Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-11-27
Will it Cost Anything g


not correct there ought to be somebody
in the county willing to show where we
orr, and we will give place in our col
lmns from now until election to any one.
desiring to do so. This question is an
important one, as every one will admit;
and its importance demands the attention
and thought Of the voters of this county.
We do not ask any person to take our
advice in this matter, for we are as likely
to err as any one else. All that the friends
of the measures ask is that people will
give the subject due attention and not
vote thoughtlessly. 1t is said that figures
will not lie, and figures never do lie when
properly used. The sixteen miles of
track that would be built in this county
would cost the company 100000 at least,
including the bridge across the Missis-
sippi. A large proportion of this would
be paid to citizens of this county for ties,
timber, grading, ETC.; and considering
the fact that the company will have to
get the ties for the entire line from this
end of the road, or between this place and
Sank Centre, it is plain that at least 800,
oee would be paid to people in this coun-
ty for various purposes connected with
the construction of the road. But even
this would be comparatively a small
matter. There can be no reasonable
doubt that the road would cause the in
vestment of capital and an increase of
valuation that would put thousands of
dollars into the county treasury every
year. AS we stated last week, the aver
age rate of taxation for all purposes being
about thirty mills, every additional dol
lar of valuation or property will pay
thirty mills of taxes. Only 100000 of
additional property would pay $4,000 of
taxes annually. With no additional val
uation resulting from the road, only two
and four-fifths mills on the dollar would
pay the interest on the bonds, and it
would not require very large increase
of valuation, paying thirty mills on the
dollar, to balance against that two and
four-fifths mills. Now, an important
lumber manufacturing point must and
will spring up on the Mississippi river,
north of St. Cloud, point that will saw
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
of lumber each year. The prairie coun-
try west of us clear to the Missouri river
demands such APPOINT ofsupply, and will
have it. 1t is commercial necessity,
recognized and understood by all the
railroad managers and shrewd business
men in the Northwest. The only ques-
ton is, where will that point be? Why is
it that the St. Paul & Manitoba compa-
ny has fought the Little Falls & Dakota
from the start, and now has two parties
of surveyors on the line between Sank
Centre and Morris, Fastening to locate
and build the line ahead of the Little
Falls & Dakota? For the St. Paul &
Manitoba company did not withdraw
their forces as soon as the election was
held, as was expected but they declare
| their purpose to go ahead and build the
line. The Little Falls & Dakota CON-
pany will have to put in fifteen hundred
thousand dollars, over and above all b.
muses., to build and equip their line from
Little Falls to Big Stone Lake. An i'm
mense amount of capital will be required
to build the road, yet some of the leading
railroad men of the Northwest are in the
midst of a bitter contest to decide who
shall build the road and win the prize.
This shows that in the eyes of these lead
ing railroad men, this line will be one of
great Importance, so great that the people
of most any other county in the United
States would be glad to pay a hundred
thousand dollars for such an opportunity
as is now presented to Morrison county.
If Little. Falls was the only point to
which the road could run, there would be
no necessity of paying a bonus, but un-
fortunately such is not case. Recently,
as many of our readers are aware, rail-
road movement has been put on foot to
build great through northern line of
road from St. Paul and Minneapolis to
Canada, to pass north of Lake Michigan
and via. Sault St. Mary. This enterprise
is backed up by an immense amount of
capital, and will doubtless result in the
construction of the road. Any person
familiarwith the geography of the North
west will readily see that this project has
. direct bearing upon the Little Falls &
pakota road, in respect to its eastern
terminus and connections. In fact it so
tar modifies the situation that more
southern route, passing through Sank
Rapids and ending at Ashland, Wis, on
Lake Superior, is really the most desira-
bic route. If this movement for a great
northern through line from St. Paul and
Minneapolis to the East had taken shape
six months sooner, it is doubtful if Nor
rison county would have been offered the
present opportunity to secure the con-
structlon OF the road through it's centre.
This is an age of progress, and railroads
have become the arteries of civilization.
The shrewdest business men everywhere
recognize the necessity of aiding projects
that afford better facilities for transpor.
tation. Cities, towns and counties almost
everywhere are wide awake on this cues.
ton, and Cincinnati alone is now putting
twenty million dollars into single road
Minneapolis voted $e5O,0OO last spring
for railroad purposes, and stands ready to
put az much more in the great northern
through line if built. And where this
public spirit prevails, a public treasury
with plenty of ready cash in it is nearly
always found, and orders are usually
cashed on demand; while there are few,
if any, counties in this State, that never
issued bonds for public improvements,
that can cash an order on demand at the
present time.
Fresh Oysters by the Can or Dish
at SMITH & NICHOLS.