St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-07-28
Amt CLOUD AND sURROUNDING
Views OF u Stranger.

~, YAK ,.@ 81: CLoup, July 24th, 1864. =,
! EolrdK bknocRAr.-Find;ng myself in
the far northwest for the first time, it I
did not breathe, nor stif, nor say anything
it would not be sdpposabis that 1 had en-
joyed the fullness Of itiy anticipated jour,
aey.' nor thai Z had beet very we'll satisfied
with yoar Location But, l. plrpose to do
al Of the above-breathe, stif; and say d
''thlng or two,' whether appropriate Or
otherwise. .t,.A :. .H.rA ~ .s,atil;
Among the first advantages Of this see.
tion We find the climate perfectly adapted
to all who may seek il. The pure breezes
that come fresh from the rivers and lakes
the pleasant and fertile prairiss; the for
ests and shrnbbery and flowers. are well
adapted to invigorate and to lend to man
new life. The atmosphere being free from
miasna, must necessarily render the north.
west Of paramount desirability Is location.
This, together with the great abundance Of
timber; best quality Of soil, and almost
unnumbered water powers must ere long
make this section the center Of the great
west. ..,....,,., .'Is-1 ,
AS Stir About through your town And
Its suburbs L Shd,shlngs '::aell done up"
Your business streets are ample for all
practical purposes, and are full Of life and
activity. Il
The spaeisas grounds Of your public
buildings, as 'xell sstdveAme es, render
your town not only admirable, but even
env,able, to every resident of crowded
CITY. The adaptation Of the land for BALD
ing town is hardly surpassed by any seq
tfsn in the Union. These, with the ad-
vantages OF your schools and churches,
and the mechanical arts that ,yea are fast
developing, must make yours 4 command
ing town. s,--a,- 81.
:. AZ turposed to say thing or two
one very essential point in the building up
Of new town, is not to hold your vacant
lots too high, as it would retard its growth.
If An individual owns house and lot and
a few vacant lots, il is for his special inter
est to sell the latter cheap to those who will
become residents, as il would enharce the
balance Of his property more than the rise
sa sss es* lots! lots IL spa!selx settled town:
,erfere with the rapid grsw.h Of town.
this particular should not be overloe1vd;
Fo. in H. 90 g.
vorable in almost every point Of the COM
pass.
Again: Trade should be kept as much
as possible At home, as it will not only give
life and buoyancy but permaus ncy to amy
situation. The merchant should not only
give his employ 10 the mechanic aud artist,
but they in turn should reciprosute the
favor and buy at home and every resi-
dent likewise, as it will give every branch
Of trade an opportunity to enlarge and be-
comewell established. -
There seems to be ! great diversity of
opi"ion among you about railroads !; as to
where, when, how long, how soon to be
completed, cross here, Or above, or around,
&C., SC. All Of this is very natural, Of
course, for every community looks at self
interest first. But really, cannot discov-
er any point worth scuttiing about; wheth-
er the railroad crosses here or goes on up
the Mississippi, on its anticipated route
to Red River. If the 5ked-riverits and Up
per.Mississippians, are the consumers and
not producers, most certainly it is for your
special interest to urge its continuation
upon that route; while. on the othe. hand
if you influence it through = producing
section Of country, they would be accessi-
bic u supplies *much more readily, and no
doubt venn. Ayail themselves Of the oppor-
tunity. i IL not railroad sltogether,
that builds up place it is natural advan-
tages, and the Character of the surrounding
country = railroad being only an anxili-
ary, to development. N.r do railroads
want 70 be much iirithe centre Of / town.
My observations East haxe been that those
places which have :'.sprung up near de-
pots and endeavored' to divert the trade
from the local towns; have .'sprung down"
again, and with unpopular feeling enough
20 that they will stay down. '.* - *.''''
The facilities for building up your town
are much more favorable than had sup
pcsed. A stranger coming Into this place,
could not form any other opinion than,
that 'h,s xss, ~. dumping off place, :"
unless he hsppened to look around for him
self. But as I have Inflated my lungs with
the gentle breezes n the west, and drank
Of the pure waters Of the many lakes and
rivers and, rivulets to the north and north
east Of st. Cloud and have viewed the
lands with the, greatest admiration as i
have seen the lofty pines inviting the eAer
gy of the lumbermen the numerous water
powers awaiting only development to be-
stow tkeir muni6cence upon the industri
GUS workers-all Of these demonstrate to a
certainty that there is . large and desira
bic country. above you, attractive to the
husbandman, the mechanic, the artist, the
stock grower-which, when we'll develop
, q, will tend 70 enrich and make This .
eon1ercial and permanent town. judge
thatyou labor under 5a mistake, (for the
best interest Of your town, J By endeavorine
to direct oil II your immigration to : par.
ticul.r locality. To obtain the best advan'
tsRes for any place, the whole surroundina