St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-02
Mr.. TRUESDALE'S THRUSTS
In the st. Louis-Manitoba Crossing
Controversy.
TWO STRONG POINTS MADE.
He Claims to Call a Hill Bluff and
Then Draws the Deadly
Parallel.
TWO STRONG POINTS MAD

In his statement, just issued, Mr..
Truesdale, of the Minneapolis & st.
Louis, makes two points of special in
terest. The first is in relation to the
proposed improvements by the Mani
toba company. He says:
''The board of trade committee, for the
purposes of it's report, affects to believe
that if this company refuses to permit
its track to be moved the Manitoba
company will not improve its terminal
facilities in the vicinity of Washington
avenue, as it has contemplated, but will
provide them outside of the business
center, where they will be difficult and
lncOnvenient of access.
man will regard this as anything but a
big bluff Is it likely that the Mani
tOba company, competing as it does, or
will, at so many points with the North
ern Pacific, Chicago, Milwaukee q st.
Paul, Minneapolis & Pacific, st. Paul 81
Duluth and Minneapolis q st. Louis
railways, will ever do such foolish
thing as that? Not bit of it; it is
TOO ABSURD TO DISCUSS.
SIT will build its freight houses and
tracks on substantially the same lOca-
ton and upon the same plans as it has
always intended, the difference being
that it's access to them will be by a
short, easy incline to the top of the
Washington avenue and other bridges
instead of over ''our dead body" as they
want. This access will be as easy and
convenient as, for instance, the business
men of Chicago are afforded in
handling their freight to and
from the depots of the great Pennsyl-
vania line. l refer to the Fort Wayne
depOts located between the union depot
and Chicago river in that city. Or, the
means of doing business with the Mani
tOba company and its tenants will be
those now afforded the public having
business at the baggage, express and
emigrant adjunct of our present union
depot.
at is absurd and childish on the part
ofnthe Manitoba company to make this
company responsible, as it endeavOrs to,
for its failure to provide these much
needed facilities, as it is in it to put the
cost of them at any such ridiculous fig
ure as S2,00O,000, and the board of trade
committee evinced wonderful Swal
lowing capacity in accepting and incOr
pOrating as part of its report such eX-
aggerated statements.
ADEADLY PARALLEL.
The second point is ''deadly par
allel," taking the ground that, imbued
with the same spirit, the board of trade
should see that the Manitoba yields in
the crossing case to an evident public
spirit of improvement in referring to
the well-known crossing case at
First street north, wherein the
court granted this company the
right of way to lay track
connecting its track with the Northern
Pacific yard. This track has been laid
for over year and half, and the lum-
Der interests, Touring interests, and
other business or manufacturing con-
Germs whose business is handled in diff
ferent directions upon It, will, l think h
all agree that in addition to large
charges since the crossing track was
built, their cars have been handled
more promptly and satisfactorily than
ever before. So far as the dangers of
the crossing, the delays and interfer-
ence to the business of the Manitoba
company are concerned, it is
fact, that since it was put in,
but one slight accident, from
collision, has occurred, and it was be-
tween some cars being handled by
switching engines of both companies,
the damage resulting not exceeding $50
all told. The trains of the company
have never been blocked or delayed
save on two occasions, and on neither
of these did the delay amount to more
than two hours.
THE QUESTION OF THE DAMAGES
to be paid for this crossing is now be-
fore the commissioners appointed by
the court to assess them. The officers,
employees, retainers and paid witnesses
of the Manitoba have all testified and
sworn the damages way up in the mill
ions. the purpose being, evidently, to
have these figures fixed so high, that
rather than pay them, this company will
abandon the crossing. This crossing
and surrounding switches, experts
say, can be operated and protected
by a system of signals and levers, much
in use in modern railrOading, which will
make the crossing free from danger,
greatly accelerate and facilitate the
movement of trains anu engines in that
locality, and increase the Manitoba COM
pany's capacity for doing business
there UNNECESSARILY, all at a cost
of something less than $4,000; and
the expense of operating and
maintaining the signal apparatus.
The maintenance of this crossing is of
paramount Importance to the great
manufacturing interests on the North
ern Pacific tracks in North. MinneapOlir,
as also to the flour mills on the West
side. Do we observe the railroad COM
mittee of our board of trade demanding
in bursts of el0quence that the
Manitoba company step aside and
not block that pathway of
growth and prosperity for this city,
but accept reasonable and fair COM
pensation and arrangement for the
maintenance and protection of that
crossing? No, good citizens, and you
never, never will. The majority of that
committee Is not engaged in 'goring
that fellows OK Their sublime
patriotism and devotion to the interests
of this city will not extend quite that
far"