St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-21
He Says 1t Will be Inevitable,
From Natural Geographic
cal Causes.
1t Must Come to Elude the
Anaconda Grip of Giant
Chicago.
He Would Have a Union Board
of Trade Of at Least y,
Forty.

Judge Isaac Atwater, of Minneapolis,
in which he outlines his ideas of Twin
City union. Mr.. McClung is an enthu-
siastic supporter of the union scheme
and his utterances are peculiarly enthu-
Siastic. He says:
In my letter informing you of my in
tention to be absent from the state for
the next two months, making it mex
pedient for me to act as chairman of the
conference committee, | promised to
give your committee my ideas of the
necessity and advantages of closer
union of the two cities and the best
plan for etfecting this union. In the
first place. we should divest the sub
ject of its most embarrassing and OBJ
jectionable surroundings by eliminting
from the discussion the ques-
tons of common name and common
municipal government, also the ques-
ton whether we shall now unite the
two cities. No one is now proposing
the first, and the last is settled already
by the march of events and by manifest
destiny. The cities are growing to-
gether, and must grow together. Every
new line of railroad between them and
tributary to them, every farm opened
from the Mississippi river to the Pacific,
every house built between the cities, are
factors which must and will unite the
cities, whether we like it or not. Paper
resolutions will not unite them. Facts
will. What we are now asked to do is
simply to recognize these facts and this
manifest destiny and to make the most
OF it, to avert dangers and secure adj
Yantages.
The jobbers' unions sOf the two cities
have already fored union, which is the
first step towards union for all other
common interests. The committees of
conference are to look out for
THESE COMMON INTERESTS,
and form union to provide for them
all. The cities lie side by side and are
geographically union. Some of your
citizens speak of them as ten miles
apart. The outside world, hearing our
Wrangling, does not know that we are
one geographically, and when they
come and see us are surprised that we
ourselves do not know 1t and work as
one city. We are allowing the cities to
grow together haphaZard, and losing
the advantages of unity which, if pro-,
claimed to the world and acted on,
would give us all the prestige of a.,
city double our size, and ranking fifth
among the great cities of the continent,
When these cities determine TO conSoli-,
date and become one, and to work each,
for the other instead of each against the
other, the property of each is worth at,
once % per cent more-in the marketJ
and experiences boom. Their credit isf
enhanced and their bonds could be-
caShed for per cent less. They could
undertake and carry out gigantic enter
prises to checkmate their rivals, which
would be beyond the reach Of either;
acting Singly.
Another objection must be met and
| answered. 1t is true, as rivals, these
cities have grown and prospered, there
fore ''let well enough alone" say some
who oppose union. Ii there were no
other rivals who will be amply able to
stimulate all our united energies and
make US work, this objection might have
weight. But let it be repeated again
and again that Chicago has decreed that
no city shall grow up west of her; that
Chicago has been able to make the great
without a single city in all her borders;
that Chicago has been able to crush st.
Louisa city greater that either st.
Paul or Minneapolis alone; that she has
built up Kansas City for this purpose
alone, and she will crush Kansas City,
when she has used her long enough TO
ensure the final decay OF st. Louis.
Minneapolis and st. Paul
ARE NOW HER MARKED VICTIMS.
She has even entered the halls OF con-
greSS to lobby against us. Her railroad
determinations turn trade away from
us; her railroad programme which taps
all the rich empire westward which be-
longs to these cities is to build around
US, and by what has been called her an
aconda system to crush US. as she has
crushed all other rivals. The growing
Importance of Lake Superior cities is
another danger not to be undereSti-
mated. We shall find enough In these
dangers to call out all the energies
which our own riyalrieS have heretofore
developed. and lose nothing in this re-
spect by burying the Ratchet. Ii not
another point was made, we might rest
the case right here. and find abundant
reason for the alliance which is pro-
pOsed-a platform upon which every
citizen of both cities can stand and make
common cause.
But, in my opinion, there are other
equally potent reasons for union, which
[ will briefly mention. If we act as one
city, each receives an additional popu-
latiOn of $4,000 Or 100000, doubling ali
its resources. Street railways. motors
and rapid transit trains with low rates
will pour into each city the population
and trade of the other. and give to every
merchant, trade and mechanic in both
| cities double the customers he now has,
| il in the new competition he has the
| ability to get his share. Minneapolis
will have chance at st. Paul's people
and trade. and st. Paul at Minneapolis.
| and the fitteSt will survive and the best
man win. Thus the life blood of both
cities flows through the veins of each,
| and the vitality of each is increased
| an hundred fold. A Twin City board of
trade, elected or appointed by the St.,
Paul chamber of commerce and the,
| Minneapolis board of trade, and meet
| ing once month, or oftener, could
| bring about unity of action upon all
matters of public interest to both cities,
as our jobbers' union of the two cities
now act as to their peculiar interests.
1t would simply be one step in advance,
| of that already taken toward union.
| They could have the two cities gather
and publish their building Statistics
| their bank clearanceS, their commercial
| and manufacturing statistics, and all
| other statistics at the same time, and
| SEND THEM BROADCAST
| over the country through the Associated
| PresS-giving the Twin Cities an adj
| vertiSement every time they are sent,
| which they could not purchase for $25,'
| 600, and which would be worth a quar-
| ter of a million year in attracting CAPT
| tai, business and population. They
| could induce the managers of the Min,
/ neapoliS exposition and the state fair to
| make common cause in their exhibit
| tiOns, and double the Importance of both
| as attractions and as advertising
| agencies by enliSting the cordial activi-
| of hOt oil in, tnir tlxra tiCira