Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1889-03-22

look up. They built twenty miiea Of road
through = terrible country. Last fall they
asked that the lands for this road be allotted to
them. This met with opposition, not frsm the
people, but from the Brsinerd L Northwestern:
controlled as It is by the Manitoba. and, Is re-
suit, these lands have not yet been allotted to
them. My position to-day is just what l. was
four years ago. in favor OF road through the
northern part of the state.
1.-THE legislature Is not asked to do anything
in regard 10 these lands. II cannot do anythin &
that will chaAge the state of affairs. The for
seiture bill which was killed in the house. was
Z Manitoba measure. The secret Of their opposi-
ton is not hard to discern. The construction Of
the road would mean competition to them and .
consequent reduction Of rates. That Is al there
Is Of 1t The legislature is simply asked to in.
crease the time Of the giant. which would clear
the matter up and take it out Of tho courts. 1t
is q mistake, however, to suppose that II this
biltis killed the lands revert to the state. They
do not. The forfeiture bill provided for that,
and the lower house killed 1t. Ifthe senate kills
this other BILL the lands remain just they are.
One Of The absurd fallacics Of the position Of the
opposition to this bill Is that they claim that the
Duluth & Winnipeg has no rights III the matter.
II It has not, why was it necessary to introduce
this forfeiture hill -.
This extension Of grant Is a thing that has
never bsen denied any road by the legislature of
this state aor by the general government to any
rad In this state nor any In the Northwest. The
very men who oppose It have grown rich BY this
extension Of grants. Othe r roads have had ex-
tension AFTER extension. Why should 1t be de-
MED now7 The only reason Is that tho Aanito-
ba does not want the road built The opposition
does not come from the people. That at Brainerd
II controlled by Mr.. Kindred. who in turn Is
controlled by the Manitoba
THE situation is simple. There IL plenty Of
money behind this Duluth road. It has built
twenty miles OF the road aud 1t pledges itself 10
build one hundred miles tbs year and each year
till the road il done. It is a tangible PROPOSE
ton Its outfits are ready to 60 to work as soon
% this thing is settled. The legislature II not
asked to put dollar Of the states money into It.
It Is simply asked 10 take an action which win
take this matter out of the courts where the op-
position can worry it for years. But the state
cannot get the lands back, for 4 forfeiture can.
not be made without an act Of forfeiture, and
the house has refused 10 pass it.
''As to tho benefits arising from the building Of
the road, volume might be written. Look at
the Duluth & Iron Range for example. There Is
= road ninety miles long, which has brought
int the state treasury IN one year 10000. It
was built into territory which before did not
bring into the state ono mill. Besides the build
Ing ofthe road. the company has put $1,000, 900
worth Of improvsments along Its line, and three,
aourtshing. cities have sprung up. A territory
rich In minerals and timber has besn opened up
That road never would have been built without
the land grant. Ths country would never have
Otherwise been touched. 1fthere was anything
there. It was impossible to get It ont Every
mile OF the Duluth Z Winnipeg viii be just q
valuable to the state proportionally. Onc.thlrd
OF the area Of tho state Is north OF the Northern
Pacific road. Il Il Q barren wilderness, prac-
tically unsettled. and ret containing some Of the
finer, pine land and richest mineral land in the
state. Il goes without saying that this will
never be opened up without the land grant. The
lands the state holds are practically yslueless,
because they are unstable Build this road and
they are worth something. They Gun be sold,
and thousands and Thousands Of dollass will
flow into the state treasury from this source and
from taxation Of lands that do not now produce
n cent. North OF certain point tho waters Of
this state aow north. The fine timber IS being
cut by crews that come in from the other side.
and whose supplies are brought from the other
side The logs are HoateA north right out OF our
state. into Canals, where they IRE; cut:np. Pit
this road IN. and they will come this way. We
shnlIget the benefits OF the business instead Of
Manitoba. The Wholesale men Of these cities
will furnish the supplies. Not only th1t, but tho
co4t Of supplying our own. camps Will b sreltly
reduced again. the vast fow OF etnixratiou