The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1876-01-27

AoS
Disconsolate Observation-Disclosures a
Madison Editor and Lawyer Thinks
Of Matters and Things at the Head
of Lake Superior.
Hon. VIM. Welch who edits the Home
Diary, published at Madison, and who re-
Gently made visit to this region, publishes
the following concerning Duluth and Su-
perior.
Lying at the head waters of Lake Superior, hun
dreds Of miles north from the great rolling tide OF
baptized humanity which snrges the continent
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the two cities OF
Superior and Duluth, one, dripping from the neck
Wisconsin, and the other anchored at the belt OF
Mnnesota-one the elder sister, cold repelling and
chaste,the other the hot>bed paramour ofJay Cooke
whose barren lap and granite lure the unwary
to the embrace of Delilah whose harvest is f.
nanciai ruin and hopeless bankruptcy. The site o
Sodom is lost TO descriptive geography the name
of Gomorrah jostles that of Babylon, and Ninevah
wearily drags behind, all resplendent with departed
gores which mock their utter nothingness. The ad-
yenturous libertine who plotted and plated the
cities ofthe plains,-the shrewd speculator who
ipuatd lots the metropolis of the Assy rans
and projected schemes of commerce in defiance OF
law human aud divine, gave measure Of perpetuity
and immortality to their stupendous labors Baby
Ion mmortalized Cyrus, and conferred honors upon
Alexander. Before the prowess of their respective
hosts that proud capital fell and it's ancient splendor
lives only in legends and doubtful history. Not
vestige now remains, and its site and founder are
forever forgotten.
But the site of Duluth is still known and Jay Cooke
ls not forgotten Ii his memory Is not green it
should be- many green still treasure it proof
| that their treasures swallowed up and drowned
at point where the waters of St. Louis River have
been diverted to comminge with those of Superior.
1t mattered to Cooke that the destruction of
Superior harbor might blast vested rights and
der abortlve the abors of life>time,-was h Q not
the great lion of the north whose ter
ribie than that Of the great lake and whose pot Mt
lobby in Congress could control Presidents and Prem
iers, Committees and Congressesf The rapacious
nav OF the lndurated Cooke, has cooked and eaten
the soyeregn5 of the stolid Engishman, the paper
bonds of the Wall Street thief the pension prtance of
the one>egged soldier the lean legacy of the widow,
and the paterna bequest of the helpless orphan 10
the sterile rocks of Daluth, whose immediate suns
mts touch the clouds, and from which, looking east
ward, the great lake bounds the horizon white west
ward sterity and desolation hold high carnival hun
dredS of families have been Iured from peaceful homes
TO granite corner lots, aud upon which commerce and
trade can no more take root, than can the cereals
thrive upon the ice>bergs which mark the tomU of
the adventurous Franklin in the Arctic world.
Duluth, by courtesy is designated as port OF entry,
and lies l45 miles n N. L. of ST. Paul. and miles
north Of Superior city, in this State. 1t has no nat
urai harbor with sufficient depth of water fo1 ordi
nary vessels-Through the upper part of Minnesota
Point ship cahal ,25O feet wide and with depth OF
10 or ~ feet, has been cut, thereby connecting the
waters OF Superior Bay with the Lake. 1t Is sought
by means OF this canal to divert the current of the
ST. Louis River and pass into the Lake through
the Canal Instead Of through the natural ent ance To
Superior Bay. This object has been partially accom-
pshed, and but for the piers Superior Haroor, the
natural entrance, before now, would have been chok~
Ell up with sand causing the destruction of the uest
nalnfti harbor on the great eain OF lakes The cut
tlng OF tins ship cana and the injury caused thereby
TO Superior Harbor, in diverting channel uf the
ST. Louis River, which keeps natural entrance
en-, has led to litigation between Wisconsin and Mi IL
nesOta,-the forum to determine the issue being the
supreme Court of the United States. 1t is certain
that the cutting Of the canal If maintained, will Sc
rlously impair Superior Harbor,-render Valueiess
rights of property Su perior City,
tail endless expense upon the Government in main
tanning the canal, and forever engender hostile feels
ings between citizens Of aijouTniug States and inn
peril property rights on both sides. Since the build
ing OF the canal, Superior City property has become
worthless except prospeetively, and Duluths with II
once gen. rous and enterprsing population, is clothed
III the rags OF bankruptcy and dshonored credit
Her hundreds OF thousands OF city debt representing
the investments Of tottering age, widows and
orphans hopes, are putrid financial stencil her
business blocks and private residences tenaneos
-her grain elevator aud her docks idle and de
ed,-her saw-milis shinge>mills, planning Mills,
foundries, manufactures of sashes and door9,-her
wagon-w0rks, her machine shops, possess the silence
OF the grave. Her great blast-furnace with the ca
paciy of producing $500 tons of pig iron annually
is crumblng beneath Arctic frosts. Her Bank of
Duluth with its capital of 100000 has vanished like
the tabled valley Of diamonds Her public improve
meDts have ceased; the $4,000 expended on dixie
have been drank up by the hungry waters; the S75-
600 expended the canal, only protected by rprap
ngi the Sl25OOO expended on docks only swell the
Worthless cs pital of the Northrn Pacific Railway
Company; the $4,000 spent in dredging are visible
only in the lined pockets of operators while the $55
goo expended on break laughed at by the
winds and the waves. Her 20 miles ofgraded Is
resound only to the footballs of the fleeing victims,
and her 10 miles of side walk suggestyeof
ness and broken limbs. Her schools, her reading
rooms, her library, her daiies and weekIies and her
churches live only in the fe vered past In 1873 her
population 5000,-two-thirds have disap-
peared, and the remaining third would escape if they
SInn fIa IyAl mad has, rarf
ated more than IS per cent aud the end is yet.
As to her future, who predict it2 In her behalf
maugre revelation, the prayer Of the righteous
could not avail.
such is true picture of Duluth. But the nelan-
choly story remains to be told In a one>story un
painted tenement, a kitchen and bedroom constitut-
ton the basement with cellar, and chamUer, upon
secluded street in philadelphia away from the
marts OF trade and traffic. and horse>railways lives
Jay Cooke, once the great Mogul of tho Northern
Pacific Railway, and once the owner of 20 miles OF
trout dockage at Duluth. He but meal "a
day consisting of scanty supply of hash aud bucks
wheat Cakes He has no family P eacher, and never
reads the daily quotations of fancy railroad stocks
His garments are threadbare, and he and his tailor
have dissolved partnership. His butcher refuses him
credit. and his banker has erased his name from the
ledger. Here, with his checks bedeWed with tears,
he passes the solitary MONTHS breeding his misc
fortunes and bewailing the fate of his victims. 10
tn spirit of contrton, the world should forgive his
Mistakes if not his deceptions and cast him its
broad mantle of charity.
Whether description of the condition of this gay
financier is true not such is the popular belief
respecting it at Duluth, and such is the charity
which they extend to the author their misfortunes
They forget that Cooke loved gold more than he low,
ed glory. sir, said Sieyes to Napoleon during their
consulate with Ducos. II will reveal to you little
secret. We directors, retlecting that might go
out of office in poverty, which would be a very unbe
coming thing laid aside, from the asury a to
meet that exgence. There nearly 500 900 that
chest. As there more Directors, the money
belongs to u.s.. The rest of the story is easily told
Napoleon who loved only glory permitted his cons
sul 10 divide the spoils Jay Cooke knew the little
secret-and we venture TO believe that he could to-
day command money enough to buy all the real and
personal estate, secular aud religious, of Duluth.
What We have written of Duluth is conceived in no
spirit of hate. 1t is responsible for the financial
ruin which has overtkeu it. In the legal controversy
referred to- and citizen of Wisconsin, defer
the Courts. 1t hard, however, that citizens Of
the United States, who, than twenty years ago
cast their fortunes upon the site of Superior City, liz
vested their money built habitations and occupied
them with their families now that the northern wii>
derness is being built up, and its wealth developed,
should be robbed of natures bounty in great water
course. to build up by artificial means, and within
miles of their doors, rival town, the oshoot
of State pride minister to tie yarice and greed of
Jay Cooke, and who, in their work OF demolition,
through the aid of grants from the public domain,
carry forward great enterprises in theinteret of
sonsl aggraadizement only. The federation of such
wrong is in der ogation public Justice and in de-