The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-07-30
THE ZENITH CITY.
a City that Every Loyal
Minnesotian Should
q Feel Proud Of.
Its Big Wholesale Houses
and It's Magnificent Ly-
ceum Building.
THE ZENITH CITY.
The Crop of Congressional
Candidates on the Re-
publican Side.

| ~ puOl1CCII 01kAOs ..E .-
| A few weeks since the writer spent
several days in Minnesota's only sea-
port town, Duluth. I say seaport
town, because wheat can be loaded on
a steamship at Duluth and unloaded
from the same vessel, at Liverpool. A
! more hospitable, whole-souled go-ahead
people than the citizens OF Duluth do
not exist in this or any other country.
The courtesy, hospitality and enter
prise of Duluthians is proverbial. One
thing that impresses stranger very
forcibly is the intense loyalty of Du-
luthlans to Duluth, and the great and
abiding faith they have in their city.
Every man and boy one meets, from
the boot-black to the millionaire cap
italist, swears by Duluth. They have
| reason to feel proud of their city, so
has every citizen of the State. A few
years ago it was an unimportant ham,
let. To-day it is the third city Of Min
nesota, is the terminal point of half
dozen trunk railroad lines and the OBJ
jective point of four or five projected
roads, is the largest wheat shipping
port in the United States, has the fin
est system of electric street cars and
electric lights in the northwest, it's
hotels cannot be excelled, it's dozen or
more banking institutions are as solid
as the rocks, the school buildings
would be a credit to city of
half a million population, it has i'm
mense wholesale houses, and it's rocky
thin sides are dotted with hundreds
of beautiful private residences, besides
it is a manufacturing city of no mean
Importance. expect to live to see the
day when Duluth will have popula-
ton of 100000, and I will not have to
live beyond the allotted age of man to
see it either.
The wholesale house are deserving
of more than a passing notice. The
building up of the Duluth jobbing
trade has been rapid and more success
full than the most sanguine Duluthians
anticipated, The Wells-Chapin Hard
ware Company, the Wells-Stone Mer-
! camille Company and several other
concerns, the names of which have es-
capped my memory, are Of older date,
but it is of the Duluth Dry Goods Com
pany and the Duluth Boot and Shoe
Company that I wish particularly to
speak. They are the products of seven
months effort. The dry goods COM
pany started in business only seven
months ago and has achieved a phe-
nomenal success in that time. In less
than two months they were doing
business equal to what they anticipated
for the end of the first year. In proof
of this it is only necessary to cite what
Mr.. Mendhall stated to the writer. He
said: ..>.E. :.. .... E.
The business of the Duluth Dry
Goods company and the Duluth Shoe
company has increased in a wonderful
degree during the few months that
! these houses have been in operation.
The receipts of the dry goods company
at the present time are over $1,000 a
day. When the company began bust
| ness last january it was only expected
that they would do about 100000
worth of business the first year. In
stead of that, even in these dull times,
| the business of the company will reach
| between S75O,O00 and 81 100000 before
next January
So encouraging has been our business
that we have determined to increase
our paid in capital $4,000 more this
fall. The dry goods company will then
| have a paid in capital of $l50,000, and
the shoe company a paid in capital Of
Sl25,OOO Our drummers sell goods all
over the Northwest in competition
I with Chicago and ST. Paul. We can
easily undersell Marshall Field or any
ST. Paul firm on account of our advan-
tages in lake and rail rates. Our
goods are laid down here by lake at the
same rate that they are laid down at
| Chicago and we have a great advan-
tage over them in rail rates to the
Northwest, while ST. Paul is at a still
greater disadvantage in rail rates. We
! even reach to White Bear lake in the
direction Of St. Paul, and sell goods
even in ST. Paul under the very noses
of their wholesale firms.
! We feel greatly encouraged at our
success and will enlarge and push the
wholesale business for all there is in it.
/. It is expected that Duluth will possess
before next spring a full line of jobbing
houses including drugs and harness.