Great Falls tribune., 1889-06-22
JAMES j. HILL.
His Character and Genius Illustrated
4 Man nf MANY purts

JAMES j. HILL.
His Character and Genius Illustrated
a Man of Many Parts.
james j. Hills present sojourn in Mon
tana calls to mind number Of charac
teristics Of this remarkable man which
may not he generally known. For ex-
ample, by some Of the fire eating farmers
alliance fanatics OF Minnesota men
who talk only from the throat outward
he has been compared to Jay Gould.
Nothing could be further from the truth;
as those know who have followed the
history of the last two decades.
He has always been. builder, never a
wrecker of railways. He has been a
pioneer and upbuilder of new regions
and has never bled the country and the
farmers for his personal profit. Neither
can Mr.. Hill be compared to Henry Vii
lard, Elijah Smith aud others Of that class.
for those men have made money chiefly
by the manipulation Of stocks, whilst he
has made money by always producing
something and adding to the country's
store OF wealth. Let those who delight
to partake Of monopoly whenever they
hear Of Il mans accumulating a fortune,
reflect that this man of millions has in
the last few years given away to the
farmers of the Northwest $50 thorough
bred bulls which cost him over $4,000.
Does not this look more like helpful
cooperation than hard-tisted monopoly?
He is called railrocd magnate, and such
indeed he is, and one Of the notable
powers in New YORK; but his intimate
friends have often seen this strong man
of iron determination get up and leave
the room when some tale of suffering
was being told, to hide the tears that
welled into hls eyes IN spite Of himself.
We have been cognizant Of the sewer-full
Of bllingSgate hurled at his devoted head
by Ignatius Donnelly because he
spurned the double barreled trickery Of
that prince Of demagogues and political
acrobats. But the baleful influence Of
Donnelly over the farmers is fast melt
ing into thin vapor and the props of his
corrupt political intrigues are rotting and
breaking beneath him. In spite of the
ignorant prejudice against men who have
accumulated fortune and fail to give it
away in what Ruskin calls rectangular
beatitudes and spherical benevolences,"
the name slim Hili' has grown to be
synonymous with something distinctly
beneficial and helpful to the country at
large and the cause Of progress. In ad
dition to native capacity broad and deep
enough to govern an empire this man has
marvellous foresight, a most uncommon
capacity for gauging the value of things
present and prospective, He is the best
human leader we have to guide the
people of the Northwest in the legitimate
path of their destiny.
A TRIBUNE representative has dis
covered that MIR. Hill is as we'll in
formed on the bible and Shakespeare as
he is on railroads and farming. As
devotee of art he is known from one end
Of the country to the other, and his
picture gallery in st. Paul is not one OF
the least of the attractions Of the SANITY
City. His favorite poem is Burns ode to
"Mary in Heaven" one of the most
beautiful thoughts that ever flowed from
mortal pen; and he reads and re-reads
DR.. Johnson's Rasselas and Charles
Lambs Essays. Although he has never
been to Europe, lie has larger store of
information about that continent than
most people who have been there many
times. The talk on religion, history, ic-
tion, poetry, politics and philosophy he
lntersperses with discussion of ties,
rails, grades, protiles, rolling stock and
terminal facilities. Is he poet, paint
err, priest, or just simply a railroad man?
Well, the TRIBUNE is disposed to think.
the one word "genius" covers it all.
A young clerk in tlfe Manitoba general
offices at St. Paul tells characteristic in
cident of Mr.. Hill. The annual report
was approaching due. and this clerk went
along with the president to the North
Oaks farm, II miles out Of St. Paul, hay-
ing with them the materials for the re-
port. They worked until 2 o'clock in the
morning on the figures and details, when
the clerk, who had taken a severe cold
and complained of ngestive feeling
about his lungs, retired. He did not
sleep very well, and about half past 3
o'clock, in the darkness, when he pretend
ed to be asleep, figure stole noiselessly
into the room, examined the windows to
see if there was suitable ventilation and
no undue draught, then readjusted the
covering of the patient with all the care
full tenderness a mother could have shown,
and then stole just as silently out. That
figure was the man people call slim HILL"
This has grown to be term of affection
and respect on the tongues of many peo-
pie because of multitude Of acts like
that Just narrated.
Terrible.
Two-thirds of all deaths in New York
City are from consumption or pneumonia,