St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-25
IN MANUFACTURING.
Minneapolis Tremendous In
crease During the Past
Twenty Years.
Some Facts and Figures
That Are Startling in Their
Significance.
A Brief Glance at What Has
Been Done In the Year
1889.
Forecasting the Future for
Twin City Industrial
Prospects.

| understood the undevelOped POSSIBLE
ties of the falls of st. Anthony fully as
well as the men who have since coined
millions of dollars in wealth out of this
unsurpassed water power. For years
before the Indian title to the lands bor-
dering the falls was eXtinguished far
sighted men had their weather-eye
fixed upon this great water power, and
when the lands came into market there
was very interesting contest as to who
should own the shore right, which
would give to the posSessor the owner
ship of the falls.
1t was back somewhere in the '40'S
before the territory of Minnesota had
| been organized. that treaty was made
with the Dakota Indians ceding the
lands east of the Mlssissippi;river to the
! government. 1t was known that the
| next session of congress would ratify
| the treaty, but then, as now, no squat
| ter or settler was allowed to take pos
session of any lands until all the details
| had been cOnsummated, and the title to
the lands assured by the proclamation
| of the president of the United States.
The army officers at Fort Smelling had
formed ''Pool'' for securing possession
of the land at the falls. They had an
agent at Washington, whose business it
was to keep his eye on the details, and
| forward to certain captain at the Fort
| the earliest intelligence of the preSi
| dents proclamation. Franklin Steele
| was post trader or ''suttler" at the Fort
"a man of business, and with the energy
| of a steam engine. The officers had
made the mistake of leaving him out of
| the pool. But he also had an agent at
Washington, and was awaiting the
movements of events.
The mail arrived at the Fort late in
| the evening of a cold night in mld-Win-
| ter, bringing letter from Washington
| for the captain, and also one for MIR.
| Steele. (The mails came once in two
weeks from Prairie lu Chen during the
| season. Mr. Steele deStr ibuted the
| mail, but the captain was snugly
| quartered-either in bed or playing a
| social game of poker with his fellOW-of-
| ficerS. Mr. Steele was devoting his at
| tention strictly to business. Some days
| before he had deposited a quantity of
| wrough lumber in the bushes near the
/ falls on the eastern side of the river,
| and after midnight on this memorable
| occasion took a gang of WOrkmen, and
| started to erect his claim Shanty.
This task was completed in a few
| hours, and cooking stove put up and
| the little room arranged all in the cosIest
| style
BEFORE SUNRISE NEXT MORNING.
Along about the middle of the fore
| noon two or three wagons, laden with
| lumber and household goods, were dis
covered by ''the first settler slowly
vending their way toward the falls.
Discovering the newly erected ''shack,"
the captain (for it was he) and his gang
OF labOrerS drove up, and found MIR.
| Steele. solitary and alone, busily en-
gagged in cooking his dinner. Eyes"
he cody remarked, this is my second
meal on my claim. What do you think
of my new house. captain?"
Tradition has preserved the conversa-
ton that ensued. but public taste and
the general culture of newspaper read
ers, have long since proclaimed that to
embalm vociferous profanity in cold
print is neither good manners nor good
morals.
But Mr.. Franklin Steele held mis-
claim, and founded the good city of ST.
Anthony, which a generation later was
merge ed into the city of Minneapolis.
and is now the east division of this city.
Years afterwards, when the military
title to to the west division, or Mime
apolis proper, was eXtinguiShed. Mr..
Steele became the owner of half inter
est of Col. Stevens claim, and thus was
interested in the development of both
sides of the river.
But manufacturing is plant or slow
growth. 1t was more than generation
after the first settlement made by
Franklin Steele before the Northwest
was sufficiently pOpulous to justify the
establishment of manufactures on a
large scale. In 1858 New England
papers spoke of this city as ''the Lowell
of the West" but this was because of
the great water power itself rather than
it's utilization for turning the wheels of
industry. Even Touring mills were not
profitable investments until two or three
wears after the war, when the system Of
middlings, purifiers and all the details of
the patent process of the manufacture
of breadstuffS were brought into active
use.
In November, 1865. or just twenty-one
years ago, the entire capital employed
in manufacturing industries is set down
officially in the report of the board of
trade at $685., 1889, and the value Of the
manufactured products for the year
1867 at s., 261 ,614. These products con-
barrels, sash. doors and blinds, wooden
ware, saddlery. wooden goods, machin-
cry, furniture, eve-trO ughS, agricult-
ural implements, hoop-skirts, sugars,
boots and shoes, oil, stoves. soap,
brooms, wines, liquors, and gloves.
This comprised the entire list of arti-
cles manufactured in Minneapolis
twenty-one years ago. To-day the list
is extended until it includes mill-fur-
nishing machinery of all kinds, avn
ings and tents, all manufactured
paper articles, bottling works, paving
stone, street and railway cars, cigars
mems and women'S clothing, cream
cries, electrotyping and printers sup
plies, fence works, mattresses and car
pets, blasS bottles and stained glass,
gloves, moccasinS and fur goods, gram
lite and marble works, hardware, stoves.
furnaces and heaters. trunks and belt
ing, jewelry, millinery and hair goods,
opticians supplies, packing houses.
paints and oils, patterns and models,
potteries. soda and mineral waters,
sewerpipe: machinery, showcases and
Office furniture and fixtures, spices and
starch. knit underwear and suspenders.
Besides this largely extended list there
is a large number of smaller manufact-
urlng institutions listed under the gen.
eral head of miscellaneous" The en-
tire manufacturing interests of the city
increased during the twenty-one years
from November, 1868, to 1889, from
| s.. 65522, $50 in the former year to SS3,075,-
| 10l in the latter year. During the
YEAR JUST ABOUT CLOSING
the statistics have not yet been fully
collated and prepared for publication,
but those best informed on the subject
assert confidentialJy that the develop
ment has been steady and marked, and
| that not less than $1,5O0,000 has been
| added to the manufactured product
| during 1889.
The great water power of st. An
| thony falls was the original sign and
guaranty that, in that vicinity. would
ufacturing center in the West, and
eventually in the world. In olden
times it was thought practically ind
possible to utilize all the power. fur,
| nished by the falls, and nearly all old
Il sl~.k fssh Pm