The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-01-20

operation on the Mankato route in time
to move the fall crops. '...."
If the Lake Crystal route is satisfactory
We will make proposal for l. reduced
bonus. .
Mankato is moving in this matter with
its accustomed energy, public meeting
having been held last night. at which
Nh. Drake and others who propose to
take hold with him were present. It is
said that New Ulm is ready to give half
the bonus asked, and it would seem there
would be little trouble in securing the
balance inldankato and other towns in.
terestcd.
An nApochryPhal3 story ~ - the Origin
ef Proctor Knott's Duluth Speech.
washington Letter to Chicago Inter Ocean. J.
It is. = remarkable fact that Proctor
Knott got his reputation as : Wit from the
:uttcrances of single occasion, his ia
nous Duluth speech. Since the deliv-
cry Of that speech in Congress, four years
ago, he has been regarded rs one Of the
wittiest men in the nation. and people dcs.
cribe their friends as being ''as witty as
Proctor Knott" But, strange to say,
that is the only occasion on which Mr..
Knott's brilliancy has ever been fully
illustrated, and there are some facts, here
tofare unpublished, I believe, which take
off the shine from that considerably. One
Of the oracles here, one Of the kind men
who have always lived and always will
live here, and know what is going on be.
hind the scenes, told me story the other
day which explains Knott's relations
with Duluth. This gentleman stated,
and have reason to believe he told
the truth, that in 1857 John
G. Breckenridge, Governor Magof-
fin, Proctor Knott, and other Kentuck.
ians embarked in speculation upon the
idea that at the western extremity Of
Lake Superior, on line Of deep naviga.
ton that reached 200 miles further west
ward into the continent than Chicago, a
great city must eventually grow up, and
opposite Duluth, Minn., across a long,
land-locked bay, at the distance Of seven
miles, in the State of Wisconsin, they
established the town of Superior City.
The best harbor and best location for such
city were unquestionably on the Min
nosota site, where Duluth now stands.
but at the same time Superior City was cs.
tablishcd by the Kentucky spectators it
was not attainablc, being still occupied
by the Chippewa Indians, whose title
was net extinguished for some time after
ward. So they planted their city on the
inferior Wisconsin site, and spent great
deal Of money to make it grow, which it
did for while, and then came to . full
stop, and was bill of expense to it's own
ers because of heavy local taxes for i'm.
provemcnts. These the Kentucky stock
holders paid with groans Of ar guish, but
with the hope that the day would some
time come when their seat in the Tilder-
ness would connect itself with the out
side world and be the focus Of Northwest
ern colonization. But the Minnesotians
were watching as we'll as they, with
sharp eye out for the interests Of their
only possible lake port. They got Con-
gress to give land grant for a railroad
between their lake harbor and the head
Of navigation on the Mississippi-cxclu-
sively in Minnesota, from Duluth to St.
Paul. They managed to get the North.
ern Pacific Railroad Company to start
their road westward from Duluth, and it
is now completed line distance of 500
miles to the Missouri. These advances of
Duluth caused the Superior City specu-
lators to send q strong lobby to Washing
ton to make last effort to save their in
vestments, which succeeded in reviving a
land grant for railroad to form connec-
tion toward Chicago and the St. Croix
tributary Of theMississippi reaching north.
ward to the lake at Superior City. This
grant had lapsed, and they got it re-
newed. When the Duluth people heard
of the action Of the Kentuckians, they,
too, sent lobby here, in opposition to
the scheme which Was to galvanize their
Wisconsin rivals, aad got up petition
signed by thousands of citizens of North
ern Wisconsin protesting against tying
up large lumber country for the benefit
of spectators. This petition was pre-.
sented to the House by Sam Randall, and
the fight over the Wisconsin grant waxed
warm Proctor Knott was personally in.
tcrested, and it occurred to him
that he might help Superior
City some by ridiculing Duluth.
So he went to work, and spent sew
eral nights writing = funny insproptu
speech. 1t was delivered. 1t made
Proctor famous, but in striking At Duluth
he had hit Superior City, and the
cherished project of the Kentucky specu.
revival of the land grant
was knocked dead. Proctor Knott was
the man that killed it. Tie Duluth
lobby were jubilsnt. They were mad at
the ridicule Of their pet city, but they
were joyous that his speech had snuffed
out the candle of Superior City's life.
Much to his surprise the Kentuckians
took Proctor to task for his speech, for
they claimed he had ridiculcd their region
as we'll as the ''Zenith City Of the Unsalt-
ed Seas, and, to his utter astonishment
they complained that his blunder had
killed completely the speculation in
which he was their partner When the
people Of Duluth read the speech they
had it printed in their papers, and gave
thousands Of copies circulation IS 4 first.
class advertisement Of their place, They
wrote to Kentucky and invited Knott to
come to Duluth, as the guest of tho city,
promising to present him with formal
ceremonies one of the corner lots he had
ridiculed SO energetically. But he didn't
60. They say-by ''they' I mean the
disappointed partners in KNOTS specu.
lation-that his speech defeated his re-
election, for he wasn't sent back to Con-
gress the next term, but had Z vacation
Of two years. He has his seat now, but
will make no more Duluth speeches. His
reputation IS wit was bought at the ex.
pense Of his Superior City property, and
he can afford to retire on his laurels.