Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-06-25

L within memory
it has been the fashion to decry the usefunee
of the river as channel Of transportation, how
was claimed that 1t would dry up, and was only NJ
cirry the refuse Of mills away from their owners an
that railroads could do her legitimate work better an
cheaper than 1t could be done on the river But not
now the change in public sentiment Men do claim AM
Justly receive credit and honor for speech and wrin
in behalf of river transportation. our pubic me-
they msy have said In its behalf and regretting tina
thev did not say more. During this period OF detrac
ton Of the river system We know that whoever els
they convinced that river navigation was q ianur
| they did not convince you and that among all tn
disbursements you held your course steaduy ior
ward. Whilst few venturesome souls risked tnel
regulations by speaking for the OLD river ana .s sys
tenn of transportation, you risked your money; willis
they constructed pamphlets In Its behalf, you Dull
steamboats, and barges and run them pay or no pay
| And now we begin to realize the iruits o.
your persistence. We ship wheat and Hour f(
Europe for less than have In early days. paid FOL
freight from Prairie du Chen here. We see before
us opening up grand future In the enhanced value
of the products OF our state. For tnls we con con
| tiful passenger boat, your barge line, tc
your old home and friends. You are the
"plumed" aud belted knight whose sword and spear
have brought the river system from the slough Of
despond" to its present high position For this we
thank you, and trust that you will again, with your
family come to reside with us, as 1t was In times Of
cid.
WELCOME ON THE FART OF THE CITY.
At the conclusion of his remarks DR.. Day
called upon Mayor Rice, who was present, to
speak for the city. The mayor gracefully re
sponded to the call. Addressing himself di-
rectly to Commodore Davidson, Mr.. Rice said
it gave him great pleasure to extend a most
hearty welcome on behalf of the city govern
ment and the citizens of st. PBul generally.
We recognize in you pioneer OF upper Mis-
sissippi river navigation. Some 25 years ago
TOD o,x-a frnp T.nC CrncCQ fG
St. Paul. Since that time you have gradually
but surely extended your sway, at first down
the river to st. Louis, and then to New Or
leans, until now your name and your enterprise
are household words on this great body OF
water from the head of navigation here at St.
Paul to its mouth in the gulf of Mexico. We
know of and sympathize with you in your
struggles. l personally remember in 1858
when 5000 tons of railroad iron for the track
from st. Paul to st. Anthony reached La
Crosse so late in the fall that all connected
with the enterprise were fearful the iron could
not be got here before the close OF navigation,
thus entailing loss upon the contractors and
DELAY to the enterprise. In this emergency
you were appealed to, and the appeal was not
in vain With your usual determination and
energy you went to work, and you brought
the iron through and the railroad to st. An
thony. You may not have known it, but you
were then casting your bread upon the waters,
and if it has not already been re-
l might speak of many other such eX-
hibitions in years past of good will to st. Paul
and the upper Mississippi country, but all this
has been so we'll expressed in lhe address
of DR.. Day on behalf of tine chamber of COM
merce, that will refrain, syimply desiring to
add that most cordial and hearty welcome to
YOU personally on behalf of our citizens, and
sincere thanks for the pleasure you have af-
forded us by the opportunity given to
see and inspect your latest and grandest tri-
umph in river steamboat construction.
CITY ATTORNEY MURRAY.
Mayor Rice's remarks were received with
hearty demonstrations of approval, which was
followed by calls for City Attorney Murray.
This gentleman declared he was not going to
talk, but he could not refrain from remarking
that he was here in st. Paul in 1S47,
when the comodore brought his first boat here,
and went into the Minnesota river trade, first
pre-empting that stream, after which he
branched out and took in the Mississippi, as
detailed by the Mayor. But as he said before,
he was not going to talk ,and he therefore call
ed upon the commodore.
COMMODORE DAVIDSON.
The commodore promptly responded to the
call. He had not, he said expected recep
ton, at least such magnificent demonstra-
ton of personal friendship The greeting is
so generous and so very flattering, that can
not find words in which to express my
and the gratitude. feel | have learned from
experience that there are times in the life of a
man, when, from q combination of associa-
tions, feeling is kindled in ones heart that
the tongue cannot give expression to. That
time in my life has come to me through my
residence in st. Paul and my association with
her citizens in social and business life.
Many of you met here to-day to give me
greeting on this occasion are intimately ac-
quainted with my hopes, my struggles and
my aspirations in the past. l left here ten
years ago for ST. Louis, full of hope, to estab-
lish great through line of passenger steamers
and freight carriers from st. Paul to the gull.
l was little too early, but it is better to be
too early than too late, because if you once
get behind you cannot catch up again.
Here in st. Paul you have one
end of this great water way that
almost spans the continent, rum ing
down through the most prolific valley in the
world. At the other end is the sea. Looking
at this great river, penetrating this rich coun-
try, with it's enterprising population and
boundless re curses, there can be no question
it is the natural outlet for its products on
their way to the markets of the world. A few
days ago there was loaded in this city a cargo
of 80, 900 bushels of grain for Glasgow, Scot
land. In five days that cargo was in st.
Louis, and in six more in New Orleans and
being transferred to steamship for it's ocean
passage, and in few days more it will be de-
iivered at it's destination, and
at one-half the price it would
have cost to have it sent across the continent
by rail for ocean shipment. This outlet is at
your door. See that you preserve it and make
the most of it, not only by your own personal
efforts, but by continuous and persistent
knocking at the door of the national govern
ment, until such system Of improvement has
been inaugurated as will make the river navl-
gable all through the summer months to the
largest class of boats.
This steamer is but the continuation of the
idea had when built and launched the Frank
Steele. 1t is 800 feet long--so large that many
doubtless have said it could not be navigated
on the upper Mississippi, but | now tell
YOU that, had / been SO disposed, l could
have brought this load of people here from
St. Louis, with only two dinners intervening.
But this boat is only commencement of what
1 expect to see plying on this great water
highway In the next five years l expect to
see boats running with close connections from
st. Paul to New Orleans, with two cabins in
stead of one as on this boat and capacity for
carrying 1000 people instead of $50 as on this
boat. Once more, citizens of st. Paul, do not
forget your Mississippi river, and that st.
Paul is where it is, at its northern terminus.
Keep that terminus. Ladies and gentlemen
| o,o o,d oil T thank Won from the h0tt0m Of