The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-01-12
GOVERNORS MESSAGE.
rConcluded.1

lConcluded.] '
wisdom OF the courts, with no hope Of its
immediate solution. 10 these proceedings
the State is not party. and believing, as
do. that it has the right at this moment to
lands and to the franchises Of the
company which has allied to build the
road. and that it has, as the result of this
title, plenary power to coerce the settlement
means. such coercion failing, to ensure the
completion OF the grand system Of railroads
inaugurated with SO much wisdom so MANY
wears ago, earnestly urge that you take
such legislative action as will bring shout
these results.
The company now in default has been lib
orally treated by the State. 1t has had sew
eral extensions Of the time within which it
was to construct the road. The last opera
tive extension was made by the act OF March
II, 1873. / say Cooperative extension' be-
cause the act OF March s, 1874, by which Ill
extension was offered, never became effec-
tl,al, for the reason that the company has
not accepted the terms and conditions there
of, as it was required by the express Ian
glage of the statute to do within four months
after the approval of the act. The time
granted by the act OF 1873 expired January
/, 1874.
The importance of these roads cannot be
over-stated. The line from Watab to Brain
erd will afford direct connection for the
Northern Pacific road with portions of this
State, and with railroads leading to the sea-
board, with which its present connections
are circuitous and expensive. The extern
Sion from St. Cloud to st. Vincent will tray
erse region second to none in the State for
its varied resources-a region to which i'm
migration has been arrested by the repeated
MIN re- VIII i1h houo
enced concerning the construction OF this
road, by the withdrawal of the railroad
lands and by doubling the price of the gov
eminent lands within the limits of the grant.
Other considerations ofgreat moment p:ess
for the solution of this question. The Can
adam Government has taken direct action
in furtherance of its policy to build rail-
road to the Pacific Ocean, It's believed that
were the railroad opened to St. Vincent it
would be speedily extended to Fort Garry by
that government and that the construction
OF q railroad thence westward would
be commenced Immediately. This will not
be possible until Fort Garry has the railroad
connection. The fertility and resources of
that imperial domain which stretches from
Lake Winnipeg to the base OF the Rocky
Mountains can he made powerful forces in
own State.
In your legislation upon this subject you
should consider the claims of the foreign
bvndholders whose money has brought
these works to their present stage, in the
spirit of fair dealing, which is nowhere so
becoming as in great State dealing with pri-
"vate interests.
But if The representatives of these inter-
,ests cannot or will not give substantial as
surances--something more tangible than
mere promises, upon which we have already
relied too often.- -that they will do this
work without further delay and comply
with the legislation by which this State last
winter endeavored to protect its own citi-
zens whose unrecompensed labor and capital
are now locked up in this inchoate enter
prise, thenit will be your duty to assert all
:: Che rights of the State to the lands and
franchises and turn them over to any agency
which will give the like assurances, and
which will accept the provisions OF the act of
; Congress approved June %, 1874, which, as
am informed, have not as yet been accept
ed by the company now in default.
CHEAP TRANSPORTATION.
The agitation OF the question of cheap
j.. transportation has caused many of the best
minds to turn for relief to the system OF
water communication, for which this coun-
try presents such extraordinary natural adj
ments have been pressed upon the attention
. of Congress, and will doubtless soon be
) dealt with in practical manner. The feas-
Utility of connecting by canal the Mississippi
or some of its tributaries with Lake Superior
has been the subject of considerable discus
sion. It is not surprising, in the absence of
. exact scientific information, that the most
= diverse views should be entertained as to
its practicability. The advocates of this i'm
Provement assert with entire confidence that
it is feasible. The importance Of such q
"A glance at the map demonstrates
terest to this sss sf tSss the the
E question whether this connection is prohib-
tied by any insurmOuntable obstacles should
be definitely settled. l recommend there
fore that a survey he made for this purpose:
| am informed by engineers that it need not
strated thereby that such canal can be con
structed at moderate expense, we shall
then be able to give urgent advocacy to its
adoption in any general undertaking into
which the Unit States may enter in thi:
r speot
Among the many natural advantages with
which nature has endowed our State is the
remarkable conveyance of the shores oil
Lake Supe rior at its western eud, forming a
harbor Of great extent and perfect safety.
Wisconsin and it is greatly to be desired
that each State shall enjoy them with the
most perfect amity. The efforts Of our peo-
pie to utilize their harbor facilities efforts
which the terminus of two railroads in this
State at that point and the existence of the
most important city on that lake have rem
dered imperative impeded in their in
ception by some embarrassments which were
fairly and legally surmounted.
A brief statement of facts is necessary to
an understanding of the present condition OF
this important interest. In 1870 the city of
Duluth began to excavate ship canal
across Minnesota point near its base.
While this work was in progress,
che United States commenced q
suit in the Federal courts to restrain the
rosecution of the improvement ON the
ground, among others, that such = canal