St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1860-12-06
Our Rail Road Policy.

Cant you cool with lemonadey
Our Rail Road Policy.
The Legislature Of our State is soon to
convene, and it is well known that our
State Rail Road Policy will require and
receive some additional legislation. We
heve no peculiar interest in the manner of
the settlement Of our State Rail Road
Bonds, for we shall be affected the same
as every other section of the State; but, by
virtue Of our commercial position and the
large district Of country that seeks this
point for = market,we have right, and
ought to insist on having some better facil-
tiles than we now possess. or that which is
contemplated in the completion of the Road
to St. Anthony and St. Paul, to move to
market the immense amount Of grain that
in few years will be shipped from this
place, and thus enable our farmers to get
remunerating price for their labor and
capital. While we are willing to concede
to St. Paul and other commercial points
all they are cutitled to or their necessities
may demand, yet we will not quietly fold
our arms and allow them to alter our pres
ent railroad system, and project new
routes under the direction of the State,
which ignores our position, and which
would prove ruinous to us, and bad policy
for the State. The programme Of Saint
Paul, and which receives some support
from St. Anthony and Anoka, is to divert
the terminus Of the Minneapolis & Cedar
Valley Rail Road from Minneapolis to St.
Paul, and then form junction with the
Northern Pacific Road, and then curvct
off at Anoka, and form connection with
Superior. The evident intention Of this
arrangement is to force all of the portion
Of the State, lying north and west Of St.
Paul, to that city for market, embracing
district Of country which they would
thus make tributary to them equal to two
thirds of the area of the State. We have
no objections to a large commercial city
being built at St. Paul, for our State pride
and our general interest would favor it,
But we do object to having that project
contaminated at our expense. A glance
at the map Of our State, will show that
two-thirds Of the superficial area Of the
State lies north Of St. Cloud, and has near
" as many square miles as all Of tho New
England States combined. We have six
ty miles on the upper Mississippi adapted
TO farming, north of which are extensive
prairies. West of us we have the rich val
leys of the Sank and Red River, extern
ding along course Of five hundred miles,
embracing an area Of about sixty thousand
square miles Of country unsurpassed in
richness of soil and its adaptation to raising
wheat and all other products incident to
this latitude. We ought to add further
that practically the aourishing settlement
at selkirk and large portion of the Brit
ish Possessions occupied by the Hudson's
Bay Company, are tributary to this place,
as place Of trausshipment Of their goods,
and as an outfit for many of their supplies.
The head Of Lake Superior lies north of
this place, and it would make but slight
DETECTION to commence the Superior Road
at this town, and it would require less
miles Of road to construct than would be
necessary if the diverging point is at Ano-
ka. By having the Superior road connect
with St. Cloud, the large extent Of coun-
try which I have described as tributary to
this place, would then have choice Of an
Eastern or Southern market My object
in this communication is to call the atten-
ton Of our citizens to the interest We have
at stake in the coming Legislature; also
to suggest the citizens should hold NEE
tings and compare views, relative to what
is necessary to be-. done, to provide for
that great public necessity, an outlet to ST.
perior; to let our Representatives know.
what We shall expect At their hands, i
have merely glanced It some Of the prof.
cots contemplated in the Development Of
our Rail Road system, and other matters
connected Herewith, and with your par
mission i will eluoidate my views farther
on this subject in your next sisps. 15s:
'9'roLIoK.