Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-07-25
TURNING THE TABLES.
II Sharp Criticism Of the Critics of the D"-
lssth Road.

IutH Road.
Mankato Review.
We have read Mr.. brakes speech before
the chamber of commerce with delight. If
railroad men can be sincere, we find it in the
words of penitence and hope. He thought
s'that the decision of the supreme court of
the United States. giving the State the right
to control the railroads, which he did not
believe when it was promulgated, was after
all blessing in DISGUISE" Now when Mr..
Drake gets the legislature of Minnesota to
apply the restrictive principle to those pur-
chasing the St. Paul and Duluth railroad, in
a spirit alien to the interests of St.,P Paul, we
of tt Q valley will be in the same legsla-
ture, and will engraft on that same m asu 9
clauses protecting the people of ManKato,
Madelia, st. James and Worthington from
the expressions of his own road. We take
pleasure in informing Mr.. Drake that Mr..
| Merrill is doing to ST. Paul just what Mr..
Drake tried to do to Mankato recently in
his attempt to purchase the Wells road
''trying to dry up competing road" In
| this endeavor we imagine that Mr.. Drake
did not squeamishly hesitate to accept the
good offices of Chicago company, the
Northwestern, in an alliance against our in
terests. We want Mr.. Drake to make the
people ''indignant" oyer the principle of
drying up competing routes; we will aid in
| swelling that indignation. By the man
agement of his road, Duluth
has been just as dead to
our flour, so to speak, as if that city was al.
ready swallowed, "body and breeches'' by
the Chicago anaconda-its shipping rotting,
its warehouses the home of the owl and bat.
Mr.. Drake says "the lake must be reached
by some other route if the Duluth route
closed" Certainly; and as the Sioux Cit
road has closed our route to Duluth, we
must reach that city and the lakes by some
other route. Singular coordination of
facts.
We most cordially avail ourself of the con-
ference to-day to state our grievances. The
people of Mankato, with unanimity that
embraces every business man and leading
citizen, believes that the st. Paul and Sioux
City road has been, and is, unjust and
extortlonate towards their interests
and those of Southwestern Minnesota;
that by excessively unjust rates they
have been practically cut off from trade with
the great centers of the State, compelling us
to seek new and foreign channels of trade.
This is not the prejudice of single indi
vidual, but the conviction of whole city,
and it is extending so as to embrace the
whole line of that road to the West. It will
no longer answer to say that these charges
are wholly groundless or perversions of
truth. They are facts which we have repeat
eddy demonstrated, and the daily experience
of our merchants is adding to those already
published. We are charged practically the
same rates from st. Paul that we have to
pay from Chicago, and not unfrequently
more. The Sioux City road once had it in
its power to contract for carrying our -four
to market, but let the opportunity pass, and
that interest, which soon will amount
to 600 to 800 barrels per day,
reaches its destination via Chicago. We
might particularize further, but when we
did so in a former article our good friend
Gen. Sibley assumed our articles to be IN
true, Gen. Bishop deemed them beneath his
consideration, and the Pioneer Press waived
them by in lofty style. But the facts re-
main-they have allenated whole city and
vast region from their natural channel of
trade, and they are Inspiring the building OF
great line of road, and extensions of
others that must perpetuate their alienation.
1t is time for the chambers of commerce of
the two great cities to take their home road
in hand. at the same time they are bringing
the st. Paul and Duluth squeeze before an
Indignant public and apply the aame
principles of justice, equity and competitive
right to our case as the others.