, 1873-09-25
Railroads and Town Sites.


contains an article SO replete with com
mon sense and timely suggestion thai
We are constrained to give our readers
the benefit OF its perusal, confirming all
the facts therein stated as matters with
in our own personal observation:
"The following truthful remarks made
recently by U. S. Senator Window, of
Alinn., to the citizens of Detroit Lake.
Mimi, and which have already been
published in several papers on the
Sound, implied more than the casual
reader might at first infer:
1t affords me pleasure to meet so many of the
citizens of Detroit, and will avail myself OF
this opportunity to say that had l never before
been convinced of the inexpt diency, not TO say
folly Of corporations attempting to build up
cities, the contrast between this beautiful and
thriving plrCe and those which the Townsite
Company that has been operating along the
line of the Northern Pacific road have made, l
would now be satisfied that the only way to
build cities is to let the people do it, unintiu-
enced by any power or motive but their own
interest. Two years ago, when encamped with
the Directors OF the Northern Pacific Company
on the shore OF your lovely lake, the question
was presented whether this town site should be
placed under the control of Col. johnson and
his friends, or remain under the mans Semt mt
of the Lake Super or and Puget Sound Compa-
ny. voted te give it to the people, and the
the thriving little city spread out III such bear-
ty before to-day proves the wisdom OF tfat
decision: can only add on inns point that IS 80
long as remain a member of the Northern Pa
cfic Board every vote Of mine shall be given
in favor of the principle that the people whose
enterprise and industry build cities shall own
them.
"No fact is perhaps better established
in the experience of all close observers
of the unparalleled growth of the West
ern States than this: That amidst all
their rapid and successful prosperity,
there cannot be found town or city OF
any commercial importance, that owes
its success and development exclusively
to the influence of railroad company.
"In every instance where railroad
company has attempted to monopolize
tho ownership of the lands constituting
a town site, their efforts to build up a
successful and prosperous city have re
suited in disastrous failure, even after
e1pending an amount of money in en-
deavoring to folce business into new
channels, sufficient to have purchased
One-half of the entire site Of some town
on their line which was already we'll
established as commercial centre, and
conceded by equal competent judges to
possess many superial natural ad>anta-
ges over the site selected by such COM
pany for speculative purposes. While
on the other hand where a railroad
company have been willing to cooperate
with the citizens of town or city which
has been generally recognized by the
people of the country as posing suffi-
cient natural advantages to secure a
population of two or three thousand in
habltants, and where the interests of the
company and the citizens were identical
by joint ownership There is not sin
gle exception throughout the Western
States where such towns have not grown
into prosperous cities, out of which the
company have invariably realized a
handsome fortune on the advance of
their property. And tLis too without
the expenditure of dollar on their part
except what was actually necessary for
the accommodation of their legitimate
business. When we compare the rapid
growth and prosperity of such cities as
st. Paul, Minneapolis and Mankato.
Minnesota; and Milwaukee, Madison
Racine and GAINESVILLE, Wisconsin; and
Dubuque, Burlington, Davenport and
De Moines, Iowa; and Springfield, Joli
EFT. Rock Island and Quincy, Illinois,
and dozens of other fourishing cities of
this character in the Western States,
with the miserable failures Of Duluth,
Brainard, Fargo, Morehead. Bismarck
and Kalama, and all such other towns,
where the companies have attempted to
own and control all or nearly all the
land on which they were built, and the
same successive failure in building
towns along the Union and Central Pa
cific Railroads, we are surprised to find
any sane man, or number of men, at
tempting again to repeat these disastrous
experiments in this Territory.
Even this costly school of experience
seems inadequate to convince those who
are now about repeating another similar
experiment at Taco ma, on Puget Sound.
We feel safe in predicting that the
amount which the Northern Pacific
Railroad, Company will be induced to
expend there, by parties directly and
indirectly interested in and about Taco
ma, and which amount they well know
must be expended, in order to restore
the shattered confidence of tie best bu-
siness men in the Territory as to the
sincerity of the future intentions of the
Company, will exceed largely what it
would have cost them 10 purchase an
entire half interest in some town already
fully established IN the confidence Of
the people of this Territory, and in
fact the whole Pacific Coast. where the
Company would not have been obliged
to have expended dollar for public
improvement outside of what was actu-
ally required for the transaction of their
own business. And out of which half
interest they would have realized more
net profit than all they will ever receive
from the sale of town lots in Tacoma.
ave seriously doubt whether the
Company will ever realize return of
the money for the improvements which
they have already commenced.
''The day was when the people OF
Puget Sound could have been induced
to have embarked in a speculation in
x,l,oI, xuou1d havo