, 1878-10-03
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, ISIS.
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC R. R. co

annual meeting of stockholders IN
the above named company was held
in New York. Evidently the COM
panv is satisfied with the manage
ment of its affairs heretofore, by the
old board Of directors, as they were
all reelected. 1t was decided to
hold on to their branch line across the
Cascades at all hazards; and, from the
directors annual report, a synopsis
OF which we append, it would see m
that the corporation is hardly in that
puny condition in which it has been
repres enteG to be, in order to work
upon the sympathies of credulous
voters:
"The gross earnings for the year
we're S1,193,3Sl, and the expenses
were $63l, 1902, leaving a net balance
of Sl69,3Sl over last year. The
several divisions Of the road have
been operated without accident and
maintained in good order, and the
condition of the road is fully up to
the average of railroads in the coun-
trv. On account of wear and tear,
l40 miles of new rails will soon be
laid between Brainard and Fargo.
The operations of the land depart
ment have been active, three-quar-
tiers of million acres having been
disposed of. In nine counties of
Minnesota and seven counties of Da-
kota, intersected by this road, the
area under cultivation this year was
100000 acres, of which $1,000 acres
were in wheat; and the new break,
ing already accomplished in the same
counties will add 10000 acres for
next years crop. Population has in
creased 40 per cent. in nine months
and the wheat product has been
most bountiful. For the sale Of 749.
633 acres of land there were received
$3,319, ,432, and timber sales in Min
nesota and Pacific divisions have
realized $24,350."
1t has been suggested by a cotem-
porary that Congress would give ev,
idence of wiser craftsmanship by
granting the Northern Pacific about
100000 in cash, if it MUST have
aid, than by keeping 100000 acres
Of valuable lands locked up from
settlers until such time as this com
pany can, by its cold'molasses pro-
cess, build the proposed road.
Nobody doubts that the road will
be immensely beneficial to the coun-
ry at large, when it is built, and no
'ne is unwilling to allow the n. P.
R. R. Co. the privilege of building
It. But few years. experience in
Iuiet submission and subsisting up
IN promises have convinced major.
ty of the masses that it is not the
policy of this company to complete
is road as long as it can hang back
md make more money by NOT doing
10. Senator Mitchell and Delegate
Jacobs never opposed this road;
hey merely desire to lay upon the
such restrictions as would
protect the settlers of this great
Northwest in their RIGHTS, and IN
SURE the completion of the road
within reasonable time. And yet
such servile tools as the New Tacoma
Times" and other monopoly organs,
would have candid readers believe
that these men, and in fact all who
would lay so much as a straw in the
way Of unrestricted and unlimited
monopoly, are mortal enemies to the
best interests of the country-be-
cause they are "opposed to railroads.
and would "throttle enterprise"
We have heard of great many
individuals land seen a few any one
of whom would ride a free horse to
death-especially if the animal were
borrowed. The Northern Pacific
folks seem disposed to press their
advantage over the people to the
squeezing of the last cent; but we