Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-16

Northern Pacific Railroad company, who
arrived in this city on Thursday from a
trip over the road to Glendive, the pres
ent terminus of the road, was rendered
an informal reception at the Metropoli-
tan hotel last evening by the business men
of this city. The committee having the
matter in charge CO insisted of Mayor Ed
mund Rice, Gen. John T. Averill, P. H.
Kelly, w. R. Merriam, Ferdinand Viii.
Illus, NJ Auerbach and c. Gotzian.
The reception commenced at eight
O'Clock when our business men began to
arrive. They were presented to Mr.. Vii
lard in the ladies parlor of the hotel and
most courteously received. The callers
embraced nearly all the leading mer-
chants and capitalists of the city who
have contributed SO largely towards the
development of the city and
State and to the ex-
tension of our railroad systems. They
were hearty in their greetings of the new
railway monarch of the great NorthWesS.
and were as heartily received
| About $3.50 O'Clock Maj. Rice called the
assembly to order, and welcomed Mr..
Willard to the city by tie following neat
and appropriate remarks:
| MAJOR .RIcE's WELCOME.
| Mr.. Willard: Ihave the very pleasant duty
deputed to me by the representative business
men of st. Paul, herein formally assembled, to
thpgss thay feel in having T the epportanitg
of personally paying their respects to you and
| to welcome you upon your return from tour
of inspection of the great railway and It's
branches leading from st. Paul and the head
waters of Lake Superior, to the Yellowstone.
now under your control.
From its inception to the present time they
have always considered the Northern Pacific
| railroad the most important of the many rail-
way lines centering here, and have at all times
contributed of their influence and means,
as far as it lay in their pow
er towards its development and in
affording facilities for doing business in our
city, whose interests are identical with the op-
Grafton, completion and prosperity of this
| great trunk line and its numerous branches.
| They would be glad to have an expression
of your views as to its future, and some indi-
cation of the policy by which it will be gov
erned, particularly as it may affect the welfare
of our city, which has now a
population of nearly 10000 and
| a wholesale trade for the year 11SO
amounting, in round numbers, to forty-one,
and manufacturing to the value of seven
| millions of dollars, with future before it
which is to correspond with the rapid devel-
| opment of the vast, rich country tributary to
| it, of which it is to continue to be the chief
distributing point and the commercial center.
In their behalf again thank you for afford
| ing them, in the midst of heat and pressing
business engagements, this opportunity, and
assure you that they will always be glad to
welcome you, and that you have their best
| Ixxyich foru nd and fbn
most eminent success of the great enterprises
of which you have assumed the responsibility
of developing and controlling.
| MR.. vILLARD's RESPONSE.
Mr.. Willard acknowledged the compli-
ment in a fitting manner He expressed
his thanks for the hearty reception ac-
corded him by the business men Of ST.
Paul-men whose enterprise he had
learned to esteem and whose iberality
was famous the country over. 1t was
only three weeks ago that he had been
able to call together the contributors to
what had become known as "the blind
| pool A few capitalists interested with
the Oregon Navigation company had
placed in his hands the sum of So, 100000
| five months ago, to be used according to
| his own discretion. He had used that
fund in obtaining what he thought to be
| controlling interest in the common and
preferred stock of the Northern Pacific
company. He had given only his indi-
vidual note for the several amounts SUBJ
scribed, and when the contributors met
three weeks ago he made verbal report
of the manner in which he had used their
money At the same time he had told
them that he had not money enough
to carry out his purposes, and would re-
quire several millions more All that he
asked was subscribed upon the spot, and
some of it had already been paid in His
purpose had been revealed thus far, and
taken shape in the practical consollda-
ton of the Oregon Navigation company
with the Northern Pacific Railway com
pany.
When he had, as he thought, procured
a controlling interest in the latter COM
pany he went to his friend Frederick Bill
lings, late president of the Northern Pacfic
company, and laid bare his plans Mr.
Billings pronounced his scheme vision
ary one, and advised it's abandonment.
Perhaps it acas visionary 1t had been a
vision of his for years, but it had come
| so near realization that he determined
not to abandon it, He had labored
hard to attain its completion, and fol-
lowed out his policy, with what results
all present knew perfectly well.
Having INDUCED so much in retrospect
Mr.. Willard said he would speak briefly
of the future plans and purposes of the
company. In the first place he could as
sure the gentlemen present that the
Northern Pacific railroad would be COM
pleted within two and half years from
the present time, Or before the close of
1888 If it was possible it would be com.
pleted before that limit, but owing to the
difficulties attending the transportation
of railroad iron, portion of which had
to pass through the straits Of Magellan,
it would not be safe to place an earlier
date On the western end of the road
there was an unbroken line of 40 miles
of constructed road from Portland east
ward to Peu Oreille, which was rapidly
being increased.
In this connection he would like to
speak of the railrood system of Oregon
and the Pacific coast that would be di-
rectly tributary to the North
ern Pacific The Oregon navigation
company had been actively engaged
in developing this system, and there
would be, by the date of the completion
of the Northern Pacific, no less than
1000 miles of railroad that would direct
ly contribute to the traffic of the Northern
Pacific. These branch lines-for they
would eventually become part of the
system-passed through the most fertile
portions of our western empire. As af-
fording an idea of the extent of the trade
in Oregon, of which the Northern Pacific
/ unu1d ha a honoficiorv ho would o%o+o
that last year the Oregon Navigation COM
pany transported from the single city of
From the Columbia river the same COM
pany transported 20 900 tons of canned
salmon-an article that found its way in