St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-26

facilities. The Importance of this great
road to the business of st. Paul and to
the future growth of the city can scarce
ly be OVerestimated. Its employees in
this city, including its Office force, its
shop force. its train men, yard men. etc,
would. with their families, if placed by
themselves, make a considerable town.
The enormous extent of the country
reached by the Northern Pacific lines.
the trade of which is to a greater or less
extent drawn over these lines to st.
Paul. may be best understood by people
who are familiar with the East, and not
with the West, by the statement that
the halfway point between New York
city and Portland, Or. is in North
erm Minnesota at place called
New York Mills. In other words, the
Northern Pacific has about 200 miles
more of country from which to draw
its business west of st. Paul than the
entire country from St. Paul to the At
Iantic coast. Another distance statement
will be interesting in this connection.
The halfway point between St. Paul
and the Puget Sound cities is in the
valley Of the upper Yellowstone in
Eastern Montana, not far from the town
of Billings.
The Northern Pacific earned during
the year ending June 80, 1891, S25, ISL
544, and it expended in operating its
road and the payment of taxes Sl5. 400,-
996. leaving its net earnings 50, $50, 547.
Its earnings have steadily increased
from the day it was opened, and are
destined to go an increasing for many
wears to come. To carry on its business
it requires COB locomotives. over 10000
box cars, over 1000 fiat cars. 1000 coal
cars and a great variety of other forms
of rolling stock. Besides its interests as
a transportation line, it owns the
largest land grant ever given by the
generosity of congress to any corpora
ton. This grant was originally forty
miles wide through the state Of Mime
sofa, and eighty miles wide all the rest
of the way to the Pacific coast, but the
losses by settlement and Indian reServa-
tiOns caused congress to extend it tel
miles further OH each side of the origi-
nal strip. The land department, the
headquarters of which are at st. Paul,
practically controls a domain larger
than many European kingdoms. In the
administration of this great grant the
steady policy pursued has been to ell
courage settlement by placing low prices
upon the lands sold, and making the
payments stretch over as much time as
the purchaser desires. In case of ina
bility 10 make payments the company
has always shown great leniency in ex-
tending the time, and has sought to
make itself friend of the settler.
More than once. when there has been a
local and partial failure of crops in some
newly settled region, the company has
come to the aid of the pioneers, furnish
ing them with seed grain and often CIV
. -lr.r- n
enable them to support their families
until better times should come. By
pursuing this policy the Northern Paci-
fic has been able to make great sue
cess of the settlement of the immense
region through which its road runs, and
which were for the most part an unin-
habited waste when its main line was
completed. This main line now trav-
erses four prosperous states, which
were then remote and SparSely settled
territories. In the building of these
states it has been the chief factor, at
tracing settlers to them by liberal. per-
Sistent and truthful advertising. The
policy Of the company has never been
to make highly-colored statements in
regard to the region it penetrates; it
has sought to tell the truth, believing
that the truth was good enough, and it
IS Sdlo W say llldI VI Tie teuS VI
thousands of people who have been led
by its information to settle in the new
Northwest not one in a hundred has
failed to find better opportunities for
gaining independence that he left in his
old home.
Fine Stretch of Country.
The question is frequently asked.
what kind of country is it between St.
Paul and the Pacific coast? This is a
question impossible to answer in sim
gle sentence. AS we'll try to say what
kind of country lies between Boston
and TesXas? There are great many
different kinds of country between st.
Paul and the Pacific coast. widely diff
ferent, In fact, in climate, scenery and
productions. Let US take glimpse at
this great new region. Let US suppose