Morris tribune., 1891-11-18
Duluth Correspondence.
DULUTH, Mimi, Nov. 16, '91.

about the hills and plains that orna-
ment her a population that will make
Duluth one of the great cities of the
country.
Duluth is today ON more solid foot
ing than ever before, and even to
resident the great changes of few
years are continual wonder. When
the writer first saw Duluth in 1882 it
was an oyergrown village, made up of
a multitude of poor frame houses, one
or two elevators, decayed docks, mud
dy streets, a bare hill front that looked
as ugly and unpromising as the rocky
New Hampshire mountain farm in
Sol Smith Russells new play of the
Peaceful Valley" where the cows
and the sheep were tied down to keep
them from slipping over into the
neighbor's cornfield below. The only
things OF beauty were Chester creek
and Miller's creek, two lovely and pic
thresque streams which now form so
delightful a part of the city's park
system, and then ran free in all their
mutual attractiveness.
How changed the place is today.
Here are now $4,000 people; then Du-
luth had population of 5000, nearly
all lumbermen and tradesmen, though
there was beard of trade of seven or
eight members who met half an hour
a day and almost regularly adjourned
without a transaction. I remember
that the official circular of those days
had a uniform style of reporting the
markets Buyers and sellers apart
Then the grain receipts ran up to
2,OO0,000 bushels for the year; for the
present year they will go to 55,0OO,OO0,
and for the crop year from 100000
to 50.0O0,000 bushels. For the past
ten weeks they have been 100000
bushels. Then there were two eleva-
tors, lone uncompleted0 now the ca
pacity of elevators at the head of the
lake is 100000 bushels. Then there
were no flour mills; now Duluth mills
grind 5000 barrels daily. Then the
annual tonnage of the port was less
than 500,0C0 tons; now it is 100000
tons, and the arrivals and departures
OF great steamers this month will be
over 500. Then there were but two
railroads here; now there are eight
and this year they will bring here over
4,OOO,OOO,OOO pounds of freight; three
passenger trains arrived daily and as
many departed; now, including short
line trains, over 100 come into and &c
out of the union depot every twenty
four hours, carrying 1900 passengers
There was no jobbing business then
but this year it will amount to about
| S25,OOO,OOO. No mines had resounded
to the stroke of the miners blow; now
a capital of over S15,OO0,OO0 is invest
ed in Duluth's iron ranges, 5000 mer
are employed there and 100000 ton:
of iron ore are taken out every year
Duluth had no graded streets, scarcely
any sidewelks, no sewers, no gas, wa
ter works or electric lights; no stree
car service, no great business blocks
and but few good residences. Nov
there are n miles of graded streets
II miles of paved streets, 81 miles O.
sewers, 125 of sidewalks, 35 of ga:
and water mains, two electric Ggh
plants, II miles of the best system OF
electric car service and great eleva
i. ted cable road; her streets are linec
with costly business blocks and beau
i tiful and spacious homes dother lovely
hillsides and pretty plains.
The large business of the grain mel
this year has been spoken of above
The wheat arrivals here from Septem
Der l, the beginning of the crop year
to the 11th inst; amounted to 2O,123,
$40 bushels, or over $1,000 cars. II
the same time Minneapolis has re
ceived less than 17,5OO,OOO bushels
The shipments from here have beel
about 4,5OOyOOO bushels less than tn
receipts, but from this time out to tn
end of navigation will be heavier thai
the arrivals. Last weeks receipts a
both Minneapolis and Duluth wer
4,5O5,6O7 bushels, against 2,625,OO
bushels for the same week last yea,
Of the receipts this year Duluth go
2,779,367 bushels to 1,726,240 at tn
city by the falls; while of those las
year we had only 624,sO2 bushels.
While Duluth is paying much high
{ er wheat rates to Buffalo than Chica
go, hard coal is being brought ler
from Buffalo for Is cents a ton, Will
the rate to Chicago is 70 cents. 1t
said that wheat shipments from her
, this week will be near 100000 bush
els and that 100 steamers are unde
charter to load this month.
There were 1905 cars of wheat O
track here yesterday morning, whic
breaks the record here by 157 carr
and also the record for all markets.
J The big Imperial mill made it
champion run last Wednesday, whe
it turned out $3.50 barrels. This wa
on machinery intended fora maximum
run of $500 barrels. AS soon as tn
r immense new engine now building