Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-07
Uncle Rufus.

Uncle Rufus.
Uncle Rufus Hatch, of New York, a gen.
tleman pretty well known throughout the
United States in railroad circles and also
outside of them, gentleman who, with a
party of lady and gentlemen guests, has
Just been doing the Yellowstone, reached
st. Paul yesterday afternoon in special
car. Mr.. Hatch and his party were pres
ent and participated in laying the corner
stone of the Dakota capitol at Bismarck on
Wednesday, and came through to st. Paul
at lightning speed. He remained
here until p. m. when his car
started out on the Rock Island & Pacific
road, over the Albert Lea route.
Of course Uncle Rufus did not have much
time here. He and his party, he said, were
pretty we'll tired out with the long trip, the
sight seeing, the generous and kind atten-
tions of the people all along the route, and
were consequently anxious to get back
home. On being asked by the GLOBE rep
resentative how he liked the northwest, he
exclaimed: "Oh! bless your soul, I've been
out here before. This is not my first visit
to this great country. Pve seen
il so often that to certain
degree 1 can claim to be quite familiar
with it, Still, every time 1 come out
here l am more and more astonished. You
grow so fast that I sometimes wonder
where l am. Now, for instance, there is
that big wareho use over there, (the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & st. Paul, opposite the
union depot. Here is a solid brick ware
house two or three hundred feet long.
That was not there the last time passed
through st. Paul. 1t seems to me there
was an old. rickety frame building there"
On being informed that he
was correct he said, "That is just
the way. One can hardly keep his bear
ings out here. 1 was greatly impressed
with the northwest at Bismarck yesterday
when they laid the corner stone, and as 1
stood there witnessing the ceremony
wondered where all the people came from.
The country must be filling up very rap
idly indeed, to enable so many people to
attend now, right in the harvest season.
ST. PAUL,
too, looks very solid. You'vego great
city here and one, too, that is bound to be
much bigger than 1t is now. You
have good many heavy firms here and
what is better than all you have men of
frst-class business qualifications, capable
of taking hold of anything. Your merchant
princes here in st. Paul can stand along
side of the best.
THE RAILROADS.
Another matter that strikes me with q
good deal of surprise is the condition of
your railroads. The rails, large part of
them, are steel, the roads are we'll ballasted,
and the rolling stock first-class in every
respect, just as good as can be found any
where in the east. These roads up
through the northwest must necessarily
appreciate in value. They can't help it, as
1 see. The business thus far has enabled
the managers of these roads to put them
into this frst-class condition 1 speak of,
and this business, as the country fills up,
must necessarily be very largely increased.
The country all up through here is a very
rich and valuable farming and grazing
region, and is varied all the way through
to the Pacific. In addition to this the
mining interests are as immense as the
agricultural interests, and as the two are
developed the business of these
various systems of railroads that
radiate from st. Paul,as common center,
must grow to immense proportions. It's
great country"
Everybody, he said, seemed to be pros
porous, and looking at this great empire of
the northwest in large way, he thought
that it must be admitted that it presented
sufficient ground for the greatest expecta-
tions. Such wheat fields he had never seen
as those up through the Red river valley
and out on the Northern Pacific. The
whole region constitutes a vast and
wealthy empire, the limit to which no man
can fix upon.
OF course Uncle Rufus had to get in
little humor now and then. 1t was sug-
gested that Vanderbilt was gathering up
good many railroads. This he admitted to
be the fact, but he said that after all Van
derbilt, at last, would not have much
advantage, for when he was translated, if
he ever was, he could not carry away with
him any more real estate than any of the
rest of US. At this point the whistle
sounded and Uncle Rufus climbed aboard
the train, and with smiling countenance
parted company with the GLOBE man.