The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-07-23
WEST SUPERIOR.
The Beautiful City E1tolled By a Talented
Discinle of blackstone

The Beautiful City Extolled By Talented
Disciple Of Blackstone.
At the banquet given to the A. o. IL.
Of Wisconsin assembled in convention at
West Superior last week, the toast ''Our
City" was responded to by Attorney F..
Fl. O'Brien in the following eloquent
strain:
Mr.. POSTMASTER, ladies and gentle
men: The aspiring eloquence OF the
poetical real estate man, glowing with
facts and figures, rep'ete with statistical
lore. has not done full justice to the past
achievements and the future greatness OF
Superior. The amateur poet has sung
of the Getty of Destiny" Our winsome
high school girl has made this burg the
theme of her graduating address and
sweet was the praise that fell in silver
tones from sweeter lips. The city statis-
tlcan under the llfe-giying inspiration of
a once fat salary has wildly portrayed
the basis of our coming grandeur. But
the half has not been told.
Superior in her history reminds us of
the chequered career of the average
American statesman. She experienced
all the bitter disappointments that
mark his early life. She knew what it
was to sit at the very gates of vast en-
pire, waiting patiently day after day for
the passing event that would restore to
her possession the key to unlock it's
treasures. All around she saw her up
start rivals rise as if by magic On their
beetling cliffs or sandy plains.
As far back as 1854 the immense COM
mercial advantages of this point were
fully realized by some of the greatest
fnanciers and statesmen of the day.
Horace Greeley, as he gazed down the
dark vale of futurity, saw with clear
prophetic vision the future metropolis at
Superior.
After the plating of the "old town" in
1868, busting activity prevailed along
Superior Bay for short period. The
first throes of the coming rebellion shook
the country, north and south, and many
of the inhabitants being of southern ex
traction went south to fight for Dixie's
land. From that time on till 1885 must be
considered as blank page in Superior's
history. The tall grass grew in the
streets and the ruined houses told a sad
story of desertion. Rip Van Wrinkle is
alleged by no less an authority than
Washington Irving TO have slept for 20
years. I was reading somewhere the
other day about Minnesota man who
slept thirty years. Ut didn't say wheth-
er he was Duluth man or mott. But
here was case of an American town and
all the inhabitants thereof wrapped in
the arms of Morpheus for we'll nigh forty
years. But our city was not dead-only
sleeping. In that comatose condition
it remained until 1885.
Can we realize that seven years ago
there we're scarcely 1000 inhabitants in
all Douglas county? Seven years ago
cur energetic neighbors across the bay
looked down from their craggy heights
with grim sarcasm at the noble efforts of
General John Hughitt Hammond to
drain and civilize the God-forsaken
swamp that then comprised the after
wards world-famous West Superior, the
chos en- battle ground Of Pierce coun-
ty statesmen and Dakota politicians.
Our growth has been the wonder or an
admiring world, but if that world would
stop and consider, it would wonder not
at our astonishing growth, but ii would
ask the question chow did they keep this
young giant bound SO long?"
History teaches and political economy
breaches that in every stage OF civlllza-
ton the cities that have exercised the
greatest influence on human affairs are
those that have grown up, not at the
bidding of some earthly potentate, but
in obedience to the natural laws of trade
and commerce. Even in ancient times
the absolute monarchs whose every
whim was law paid certain respect to
the natural law and built their great
cities so that they commanded the chan
nels of transportation. Transportation
by water always has been, is now, and 1
venture to say always will be cheaper
than by land Consequently we behold
the great cities of ancient and modern
times growing upon the banks of some
great river or commanding some great
outlet to the sea. Babylon rose proudly
by the broad shores of the Euphrates.
Tyre and Sidon, on the shore of the
Mediterranean solved the problem OF
cheap transportation between Palestine
and Egypt, and the proud ships OF the
Phoenecians became the common CARR
ers of an ancient civilization. Carthage
long the rival of ancient Rome, main
tanned her commercial supremacy by
reason of her grand position on the
African shores of the Mediterranean.
Venice, by reason of her natural adj