The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-10-18
Some Gold Sweat.

GREAT WEST recently met, at an
evening entertainment, a gentleman
from Holland, who had spent some
time in Switzerland, and was now
connected with an American watch
factory He was cOrralled under the
shadow Of a huge conservatory plant,
and interviewed with some such re-
suit as follows:
"Why do not more Hollanders and
Swiss come to this country?"
"They do cOme-in drOves at
times"
eve do not see them here
ono, there are reasons for it,"
"Can you give them to me?"
"Not clearly. / can easily make
the reasons too strong, if speak my
own convictions, and yet they are
strong enough, in fact, to have in
fluence. You see when a family of
either means Or intelligence thinks Of
coming to this country they consult
some well read person about where
to go. They talk of different states
and territories and get opinions.
"They certainly get good opinions
of Minnesota and Dakota?'
"Well, nO-nOt of Minnesota"
"But they must hear of our famous
wheat?' f....-.
ooh yes, but they know that wheat
is worth LIS in Liverpool and only
SOC. in Dakota and say Coo. in Mime
sofa.
But they also know that the Red
River is a good ways from Liverpool
"Well, they don't know very we'll
where any of these states are-any
more than you can locate Saxony off
hand. But they know that two
cents takes wheat across the ocean,
and that the railroad monsters of
the West charge 25c a bushel to get
wheat to market 100 and 200 miles
from the farm
"MOnsters!"
Eyes, for the American railroad is
looked upon as a fraud and l guess
it isl
$50 do I-but the railroad don't
charge % cents to carry wheat 100 to
200 miles.
Eyes it does.''
"But 1 am compelled to say it
don't"
"And I am compelled to say it
does at the price of wheat at
the Russian Colonies! What is the
price of wheat in the central part of
your state?"
Medium grade &c."
every well, it is SIC. in Minneapolis
that is a zoe. difference, at home"
But the railroad freight" we ex-
planned, is but X cents a bushel for
125 miles.
"Then,:' said he, "where does the
13A cents goc'
'The elevators get it,
"DO not the elevators stand in
with the roads?''
Indeed they do
every we'll The Hollander and
the Swiss, and l presume other for
eigners, look these matters up, and
they will not leave the tyranny of
the Old World for the thievery of the
new. A Hollander can ship his goods
to the Black Sea, overland, cheaper
than you can ship from Fergus Falls
to st. Paul.
"Do you really think that the rail-
road policy of Minnesota Injuries the
State?"
II know it, know it positively.
/ know that the heavy men in Eng
Land, too, look upon your entire COM
mercial system as a vast speculation.
That is the reason English specula-
tive capital s rushing over here
What else do they say regarding
the Wst?"
Il am not a walking encyclopedia
but what I say is true. About the
first thing some Europeans would
ask when investigating the West,
would be, "What does coal cost?''
And do they know"
"The better class do. They know
1T costs 400 q ton from Chicago to
carry 1t the first 200 miles west of the
Mississippi River!n
1t does have bad look, don tit. ;"
eyes, Dr., it does. The railroad
swindle is great injury to your
State-an injury you can never over
come. Your State is not growing as
it should"
Here is food for reflection.
Johnny, what's mule?''