Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-09-12
terminated without further


Seeing that this appeared to be the stu !
alton at that time the business men of st. |
Paul, on the 9Th of February, 1881, sent |
Capt. Henry A. Castle to Washington to
see if our representatives could not be
induced to carry out this understanding
and pass the bill. He made his report on
his return, from which the following
extracts are made:
Mr.. CASTLES STATEMENT.
Mr. Castle reported to the chamber of
commerce that on his arrival III Washing
ton he found the public business so behind
in congress, such a blockade of legislation
existing, that it would be useless to at
tempt to secure the passage of the sawdUst
bill through both houses that session. So
he directed his energies to ascertaining the
position of our senators and members on
the subject, and to pushing the bill for
ward as many stages in each house as he
could during the few days remaining The
same bill had been introduced in both
houses and referred to the committee on
commerce. Mr.. G. reports that he found
but two of our delegation heartily and &C
lively supporting the bill-Messrs. Henry
Poehler and Mark H. Dunnell. Mr..
Washburn had expressed his belief
that it was a just and necessary law
and said he should not antagonize it in any
way. but said that so many of his home
constituents had pecuniary interests adj
verse to it that he could not be expected to
work actively for it at present Mr..
Poehler ascertained from the chairman of
the subcommittee of the house committee
on commerce that Senator Window had
made a special request of him that moth
ing be done with the bill that session. Mr..
Castle sought to use Mr.. DunnelPs lnfiu-
ence to ceunteract that of Senator VIM
dom, but Mr.. Dunnell was informed that
Senator Mcmillan, who was a member of
the senate committee on commerce, and
chairman of the subcommittee to which
the sawdust bill had been referred, had all
the papers, reports from the engineer de
partment, ETC., on which alone intelligent
action could be based, and that no pro-
gress could be made in the house commit
tee until those documents were returned.
Senator Mcmillan from the first expressed
his desire to do something for the bill,
but said that the manufacturing inter
ests of Pennsylvania, and the mining inter
estS of the Pacific states were all hostile to
it. Mr.. Castle reports that he urged Sena-
tor Mcmillan to at least secure favorable
report from his committee, that the bill
might be put one step forward, but the
senator was very busy and gave him but
very little satisfaction, but said the status
of the bill was misunderstood. After sew
,eral interviews Mr.. Castle. at late day in
the session, wrote him a very urgent letter
asking that something be done. This let
ter Senator Mcmillan verbally acknowledge
ed the receipt of, and promised to reply to
showing why nothing could be done, and
what misapprehensions the ST. Panl people
are laboring under with regard to the mat
ter. But no such reply has ever been re-
ceived by Mr. Castle or by this chamber.
CAPT. CASTLE,
in another report on this subject,after stat
ing the difficulties he encountered in seek
ing to forward this legislation, gives the
following explanation of the very potent
causes which were operating with such
powerful influence to paIalyze Representa-
tive Washburn, $50 many of whose constit-
uents had pecuniary interests adverse to
this great public INTEREST," that he could
not be expected" to rise to the level of the
broad-gauged policy of advocating the
public interests against such ''pecuniary
interests influences which
SEEMED TO PARALYzE
our two senators also and prevent any
hearty or active support of this bill on
their part ''Meantime," says Capt. Castle.
Shy industriously talking with members
of congress from other states, news
paper correspondents and others with
whom / became acquainted, l learned that
the numerous lobby of men from Mime
apolis and other Minnesota towns who
were paid $4,000 to go to Washington in
the winter of 1880 to secure the remission
of the $25O,000 penalties incurred by pine
land trespasses, had incidentally put in
some effective work against the so-called
"sawdust" bill. They had pointed out the
injury it would be to gulch mining in
California and to manufacturing in New
England. They had represented to mem.
bers from Illinois and Iowa that it was g
movement to cripple the mills at Minneap
oils, whereby Chicago would again have
a monopoly of the lumber supply of the
western prairies-and they had drawn
upon their imaginations in every direction
for effective requirements against The
| measure.
THE HON. HENRY PHOELHR,
| Who was a congressman at that time in
letter to the committee confirms this state
ment of opposition to the bill from
Minneapolis men, and while delicately re-
framing from expressing any persona
knowledge" of opposition to the bill OF
the part of any of our members, speaks OF
Hon. M. II. Dunnell only, as the membe,
with whom he consulted in his efforts tt
secure its passage.
|. FROM ALL THESE FACTS
the chamber can form its opinion of tn,
influences which have operated to defea
of this important measure, why it is tina
the navigation of the river continues tt
be obstructed from Fl. Smelling to LAX,
Pepin, and the government appropriation
made almost useless, while St Paul an(
Minneapolis are threatened with com
plete isolation from the advantages of thu
river by the danger that the head of navi
CATION will be removed to the mouth of tn,
st. Croix or to Lake Pepin. The natura
drying up of the small streams consequent
upon a settlement of new country give
a tendency to this danger, which is greatly
accelerated and aggravated by the annua
deposit of such vast quantities of mill re
fuse, saw dust, bark, slabs and edgings
estimated to amount annually to
100000 CORDS.
has oil l.