The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-07-14
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
"a 4ssx 3Sgyss I, I j
It's Wonderful Resources, Vast
a Area, and its Brilliant and , 4,
~ Great Future. 80
AN ADDRESS, DELIVERED BY
HON. JOHN HOGAN OF SAINT
LOUIS BY INVITATION, BE.
FORE THE BOARD OF
e' TRADE OF ST. PAUL.


From the Daily of Sunday.
Notwithstanding the threatening appear
ance of the weather last night, q large audi
ence of merchants and other business men
assembled in Ingersons Hall last night, to
hear Hon. John Hogan of st. Louis, who had
been invited by the Board of Trade to address
it on the Material Interests of the Mississippi
Valley.
Mr.. Hogan was introduced by Peter Berkey,
Esq, Vice President of the Board. After adj
verting to the circumstances which had led to
his being invited to address the Board of
Trade, he said: an, r..e eag sss.a4r,l
The theme of his remarks, the Mississippi
Valley-was great theme, one that might
occupy the thoughts of statesmen and authors.
He felt inadequate to properly present it in
all its bearings. We are all citizens of the
Mississippi Valley-a limitless expanse, to
which the world does not present an equal. y
IT'S GREAT AREA. % ss.0I T5
Take, for a moment, birds eye view of the
Mississippi Valley-extendng from, the ALE
ghanies to the Rocky Mountains stretching
over thousands of miles of the most fertile
parts of earth, best adapted for man., Look at
its rivers and its plains-its diversified pro,
ducts and its prospects for future development,
and say, whereit is equalled: l5.f-sJ ID
Cast your eye to the source of the Ohio
among the Alleghanies. 'Seewhat . magnifi.
cent stream. What q source of wealth it must
necessarily be to the inhabitants of it's valley,
where industry of every class is found. And
its tributaries on the north drain Ohio, Indi-
ana and Illinois, reaching almost to the Lakes,
and number of them navigable. While on
the other side they reach into the heart Of Vir-
ginia and Kentucky, and through Tennessee,
away down into Alabama navigable for
steamers, and the latter, too, having tribnta-
ries that are or may be easily made nayigabie.
And yet this main stream of Q vast system of
rivers is but q tributary to- the Mississippi.
This vast and rich area, bat a portion of q
portion of the great Mississippi Valley. What
then must be the whole country drained by it,
when we can repeat the story of the Arkansas,
and Red River, and Missouri, &C., and all of it
the finest land the sun ever shone on? When
I have travelled, said the honorable speaker,
over its waters, and thought of the vastness Of
the Valley, its attractiveness as home for en-
igrants, its inconceivable future. its fast grow
ing population, wealth and power, have ex-
claimed Heaven tell me what it will not be
under American greatness and industry one
hundred years hence'" [Applause.] 1 have
watched its growth aquarter of century, and
you may suppose me fanatical when say that
lam still young enough, and expect, to live to
see one hundred million inhabitants in this
Valley. Applause. .gsTe t3a. -
..GF3 IT'S PRODUCTS AND RESOURCES. sg;
This valley-what has it not It embraces
everything throughout its vast extent. At its
mouth you have a tropical climate and pro-
ducts; higher up, the great cereal belt; and so
on through every degree Of ascent. We have
it all here we need go to q foreign soil for no.
thing desirable or necessary. All parts of it
has genial climate, and the immigrant can
choose a tropical or a northern home, just as
he prefers. It has every resource for industry
to use, to elevate man in the scale of being.
We have the baser and more useful metals
iron, copper, lead, &c-apd the precious met
ais in such abundance that were Lycurgus' iron
currency TO be adopted and made of gold, we
have enough of that. The forests and the
mines contain all we need, and if we cannot
raise silks and such articles that we are now
buying from Europe, we can do without them,
which is just as well. >. 80 s1a
/ THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR INDUSTRY.
Such are the facts. Everything necessary for
nsan-for the development of his intellect, and
the employment of his strength and genius,
But we require great deal to develop our
manufacturing interests. Our industry should
be SO directed, and so watched and fostered
by every proper appliance as to encourage it,
and tend to producing the greatest gains and
the aim and policy of craftsmanship do
everything to encourage and increase and pro-
tect industry, and thus by affording success and
gain to the producer, benefit the whole people
by the accumulation of wealth. Every dollar
lest to the producer by want of wise policy
of this kind, is a dollar lost to the whole COM
munity. 81 5'f "1E ,Ta 5ai
THE NECESSITY FOR CHEAP TRANSPORTATION.
Hence, my idea-the one which wish par
ticularly to impress upon you-is the value and
necessity of cheap transportation.
The first question the person proposing to
emigrate will ask you, is-what amount
products he can raise in your region-and
nsxt-what it will cost him to market it. If
told that he can raise twenty bushels of
wheat to every acre, but that the cost
of sending it TO market over a railroad
will almost equal the price received for
it, he will conclude to settle in some more
favored place-not SO productive, but where