The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-12-17
An VNWISU ECONOMY.

Pacific Railroad, which pours its traffic
into Chicago, so soon as the Northern
road should be completed. Hence We
End coming from the press and leading
public mon Of that city, steady, per-
sistent and determined opposition to
the movement for obtaining a loan of
the credit Of the government Ito, the
Northern Pacific. This opposition
arises solely from narrow, selfish mo-
tives. The Union Road having been
generously. .iprovidedI. for by Congress,
20 that its completion is..only question
ofa few months, Chicago wishes to
stzangle al other projects which would
produce competition or secure the de-
vslopnent Of other portions Of the
country not specially tributary to it.
The Evening Post, in an article OPP
posing this appropriation, says:
Whether Chicago suffers OF Minnesota
sudsrs; though The Red River of tho North
eAd the Assiniboine never sec . settler;
though the Northern road remains forever
onb1ilt. this great dow Of money out Of
The Treasury must b stopped. All these
projects must wat.
III. would be sublime in its degree
Of sslfdsuial, it would be grand in its
willing subnissiou to the stern DEGREES
Of national economy, were it not for the
little fact that Chicago has already re-
ssived Ill it could ask for in this d.
Esstisa. This sonevhat dims the lus.
tzs Of it, exalted spirit Of sslf:abnega-
lien.
But even vsrs Chicago in tho same
satege.y - Minnesota and the other
States intsReapeA in the Northern Pa
eide, the economic argument of the
Pit snbsdiss . gross fall.cy. To
claim that i, vsuld be better for the
national Treasury that tho Northern
line should never b built and that a
sieh and M extent Of country should
remain ssssttlea and unproductive,
rather than that tho money necessary
for the carrying out Of = great enter
prise should BE- loaned, is the reasoning
Of . pigmy. It Is without statesman
ship, without appreciation Of Our ma
tiooal wants and resources, and without
the impress of even ordinary obscrva-
ton.
appropriations for this enterprise
a1s to bs withheld, Why not cut off
those for every other improvement p
Let the thing be equal. According to
tho Post tho more retrenchrent of this
kind that il done the better. Dispense
ahnaeAA4.--:A Al -n~---:AA.. A. A
proprntons. Let tho nation cease de-
vsIopios itself, and st.gger along, gen.
ssatioa after generation, under this
misery, pensy -vise-and- pound.foolish
policy, until it has paid the national
debt Unless this shall be done, the
Northern Pacific comes in with first
tight.
Again says tho Post:
"shavs IN enormous debt; between tho
payment Of it and national dishonor We
must choose.
Why not make the uational debt pay
itself? 1t can be made to do so, but
net by the means set forth by the pa
per just quoted from. 1t cannot be
done BY letting one-third Of our coun-
s,y lie idle while the burden is impos-
I'd upon the remainder. The credit
extended to the Northern Pacific Rail-
road would not add to the national
debt. 1t would be giving one dollar
and receiving back ten. The money
The government would loan would be
returned to it with usury.
This country has not its mission for
this day OF this year. Men who make
the laws, and those who give express
sion to the needs Of the people as jour
nalists, must recognize this fact. The
future must be considered and when
10 build to-day il must be with view
to what tho results will be ten, twenty
OF aey ysars hence. The dollar called
for now must not appear in such pro-
portions - to obscure the hundreds
which vsuld be its return 4 score of
ysass hence. Individuals invest for
the future, Why should not the nation 7
The did ssked for tho Northern Pa
sile Railroad il only loan. It Is a
pledge Of he government to meet the
payment ef'~the interest on the CON-
pany's beade to : certain stipulated
amount. fhs claim for this aid can be
placed % As'highe.t grounds both Of
night and szpedieoey. OF right, be-
cause the people most directly interest
I'd are nov contributing, by way Of tax.
q, g the loan given the Union line
Of expeaieney, for the reason already
referred to-that Of development The
whole country would be benefited by
tho construction Of this road, as it would
add to the Union, with wonderful rapid
ity, new, prosperous and productive
States, carved from . vast area that i.
now untitled and uninhabitcd. How
long can the government afford to lei
that great stretch Of fertile land lie so
How long would it he wise 70 let it re-
main eithout means Of communication
q settlementl Is not every day az
actual loss far beyond what would b.
required 70 dot it thick with farms