Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-01-16
A New Railroad Movement.
Little Falls, Jan. Is, 1879.

j Little rails, Jan. 10, 1919.
Editor Transcript: -.
I am pleased to learn from oommu-.
nications that have recently received
from Sank Centre that the people of
that place have become tired Of wait,
ing, and have concluded to make a
move toward getting the long project
ed railroad from Little Falls to Big
Stone Lake via. Sank Centre, Glen
wood and Morris, built at no distant
day. In my opinion we should second
the move and back it up as strongly
as our means will ALLOW. The future
greatness Of Little Falls depends much
on the building of that line of road.
While the road that we now have is
a good thing, that would be much
better one, as it would insure the
speedy improvement Of the magnif~
cent water power at this place. This
road was projected seven years ago,
and an act was passed in the session
Of 1872 making it branch line of the
St. Paul & Pacific. But by the
partial failure of that company, and
the general depression Of business and
of railroad enterprises especially, and
the ravages of the grasshopper, the
project has been smouldering for some
years past, but now the grasshopper
has gone and a period Of unequalled
prosperity is beginning to dawn upon
our State at large, and especially on
the frontier portion. From the article
you copied from the Stevens County
Tribune in your issue of the 9th inst.
it would appear that the people are
waking up to the great importance Of
this much needed line of road all along
the projected line. The editor of the
Tribune estimates that Stevens county
alone would ship seven or eight hum
bred thousand bushels of wheat to
Duluth over this road the coming sea.
son, If it was built. There are about
ten counties that would ship as much
wheat each over this road as Stevens
county would, making seven or eight
million bushels on the start, and an
increase of rs per cent a year for sew
eral years can reasonably be expected,
And it is no vain, speculative idea to
calculate that large and extensive
Touring mills would be erected at this
place to convert great portion of that
vast amount of wheat into -four, and
the -four would be shipped East in the
place of the wheat. And this would
be the natural point for manufacturing
lumber and machinery. of all kinds to
supply that large region of country.
While Morrison county would derive
greater benefit than any other on this
line of road, our people, as a general
thing, do not appear to be awake to
the enterprise as they should be.
We shall be called upon to aid the
enterprise in some way, probably by
giving bonus In bonds for $4,000,
or more if necessary. We cannot ex>
|pect to secure all the advantages with
out an effort. Without that road Lit
tie Falls must in the nature of things
have steady and healthy growth, and
in time become an important point
but with that road put in operation
Little Falls would soon take ITS place
and rank among the live cities of the
Northwest. A meeting will soon be
called at Sank Centre to- organize a
company to build the road, at which
Morrison county should not fail to be
we'll represented.
l have merely given glimpse at
some of the features which consider
important connected with this subject;
and shall expect you to follow it up
with series of editorials, clearly shows
ing the great interest Morrison coun~
ty has in this enterprise; and I may,
as l get little leisure, open up the
subject again myself.
N. RICHARDSON.
From the Pioneer Press