Daily globe., 1879-07-01
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
a PROPOSED CONFERENCE OF RAIL-
ROAD and BUSINESS MEN.

The Way to Protect tho Commercial In
terests of st. Paul-The Essential Nature
of the Lake Route to the Sea Board
Committee of Ten to Inaugurate the Com
Ing Meeting-Mr. McClung's Resolutions
Adopted-Three Vacancies Filled in the
Board-The New Market House.
The meeting of the Chamber of Com
merce yesterday morning was quite protract-
ed and of unusual interest. The first busi-
ness of importance was the presentation of
the following report by Hon. Il. M. Rice:
Mr.. PRESIDENT: On the 18th of March last
this chamber =
ResOlued, That astanding committee of eight
be appointed, II. NJ. Rice chairman, with full
authority to act with the boards of trade of
Cleveland, Buffalo, and such other representa-
tive bodies of the country as take special in
terest IN the Improvement Of the great lakes,
to the end that such public influences may be
awakened, action taken and measures urged,
as will hasten the improvement of the great
water way, so that the largest sized lake vessels
may be made available to carry the productions
of the West to the markets Of the world.
lowing committee was appointed: H. NJ. Rice,
". L. Banning, 81. a. Sibley, w. r. Marshall,
q. K. Davis, J. M. Gilman, Horace Thompson,
James Smith, Jr.
The committee at once organized and sent
resolutions to the boards of trade of Cleveland,
supposed to take a special interest in an early
improvement of the northern water way. Re
sponses have been received from Cleveland
and Duluth only.
Cleveland, ever formost IN the good work.
appointed a committee, composed of her most
active and intelligent citizens. Duluth
promptly responded. Other cities have re-
mained silent, thus making it incumbent upon
US, who are the most interested, to renew with
increased activity the work of cheapeniug
transportation by securing an early
toGte and OF The the .nn,naeSaa northern
thereto. To this end it is deemed important to
place before the chamber and the country in
formation upon the subject that will aid our
pt ople to act understandingly.
II the season shall continue favorable we
may expect this year crop, with that of north
ern Dakota, will reach from fifty to sixty mil
lion bushels of wheat, with a corresponding in
crease of othef products.
Railroads are being extended and new ones
are being built to meet the demands of new
settlements which are more rapidly than ever
before taking possession of the fertile lands to
the West.
As this vast region is mostly occupied by
farmers it can readily be seen that their pros
perity must depend largely upon their having
cheap transportation secured to them.
In many respects we are greatly favored over
other lands having at our command the great
lakes and rivers Of the continent, upon which
we can float our cargoes of food to the con-
sumers; but to avail ourselves of the greatest
benefits that can be derived from them, they
must be improved as well as access to them
made easy.
We're it not for the northern water way and
the railroads leauing to Duluth, wheat in many
parts of our State would not pay for the rails
ing; but it is, that the most remote from
the Eastern markets commands the highest
prices.
The people of the State, especially those of
this city and Minneapolis, should not close
their eyes to the importance OF reducing the
rates of transportation-to say nothing of the
probability that for want of united and intel
ligent action, all the profits of wheat raising
will be absorbed by railways.
Hon. Horatio Seymour, Jr., State engineer
for New York, says, in his able report of Janu-
'ry last:
''Our canals have not only carried large
amounts at low price, but they to be
credited with the fact that they have benefited
he public by forcing the railroads to reduce
their rates to point that they have either lost
money, in order to break down canal competi.
tion, or their charges heretofore have been too
high" This will apply to lake and river
transportation, as we'll as canal. he further
says 'But the amount saved in transporta
tlon ia not the full measure of the benefits
to all classes of our citizens, of low
tolls and cheap transportation. These en-
abled us to send vast quantities of grain and
other products to the markets of Europe, which
could not have been sold there if they had
been burdened with the pooling rates of rail-
Fho IF dc SO 20 o11o
their profits by com binations snd not by COM
petition. By division of commerce among
them, each tries to make dividends, not by the
amount they shall carry, but by the rate of
their charges. Our position, however, is fa-
vorable one, and to enable us to control it, we
have only to control a connection with Duluth,
which will, to great extent, govern transpor-
tation rates of eastern bound freight, and thus
leave to our citizens proper proportion of the
profits Of their own labor. Not only this, but
it will give home market, always the best, as
it is the most certain and convenient. A road
owned and controlled by our own people, con-
Meeting the head of Lake Superior with St.
Paul and Minneapolis is a matter of easy &C.
cOmplishment, If the two cities will unite with
the roads now under the control of our citi-
zens whose interests are our interests.
has a0"A mas Controlling III Large Eone city .rka She
for the reason that she quietly slept while lake
cities sent their traffcing railroads on parallel
lines through every county in the State, thus
transferring the profits from the earnings of
her own people to Chicago and Milwaukee, and
preventing her from building up for herself
city worthy of so great State.
How few consider that the evil does not end
in this; how few consider that every dollar of
profit the roads make goes to enrich the nom
resident stockho.der; how few are aware that
Iowa contributes largely toward paying the
taxes of illinois and Wisconsin, by giving her
tro1a tr>N ND Al
creasing the value of the taxable property in
those cities.
Every dollar we give to our own merchants,
manufacturers, farmers or laborers decreases
our taxes by increasing our ability to pay. So
every dollar we send abroad increases our taxes
roads when owned by our citizens; tn. profits
remain with US to be used in developing and
improving our State and its cities, but when
the stock is in the hands of non-residents the
profits are taken from our pockets and in the
shape of dividends 60 to enrich citizens of
other States. rs aa
Capital seeks large cities. Were st. Paul
and Minneapolis united in feeling and in ac-
tiOn, working together for their common good.
millions of capital would seek Investment
within their limits, where thousands now do,
and they would soon be in a condition to large
cheap transportation through the lakes and the
Mississippi river. and thus reduce the railroad
rates to Eastern cities. a
Mr.. Seymour says: ''The cost of carrying
our products to the markets of the world has
been so much reduced, that the balance of
trade has been turned in our favor; the cur
rency of our country has been lifted up to par
with specie, and the wealth it has yielded to
our producers gives hope to all classes of more
prosperous times. No one can study the sta
tistics of the past two years, who will not see
that the better state of things. and the hope of
the future which now dawns upon us, are