St. Paul daily globe., 1891-09-15
st. Paul Will Heneefopth Take
No More Stock in Twin City
Union Cries.
Thomas Cochran Jr. Ridicules
Minneapolis Capitalists in
Pronounced Style.
The Sanity City Can Do Well
Enough Without the Aid OF
the Mill City.
Misrepresentation Cleared
Up and the Reply Courteous
to Unmerited Abuse.

Owing to the illness of NJ. D. Mum,
chairman OF the Twin City committee
of the chamber of commerce, the re-
port Of the committee in regard to the
action of the Minneapolis board of
trade. relative to the proposition look
ing 10 a union of the two cities, was not
presented at the chamber of commerce
yesterday morning. 1t is expected to
be read, however, at the next meeting.
Thomas Cochran Jr., however, appeared
before the chamber, ard when the re-
port of the Minneapolis board of trade
had been read, delivered himself of the
following:
1t is not true, as is alleged in the re-
port, that the ''present agitation of the
question comes from parties engaged in
land speculation between the cities"
Examination of the records shows that
the resolution under which the commit
tee of this body was appointed vas
moved by Hon. Nj. ID. Mum, who is GER
tainly unknown as Midway property
owner, and the composition of the com
mittee itself is such as emphatically dis
proves such an assertion, none of its
members being Midway property own
erS; but two being, Instead, largely in
terested in a suburb at the farthest pos
Slble remove from Minneapolis Oh the
eastern side of our own city.
The one man to whom the present dis
cussion of the question is more due than
to any other is Thomas Lowry, of Min
neapolis, who, by his organization Of
the Twin City Electric Railway COM
panY, lately incorporated in New Jersey,
and by his repeated interviews in East
ern papers, has brought the su bject
anew to the attention of the public
everywhere, and has, with his usual
upon it in an exactly contrary spirit
from that apparent in the report of the
board of trade OF his own city.
Ii 1t were true, as the report asserts,
which it is not, that 1.-THE territory which
separates the two cities is largely farms
and unsettled districts making it i'm
possible to merge the two cities into
oGe," how can it also be true, as the re-
port also asserts. that a 'plan could
readily have been devised for building
the Twin Cities into one, and for their
consolidation with common name and
government at some future+tlme, if only
the same fair, progressive spirit had
been shown by st. Paul towards Min
HGdpOllo dS His pIGfdlltu Ill LildI CITY
until within the past year?'
While this body has no larger or more
particular interest in the interurban
district than in any other part of our
city, we deny that it is largely occu-
pied by farms and unsettled districts"
but assert that it is filled with villages
containing railroads and business CEN
terS, manufacturing establishments and
residence nelghDOrhOodS, whose rapid
growth probably
EXcites the Jealousy
of those members of the committee of
the board of trade whose real estate in
terestS are well known TO lie largely in
another direction far to the west, and
even outside of their own city limits. 1t
is probably to this latter section the re-
port refers, when it pleads that "Min-
neapoliS should not desert her own ter
ritory and build up st. Paul"
Finally, it is not true that st. Paul has
either lacked on the one hand fair,
progressive spirit to meet the liberal.
friendly spirit of her sister city-of
which we presume the present report of
the board of trade is not to be taken as
a fair sample-or has evinced on the
other unfair treatment and unproyoked
hostility towards Minneapolis.
But on the other hand, the facts are
exactly the reverse. 1t is true, if now
somewhat remote history. that st. Paul
was instrumental in having ceded to
Hennepin county that part of Ramsey
county which now forms Minneapolis
East, thus giving Minneapolis not only
a large population but also the munic-
ipal control of her water power, upon
which she so boastingly bases her won
derful growth and present prosperity.
1t is also true that citizens of st. Paul
were the representatives. in congress
who obtained the magnificent appro-
priationS from the general government
by which this water power has been
preserved and improved.
1t is true again that leading citiZe rs
of this city have always been prominent
and largely influential on the board of
regents of the state university. and
have perSistently used their influence
in fostering that institution by both
public and private means, although so
situated geographically as that its
growth directly contributes to the pros
perty of Minneapolis, and causes it
largely to be looked upon as local in
Stitution.
We declare, finally, that the citizens
of st. Paul are actuated neither by
feelings of envy because of the growth
and prosperity OF minneapolis, nor by
feelings of fear or expectation of her
future supremacy.
St. Paul needs no report from this
chamber containing false statements,
unfair comparisons, concealed inuen-
does and open discourtesIeS to a sister
organization to herald anew her stabil-
ity ana steady and prosperous growth
to the world.
Recognizing, in the words of the
board of trade, ''that the commercial in
terests of the two cities are largely
identical; that competition that draws
from one draws from the other; that
many projects and improvements which
both could handle together neither
could handle alone. and that the two
cities should work harmoniouSly to-
gether in such Matters" and believing
that harmony can best be obtained by a
closer union, we have been, and still
are, willing to unite in any proper and
self-respectful efforts to effect such a
union; but we are, on the other hand,
also ready ''to go it alone," to fight our
own battles, win our own victories, and
to stand before the world in the future
as in the past, as the best illustration
| of solid, conservative, healthy and un.
inflated growth which, we believe, the
continent exhibits.
l shall be pleased to welcome all my