Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-04-16
Letter from an Old Correspondent.
ST. PAUL, MINI, March 81.

l..
Dear american:
l have intended for long time to write.
Things change here much in . short time,
not always for the better. The weather
here for the past winter has been very fine /;
no snow or cold weather until February
and not much of either then. % deg. be
low zero was the lowest | have seen, and
that but one morning. Horse cars have
entirely disappeared, giving place TO cleo
trio cars on all but two lines, where Ca
BILE cars" are used. St. Paul and Mime
apolis are now connected by electric cars,
time 80 minutes, fare 10 cents. Cars run
between the two cities on this line. every
ten minutes from 5 80 A. NJ. till midnight
and are always crowded, even for horse
csrs-"There's always room for one more"
won't apply to them.
Many fine buildings have been erected
within two years. The Pioneer Press has
twelve story building perhaps the best one
for offices in the city, and very many law
yers are in it. Rent is well up, from S25 to
SO per month, steam heat and electric
lights included; four passenger elevators
are running constantly till 80 p. NJ, and
one runs all night The New York Life In
surance Company have large new build
ing which they designed to be headquarters
for lawyers, putting In large library on
purpose for the use of their tenants, but
somehow they don't get the tenants The
'Endicot Arcade" is another large build
ing, the glass alone costing $4,000. Two
new theatres have been built, one hardly
finished, which are credit TO any city
if theatre can be credit to anything
one, 1.-The Metropolitan" shut its doors for
a week, because of the immoral tendency
of play proposed to be put on the stage
by company that had been engaged.
Dwelling houses of all kinds are being
built, though there are many vacant ones
now. House rent is not what would be
called cheap in The east, but Is SO per
cent. cheaper than two years ago. Wood
is about the same price as In cities east,
but we catch it on coal, % per ton for
hard, 1915 to S6 so per ton for soft.
Meat Of all kinds is much cheaper than the
same quality can be bought for in the east.
For the year 1890 this city received 1884, :
900 for licenses to sell rum. Three hun
dred and thirty-four men paid $1,000 apiece
to make drunkards. 1 wish some of the
people that think license law can be en-
forced better than aprohibitory law, could
study the beauties of license for few
months. / think they would change their
mind. In this county (Ramsey) court is
constantly in session for ten months in the
year. First there is the municipal court
with civil jurisdiction to $500, in session
every day, as it also has limited criminal
jurisdiction. Then the district court has
general term, beginning on the first Mon
day Of every month. except July and Au-
gust This court has general jurisdiction,
as the nisi prius terms of the supreme
court in Maine. There are six district
judges. and they have all they can attend
to. The supreme court is in session for
more than SIX months every year, as law
court. The practice here is under q "code"
very different from that in Maine.
A short time ago had occasion to 90 to
Brainerd, Mimi, one hundred and thirty
eight miles northwest of here on the North
ern Pacific Railroad. A few years ago
this bid fair to be an important town, but
the railroad was Strengthened, to save about
an hours time from the coast to St. Paul
and Brainerd was left out in the cold, that
is to say, instead Of being center, it is
but way station, and but one through
train day each way, out of three, passes
through it. 1t has about five thousand in
habitants, I don't know how many rum
shops, but plenty, and one large hotel
not first class hotel, either. The court
house WAS . curiosity, the court room was
large and light, and had sawdust on the
floor about two inches thick for Q carpet.
The country was level, not 1t all interest