St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-05
ST. PAUL'S FUTURE.

| eSAt"iA tiiS OIlilOH IIldt lIllS CITY cAlSlS
by Sufierance-that its fortunes are
| liable to be unfavorably affected by
| whatever may occur in any portion of
| the country between the thirtieth and
| hfty-Sec0nd parallels, from Lake Michi-
gan to the rocky mountains. Theirs is
not an entirely new freak, but fresh
manifestation of an idiosyncrasy which
Is subject to periodic eruptions. Croak-
! erS of the same ilk told US long ago that
the prosperity of st. Paul was evanes-
cent; and, in their turns, Saltwater,
st. Anthony, st. Peter, st. Cloud, Wi
| mona, Mankato, Sioux City, Omaha and
| Minneapolis have been described as
about to impair her business so serious
| ~ that she could no longer hope to hold
| ner place of leading commercial city of
the Northwest. The wonder is that
| these prophets of evil learn nothing by
eXperience-that they persist in prog
! nOstlcating along the same line. not
withstanding the repeated failures they
experience.
1t is usually safe to conclude that the
| same causes, acting under like condi-
| tions, will produce similar results; and,
until it can be shown that the causes
which built I'D st. Paul have ceased to
| operate, or that the conditions have ma
terjally changed, all Vaccinations, i'm
| porting that her future will be less
| prosperous than her past, are but Idle
| conjectureS. Now, what were the con-
| ditions under which she had her growth?
The most important was her location at
| the head of navigation, on the Missis-
| Sippi river, and convenient to the OPEN
ings of the valleys of the Minnesota,
! Upper Mississippi and st. Croix rivers.
This marked her as peculiarly fitted for
the point of distribution for incoming
ana of collection for outgoing commod-
tiles of commerce. Other conditions
| were her local conyeniences for hand
ling the commercp that came TO her,
! and constantly Increasing financial abil-
| lty to care for and retain it. The causes
| operating behind these conditions were
the immense resources of the tributary
! country, and its rapid DEVELOPMENT.
These it was which made ST. Paul an
important trade center at very early
period of her history.
AS long as commerce depended upon
| steamboats,, bargcs, etc. for transporta-
tor, the hold of this city on her trade
| was generally admitted to he secure,
! but while the transition to railway car
| riage was happening, there was brief
| interval when doubt of her power to
maintain the asceudency was eXcuSable.
| THIS continued no longer, however,
| than was necessary for her to supply
herself with railway facilities. Then
| her progress was resumed with in
creased vig0r. She is now in every
| sense railroad center, and whatever
new roads may be built throughout the
| wide region known as the Northwest
must contribute to her further aggrand-
| iZement.
AS far as water transportation is con-
| Cerned, there the majestic river flow
| ing southwark through as rich country
| as can be found ip the world, and capa-
| bic Of carrying on its bosom to tide
| water, for foreign expectation, the COM
| merce of the entire country, by the least
| expensive method of conveyance; and
| of bringing hither for distribution the
| proceeds Of foreign countries and of all
| intermediate localities in its valley.
| Nor is this all. Leading from it and
| into districts thousands of miles from
| its banks are the Missouri, Arkansas
| and Red rivers, and a number of
| smaller streams which are nayigable
| for shorter distances.
-
To be sure, we are in the habit, in
| this railroad age, of looking upon rivers
| as of minor Importance as commercial
| highways; but this is neither because
| the rivers have failed in their capacity,
nor that railways have proved them
| selves superior. The sectional ieal-
Ousies between the North and the
South, resulting in the Rebellion,
| turned the entire commerce of the coun-
| try towards the East, and educated the
| people into the belief that our only road
TO foreign or Southern markets lies
through one of our Eastern seaportS,
and that city'S advantage of situation
and facilities TO handle it concentrated
the cOuntry's commerce at New York.
This has continued until the West has
almost forgotten that there are other
gateWayS out of the country. The trade
carried southwark from the northern
porti ms of this valley years ago, being
suspended by the war, has never since
been resumed, and the generation now
occupying the stage of active life only
knows of Mississippi river commerce
as tradition of the past. 1t is not to
he wondered at, therefore, that they
cannot appreciate the significance of
this river route to ST. PauPS future vel
fare.
But we are now on the eve of another
change. Slavery and the war are things
of the past. and except the inexcusable
efforts of political leaders to keep alive
sectional animositieS, everything is
tending to the establishment of AMIGA
bic relations and commercial intercourse
between the people of the two sec
tons + = Those of the South are
developing their varied resources with
vigor and zeal never hitherto known.
and every succeeding season brings
them nearer to the time when the
abundance of their products for exporta-
ton will imperatlvely demand the re-
vival Of foreign trade at their own ports
when they can no longer afford to do
their exporting via New York. This
movement will be accelerated, no doubt,
to considerable degree. by the gradual
tendency of South American trade in
this direction. When the South Ameri-
can representatives, who are now at
tending the pan-Americau congress in
Washington, return home they cannot
but exert powerful Influence in bring
ing this about. Their people will not
be slow to appreciate the folly they are
now guilty of, in purchasing Ameri-
can made goods and machinery at
Liverpool, involving. as such
transactions must, payment of double
profits, insurance and cost of trans
p0rtation. And, again, the West is
itself growing weary of pouring
its hard earnings into the lap of the
East in the triple form of high freight
TdteS, pIOutS Oh lIS produce Sent abroad,
and interest on money borrowed on
mortgages. 1t has borne this tax pa
tiently for a long time, but is now look
ing anXi0usly for relief: and. with its
rapidly increasing power, resulting
from the formation OF four new states,
will soon be in position to enforce its
demands. Even tn improvement and
more general use of facilities for ship
meDt by the northern lake route may
indirectly tend to divert larger share
of commerce southwark by creating an
tagonjSms between Eastern capitalists
adversely interested, and breaking up
that solid phalanX of power which has
enabled them for years to hold the West
as victim for plucking.
-
With intimate commercial relations
established between this country and
the South American nations, with the
trade of the Southern states revived,
and with steamboats, plying regularly