Little Falls transcript., 1889-10-04
From the Mississippi Valley Lunberman. :A
THE FAITH IN THE FUTURE

ly the beginning Of a movement cal
culated to almost indefinitely increase
the timbered resources to feed the
Minneapolis mills. Not that there is
any immediate prospect that the mills
located here will need more
timber than is already within their
reach, but it is more than probable
that the opening Of new fields oftim-
ber supply will encourage and lead
to the building Of new mills, and the
developing of the numbering industry
at this point. Up to the present time
the mills of Minneapolis have drawn
their supply from the timber immed,-
ately tributary to the Mississippi riv-
er and its several feeders. But the
Itasca company is now engaged in
pushing railroad east into timber,
which might otherwise be sent down
the St. Louis river, and the Gull Riv-
er Lumber company is pushing q
railroad into timber, which without
railroad outlet would be next to inac-
cessible. These ventures, backed Of
course by the knowledge that the logs
can be got out cheap enough to ena-
Bile the men engaged in logging to
compete with others favored with
timber contiguous to streams, which
are already we'll defined channels in
getting logs to the mills, suggests that
the time will undoubtedly come when
railroads will be built northerly from
the Leech lake country into timber
along the Big Fork, the Little Fork
and other streams running north into
Lake of the Woods. Unless there
should be an extraordinarily large
demand for lumber in Manitoba and
the British Northwest, and fancy
price be made for lumber in that Sec
ton, railroads can be built and the
logs hauled to the Mississippi and
marketed to better advantage in Min
neapolis than they could be at Rat
Portage and the other points on Lake
of the WUods where saw mills haze
already been built. 1t is safe to pre-
dict that large part of the timber on
the northern slope Of Minnesota will
some day be brought south with the
aid of railroads and the Mississippi
river, instead Of going north, as all
the timber now cut along these
streams is now going north. Nor is
this predicted entirely upon the fact
that better facilities are offered for the
distribution Of lumber at Minneapolis
than any where else west Of Chicago.
1t requires only cursory study Of
the map Of Minnesota to show that
the Mississippi drains larger area of
country than any stream in any Of
the northern numbering states-yes,
or in the country. There was origin
ally, and probably still is, more stand
ing timber tributary to it than is trib-
utary to any stream in the country
And even these resources are likely
to be materially increased by logging
railroads pushed out into. outlying
timber districts, and the logs cut in
these districts dumped into the Missis.
sippi to be tloatel to Minneapolis
the oest distributing point outside Of
Chicago-and point where facilities
are likely to improve. Why? Be-
cause the Mississippi is as favorable a
stream for floating logs to market as
exists anywhere. Between the Falls
Of Pokegema and Brainerd it is al
ideal logging staeam. The govern
ment has already built series OF
dams, which it has been proven are
capable Of maintaining a good stage
Of water during any period Of the year
Similar improvements in other states
and on other streams have generally
been made rs necessity ut the ex.
pense of the lumbermen. The loggel
who by railroad or by tributary
stream once gets his logs into the Mis-
isssippi can safely gamble on being
able to get them to the mills at Min
neapoIis within reasonable time.
What nature and the general govern
ment has done for the river above
Brainerd the Mississippi IL Run
River Boom company are supplement-
ing by q system Of Improvements be.
tween Brainerd and Minneapolis cal
culated to make the cost of handling
logs between these points merely
nominal. Back Of these facilities
there is timber---how much it is im
possible to say-but vastly more thar
any of the "official' estimates have
ever shown.
1t is this condition of affairs which
justifes the men in the trade, who
are most familiar with the situation
in predicting that some sday more
lumber will be made in Minneapoli:
than has been made, or is made Al
any other point. The mills at tht
mouth of the Menominee river will
probably make more lumber this yea
than will be made at Muskegcn
which was last season the king.
But how much territory does thu
Menominee river or the Muckegol
river drain, as compared with th'
Mississippi A study ola map vii
give the best, answer. To this ele
mens Of strength-resources enough
to make an immense manufacturin!
centre and facilities of the very hes
for getting logs from the stump t
the mill-there should be added rec
ognition Of the fact that a half dozel
lines of railroad already stretcl