St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-25
STREET SAYINGS.

A large lumber dealer on being asked yes
terday as to the effect of the arbitrary rates
established by the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy and the Rock Island roads, upon the
lumber business of the Northwest, declared
that it would be to knock it out of the ring
below Omaha. "Nine-tenths of our ship
ments in the spring." he said, ''haye here
tofore been to the southwest of Omaha. If
that whole region had been blown up with
dynamite it could not have been more
effectually closed against the lumber men of
the Northwest than it now is through this
little twist of the wrist as manifested by this
arbitrary rate; but what can be done about
its If we OBJECT, all the railroads
or the city of Chicago will
do will be to shoot Boss Tweed's
interrogations at us, and ask what are you
going to do about it? Then comes our turn
to reply, and what shall we say? There's the
rub. The best thing We can do is to say
nothing, and send the lumber down the river
in RATS. This is cheaper mode of trans
portation, but of course, much slower. This
is cutthroat arrangement, and it is an un-
fortunate omission in the divine economy
that some diabolical way was not planned or
laid out by which We could get back at that
that the length and breadth and the in
genuity in wickeduess of the Chicago mind
could not have been known to the Divinity
at that time.''
#x*
Some years ago gentleman who had more
of a desire for good substantial house than
he had means with which to build and sus-
tain it, borrowed money and erected large
three-story brick residence on Sherburne
avenue facing the city. That is to say, Sher-
burne avenue runs east and west, over what
is known as the Jackson street hill The
structure is located on the brow of the hill,
with the avenue running behind it. The
result was that there was really no front to
the building except what was to be found on
the back end of the structure. Misfortune
followed the gentleman. The borrowed
money could not be paid. He was mpelled
to give it up, and it passed into the hands of
the mortgage. For a year or two past it
has not been occupied except occasionally,
and the doors and windows are broken
and for many months curious stories have
been told of strange sounds that have been
heard to issue from the cold castle on the
bluff as it is called. Some weeks ago the
children that were at play short distance
from the building, just at night, saw some
thing in white passing around from room to
room. Frightened as they were, they ran
home, and soon after all the hill people were
out looking at the old castle and watching
for the poor, sorrowful, wandering soul that
was loafng around in the cold without sense
enough TO put on such clothing as would
have made him comfortable. They did not
see 1t, still it's there all the same.
#x*
Regarding the proposed revision of the
civil service laws, Dr.. }. NJ. Gregory of the
civil service commission, now in St. Paul,
said yesterday that ii was n move in the right
direction. The commission, he said, had
contem plated submitting revised code to
the president, and now that the latter had
expressed himself as fully in accord with the
object of the civil service law, much good
might be expected. He was especially
pleased with the proposed amendment to
rule 10, by which departmental chiefs of di-
visions will be included in the classes pro-
tected by the Law.
~
Nothing impresses a stranger so favora-
bly, on entering a city," remarked an Eastern
gentleman yesterday, Gas an easy and intel
ligible system Of street guides On entering
a strange city man is like one at sea and it
Is hard TO get your bearings at best This
morning wanted to find Ashland avenue,
and after reaching the locality | passed it
three or four times in the vain endeayor to
fnd a street sign. find it pretty much the
same way down town, and | am surprised
that city OF this size doesn't have better