St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-08-03
A RUUIE 10 WEALTH.
Capitalists Begin to Realize
the Advantages of the
$500" Road.
1t Is the Speediest Of All
Routes to the Sea-
board.
Eight Miles Of Streets to
Be Paved Next
Year.
The Merry War in the Eighth
Ward Goes Bravely
On.

a trip to the Sault. upon invitation of
Gen. w. d. Washburn, has returned,
and the individual members are lavish
of their praises of the road, its advanta-
ges. its great ultimate benefit to Mime
apolis and st. Paul, and finally the
beauty of the country it traverses.
Among the party was j. L. Lewis, one
of the Eastern owners of the Lehigh
Coal and Iron company, now in charge
at Minneapolis. He was talking of the
road, yesterday, when GLOBE reporter
asked him:
"You seem pleased: what do you
think of the 500 route?"
Il was surprised beyond measure. 1t
would naturally be supposed that all
fairly well Informed business men
would have a.pretty accurate kn0Wl-
edge of the merits of the road and its
connections without having gone over
it; but | venture to state that most of
the business men of these two cities and
of the Eastern cities are absolutely ig
norant of the country the road traverses;
of the excellence of the road and equip
ment and of the eligibility of the route.
"1n the first place the road passes
through the best country of any new
road | ever went over, almost every
mile of it has either lands valuable for
its timber, or for farming. purposes.
These lands are more attractive to many
settlers for farming than prairies.
Second 1t seems to me that its con-
nectiOn at Gladstone with the Lehigh
Valley steamers to Buffalo and various
rail to New York gives it a speedier
route to New York for merchandise and
flour than any all rail route we have;
taking twelve hours from here to Glad
stone, forty-eight hours from there to
Buffalo, twelve hours each at Gladstone
and Buffalo for transhippins, will land
freight from Minneapolis in New York
in four days and one-half. My expert
ence of freight cars, either east or west
bound, is that they are very many days
slower than that. did contemplate be-
fore going on this excursion that the head
of Lake Superior had some odds against
the 500 route by shorter rail haul, but
am fully converted to the belief that
the 500 line will gain so much in point
of speed and saving of water haul that
she will reap from the all-rail route and
from the Sault Ste. Marie canal traffic
a tonnage that, added to its natural rail
connections, will give it a marvellous
success, a success that has only been
cOmprehended and understood by those
worthy and enterprising citizens of
Minneapolis, the promoters and builders
of the road.'
'What condition does the road appear
to be worked up to?''
81 told you | was Surprised; well that
expresses my answer to your last ques-
ton. All the way to Gladstone it is
first-class, and in its road bed reminds
me of the Lake Shore road, between
Chicago and Cleveland. 1t is ballasted
with similar material and seems very
straight: there are some curves but the
engineers have so skillfully located the
lines, and the curves have been SO faith
fully and fundamentally posed that l
really thought the road was practically
straight. Inequalities are filled with
earth, not trestles. The rails are
heavy and it seems to me that
the road is not only capable of
can possibly be. The All Rail route to
the east in connection with the Canadian
Pacific, am told is nearly 200 miles
shorter to Boston than the roads via
Chicago. This being so should think
the 500 road would get good share of
through rail passenger travel.
''There are many points of much in
terest Ell route: the Sault Ste. Marie
canal. locks, rapids and bridges will en-
tertain one for day, both with pleasure
and profitable information. learned at
the Sault yesterday that the tonnage of
the Sault Ste. Marie canal in 1881 was
about one million and half; in
1887 it was about five millions.
Can any one digest these figures and
contemplate the natural advantages the
500 road can honestly claim and not de-
eide that the road will have all it can
do, and more, and before many years
require a double track. Much of this
great tonnage through the Sault canal
is carried to the head of Lake Superior
at a cost of at least 1875 per cent. more
than it can reasonably be taken to
Gladstone for. This saving of lake
charges will, upon all tonnage coming
to the 500 road by the lakes, justly ac-
crue to the profit of the 500 railroad; as
yet these lesser lake rates have not pre-
vailed, but as steamers can certainly
make three trips to Gladstone from
make two to Lake Superior ports, it is
only question of being fully ready at
Gladstone with down freights to estab-
fish at least so great difference of
1875 per cent i'll favor of the
500 railroad. Gladstone being so near
Escanaba, only seven miles, where large
quantities of ore are shipped, down
freights can be pretty well assured. On
merchandise and express freight the adj
vantage in time the 500 road has, must
command respect,
sit does seem to me such laudable
enterprise, conceived among your Min
neapOlis people, carried out by them.
and now proved to be such boom to
both of these cities as an adjuster of
freight rates that the road should be
StrdIed that il should be known famil-
iiarlyI, and should be patronized with