are
seeking health and a Frightening Of days
in our own beautiful Minnesota.
{ The next thing to be considered is Soil.
To you who have laid down your hearth
stone and built over it the roof and walls
within which you have gathered the hmi-
ly Circle / need not speak. -.-' ..@. ..'.@.
AZ owduseI4 ouau Oe WITHIN the
sound Of my voice, and he wishes any in.
formation as to our soil-its fertility and
what we can produce, let me point him to
over eighty thousand bushels Of grain ship
ped from this place alone, since the open
ing Of navigation, tAis Spring-The Clerk
9f the Steamer Enterprise stated to me on
her last trip up, that they were then ma
ling their 24th tr1p from st. Anthony to
St. Cloud, and that they had had an aver
'gc OF over 1000 bushels Of grain and po-
atoes On board on each down trip. Our
Jorn oats, Barley and potatoes stand to
lay full ten per cent higher ID the market
# st. Louis, than those Of any other Wes-
ern State, and are more sought for and
laere ready Of sale. IA II u. fs,t.sas
Our vegetables, are almost .men,stros;-