The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-01-02
A, MILD CLIMATE.
December hteaMtb0at Excursions ON the
3l9At 8 Upp er M fssi "a i pDi Nh Sissg435 E8s

improved by the q tlzens of Sit, Paul and
steamboat xcursions have been frequent
during the past week. There were two
large excursions on Christmas day and on
the day following Christmas, u stillIlarger
affair for the benefit of the Orphan Asy-
| lu l ct the city. The fine steamer Mag
gle Reaney was secured and the party
steamed up to Fort Snel ling. " a meeting
was organized on board the boat during
the trip, with ex-C Coy. Ramsey as presid-
ing officer, After brief speeches by ex-
| Gov, Ramsey and Gen. n e. WI johnson.
Col. Hewittspoke st consid erable length.
The following is an extract from his
speech: S En-
4 thank you gentlemen who got up this
pleasant Christmas excursion. / have never
! missed any of these delightful annual Deem
Der steamboat excursions, nor do i wish to
miss any Of the half dozen projected for these
holidays. This is the third one in four DAYS
and that for'next Tuesday will beat them all,
Tor all want q good time on the river on New
Years day, and expect some skeezicks will
Gull on Inc for q speech then. Isdon't think
you should be mean with me ii / should have
| to wiring in one Of my old ones either then or
now (aYoice, stSuit yourself')l That's liberal.
You know that two fresh speeches in one
Applause. But need ask Whysyou gentle
men crowd this boat to-day. You come to
aid the orphans and to have good holiday
and to testify in this cheerful, RATIONAL man
ner your gratitude to the God pf our fathers
for having cast your lives in Such pleasant
places. That Your homes are in Minnesota.
/ know what's the matter with Beacher He
was out here--he saw our glorious State. He
considers Minnesota the heaven of the world,
and he knows New York is the--other place!
(Applause.) Gratitude that you live III q State
that raised forty million bushels Of wheat this
year; as good wheat as the world ever saw, and
out Of which our thousand mills make the
best -four in the world A young State but
millions of bushels ahead of any State in the
Union! A State that built two hundred and
forty miles of railroad this year, and has
twenty live hundred miles of completed rail-
way, and work 81 arranged on nearly a dozen
market to the door Of our seven
hundred thousand people, Gratitu de
for the best common school system in the
Union. and a school fund of over three and
half million dollars and school lands enough
set apart to bring eighteen million dollars.
and railroad lands at almost nominal
prices, on which from twenty TO thirty
bushels Of wheat per acre can he rails
cd. Gratitude for a humane pro-
vision in our homestead laws that
secures to each family dwelling
be theirs to remain the shelter, the castle the.
home. of the family, to cluster around it's
hearthstone in the hour Of gloom and disaster,
| as secure as they were won't to do in the SUM
shine Of prosperity. [Applausel A country
unsurpassed for health, and whose climate is
buttoo little understood in portions of our
Union, where they need to be told that thous-
ands Of farmers who have lived forsyea in
Iowa, Wisconsin, and Southern Minnesota
where they have sold their farms on which
| they have done well, and are removing three
and four hundred miles further north into
| upper Minnesota. Gratitude for a State where
law and order prevail not surpassed in this
respect by any State, old or new in our Union
"a State almost without revolver or a
| boWie-knife, and where man who would
carry either would be looked upon as a cow
| ard and blackguard; State without one
deed OF violence, where some States i could
name count q thousand; q State, into which,
| red handed cut Threats raid to carry away
! our money in sacks, but never leave our bor-
ders alive. Applause. Do I wander that
! gratitude ills your hearts these Christmas
times, and that these boats are tiled these
joyous Christmas times, with crowds made Of
evey nation, kindred, tongue and peosle under
heaven. By the way, that's one a1nont. the
| thousand reasons why love Minnesota above
| and beyond any spot of earth, and have lived
North and South, East and West. 1t is be-
| cause we have people here from everywhere
We have in Minnesota and in ST. Paul people
from every part, nook and corner Of all the
heritage OF God. Butt won't recall any more
OF the blessings and benefits for which YOU
should be grateful, or il you are not YOU
may land in country where river excursions
are novelty, no matter what Beecher thinks.
Seven years ago, on one of our annual Decem.
Der steamboat excursions, | read you from the
census returns in 1870 that St. Paul was the
lowest on the list Of cities over twenty thous-
and population; we just escaped being left;
we had twenty thousand and a bakers Dozen
| then said, mark where st. Paul will be in
ten years. See how many Of those cities now
ahead Of her will be oyertaken and beaten by
our city. Five Of the seven years passed have
been hard ones on us, but our forty thousand
people to-day and the big. push We have now
entered upon will cause you TO recall and re-
count with pride what our young city has
done and can do! Go out on the line Of our
dozen railroads this Goth December day, and
| see them plowing for the crop Of 1878. See
the incoming tide Of people that are going to
do more to develop our State in the next five
years than has ever been done since the Ia.
dams had possession. Go, and you will see
what future there is for ST. Paul if we are
only true to ourselves.
X. A. Orbison, Esq, was next called for. Mr.
Orbison stated that he came from Pennsylya.
MA last summer, mainly by the influence of
Col. Hewitt. He came an invalid and found
the climate of Minnesota had restored him
and he had settled in st. Paul He believed
that Mlnnesosa offered more advantages to
lnose seeking homes than any State In the
Union her forty million bushels Of wheat
ana her healthy climate was fast extending
her reputation, and he believed the tide Of i'm.
Inlgratlon that we would see coming here
| from the Eastern States would very far sur
pass anything we had ever had before. This
state {, had been too little understood, and the
| people everywhere should be made acquainted
with It's true worth vi q ga III Ehn bod u