The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1888-02-08
ST.. PAUL, February 2, 1883.


Does it pay to stand over two hours in a
cold raw wind to watch procession! Of
course there is no occasion for one to kick
If yon don't like it you need not do it
there are no strings on you perhaps you
are told. But still am going to kick and
advise st Paul to have it's Ice Palace and
it's industrial parades at different seasons
of the year. The first half of the parade [
saw from an excellent position on the
steps of the Merchants hotel, and, the last
half from much poorer position looking
out of one of the hotel windows. It was
grand affair, one that brings forcibly to
mind the great manufacturing and COM
mereial center that is bounding into ex-
istance at Minneapolis and ST. Paul. AL
though this was a strictly st. Paul affair
minneapolis, which could get up even a
bigger" show, standing disdainfully to one
side still the procession was six or seven
miles long and a great success. In the
lead came the fire department, lot of
high officers, old settlers, mob of news
boys, the sewer force, street sweepers and
scrapers and about five hundred men carry
ing picks, axes and shoyels. The thous-
and or more people and vehicles making
up this part Of the parade we're just
starter, after them came the long lines of
conveyances or floats as they are called,
upon which we're displayed humorously,
gorgec usly and otherwise st. Paul's
various industries.
It would be impossible to give much of
an idea Of the display of merchandise and
of the various workings of wood and iron
that was going on as the procession moved
along. OneSof Allen, Moon & Co.'S, trucks,
however, attracted my attention and illus
trated what ST. Paul claims as her terri
tory. On it was an immense cask marked
for shipment to John {. Murphy, Helena,
Montana What does this procession in
dicate? That this community-th twin
cities pressing on to nearly a half million
people, have an immense country tributary
Chicago and st. Louis as the frontier
giving way in rapid growth to a new series
of frontier great Minneapolis, st.
Paul, Omaha and Kansas City. If no
series of great cities grow up between
them and the cities of the Rocky Noun
tains, Pueblo, Denver, Leadville, Butte,
Helena and others, then the twin cities
will, at no distant day, be at the north
end of the line of our greatest interior
cities. It does look as if really immense
industrial center was destined to ulti-
mately form right here.
Do the people of Montana realize the
great work that has been done for them
by the completion of the $500" railroad?
A week ago from this point rates on first
class matter to Boston and New York
we're $1.25, now they are but ninety cents
think of that, and then remember that as
soon as navigation opens from Duluth the
Manitoba will have fleet of steel steamers
on the lakes which must, and will, and
can easily cut under even this ninety cent
rate Next summer Montana should get
freight rates from and to the Atlantic sea-
board at two-thirds of the rates hereto
fore ruling.
Between the old Missouri river and the
Great Lakes the Montana Rocky Noun
tains will yet be no farther, commercially, |,
from New York than many places east of
the Mississippi. That the east and west
line of navigable water extending from
Buffalo to Duluth and from Bismarck to
Fort Benton are going to do everything in
the future as they have in the past for
Montana. L.. W. T.
The Montana Wooi Grower.