Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-12-11
GREETING.
place.

The loyal men and women OF Salt Lake
welcome their brothers OF the East, who
in tie excursion party OF to-day, as IN
previous ones. make brief calls npon
Zion, OH their way TO the blue Pacific.
Our visitors will appreciate the taste OF
the Mormon pioneers who selected for
their central city, the beautiful site upon
which the white robed mountains cast
their shadows. If those industrious set
tiers, with whatever Of real religions
principles the mass OF them possessed,
had been imbued with patriotic
devotion to the country OF their
nativity and adoption, and had
been nerved to effort by the self
reliance and enterprise which character
ICES the ordinary American pioneer, Salt
Lake City, with the magnificent material
resources at its command, would have
been to-day city rs rich and populous
as Minneapolis, Mimi, so largely repre-
sented in the excursion of to-day.
In the summer OF 1854, sitting on log
ing to the Government, and located on
the west side OF the Mississippi River at
the falls OF st. Anthony, we could count
on our fingers the shanties, including our
own, of the squatters on Government
land on what is now the site Of Mime
apols In the winter OF 1855 and '56 we
introduced bill in the Territorial Leg
islatme providing ior the incorporation
Of the Minneapolis q Cedar Valley Rail
road, now the Minnesota Central-the
first road built in the State; also, bill
to unite st. Anthony City with Henne-
pin county. In 1862, us sergeant in the
Eighth Minnesota regiment, volunteers
in charge OF detachment of fifteen men,
we followed the trails Of Sioux Indians
through the otherwise painless "big
woods" on the Crow river at distance
OF from % to 100 miles from Minneapolis
The massacre of between 800 and 90C
settlers by these savages, was Il terrible
setback to the early settlement OF the
richest portion OF the present great State
of Minnesota. And yet to-day, Mime
apolis, with a population OF over 1900
and her adjoining territory crossed anc
recrossed by railways and dotted with
towns, cities and farms, furnishs evidence
OF the transforming power Of self-reliant
and energetic American enterprise.
Where is Salt Lake, whose settlement
antedates that OF Minneapolis by five or
six years? Her situation, climate and
tributary material resources should have
placed her in wealth and population, il
advance OF the city and territory above
alluded TO. But she has been handicapped
by the dead weight OF an Asatic theocracy
whose main object is to build up "king
dom" at war with Democratic institutions
and deadly hostile to the National author
ity. Her priest-ridden people Nwer
warned against piercing her encirclinl
mountains, richly-veined with the prec
ious metals, and were horded together il
little hamlets in the valleys where they
could be held well in hand by theil
prleslly rulers.
We have u right to appeal to our visi-
tors and friends from the East, to senC
their best men and their idle capital, tC
assist in bringing Utah into the line will
other American Territories and States
and to participate in the rich rewards
that must follow an enlarged develop
ment OF the exhaustless material re
sonrces Of this magnificent Territory.