St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-13
HE CARRIED HIS POINT.
How Spokane "Hustler" Kept
Jim Hill Awake Nights.

How a Spokane "Hustler" Kept
Jim Hill Awake Nights.
Chicago Herald
'Ehere is man who enjoys the credit
OF having single-handed given twist
to transcontinental railroad" said Jo-
seph French Johnson. editor of the Spo-
kane Spokesman, at the Auditorium
hotel yesterday. pointing to handsome
man about thirty-five, who had Just as
tonlshed a newsbOy by declining to take
any change smaller than nickel. ale
is the only man," continued Mr.. john
son. who ever succeeded in getting jim
Hill to swerve furlong from the path
which his engineers had laid down as
the shortest practicable route across the
Rockies from st. Paul to Seattle.
mir. HIPS weakness is for straight
lines and l per cent grades. Helena
thought he couldn't afford to build
through Montana with running through
It's capital city. ana so offered him no
invitation to enter its gates. AS result
MT. HIPS road made bee line through
Montana, and now the live young city
of Great Falls on the Great Northern,
100 miles or so norrh of Helena, is max
ing hay in the sunshine and geeting big
and rich, while poor Helena is rapidly
taking on the wrinkles of premature
Old age and descrepitude."
line Washington city of Spokane,
400 miles west of Helena, came within
an ace of repeating Helena's bIunder.
Most of the business men were con-
WINGED that Mr.. Hill Guild not afford to
Dulid tranScontinental line through
Eastern Washington without touching
Spokane, into which railroad lines from
eight different directions already
brought the produce of the surround
ing country. But there was one man i'm
Spokane who didn't like the idea OF
trusting to luck. or of waiting for Hill
10 discover for himself that he couldn't
afford to miss Spokane. That man was
l.. Z. Dillmali, and, curiously enough, he
was not only Oh most friendly and in
Innate terms with leading officials of
the Northern Paclfic.b was their most
trusted adviser in matters affecting the
c0mpany's property interests in and
ABOUT Spokane. He made no secret of
MS purpose to induce the Northern Pa
cltc'S great rival to build into Spokane.
oyer TWO years ago he called on MIR.
Hill in st. Paul and learned that Spo-
Kane was SO far out of the way that the
Great Northern couldn't touch it with
the main line. A map of the proposed
route was shown Mr.. Dillman. 1t left
Spokane fifty miles out in the cold.
"For two years Mr.. Dillman kept
making frequent visits to st. Paul.
AR; johnson continued. HE always
talked with Jim Hill and he always had
a dozen new reasons why the Great
Northern should run its main line
through Spokane. Last winter he
finally persuaded Hill to visit Snokane,
ana Mr.. Hill went. saw and was con-
quered. He had his surveyors hunt for
the shortest line into the CITY with a
grade not to exceed per cent. and then
told the citizens that in order to get rid
of the imp0rtunate Dillman. who had
kept him awake nights for two years,
he had decided to run his main line into
spokane, provided eley would give him
right of way. They took him Up. and
III a weeks time, by means of cash sub
scrlptlons and contributions of real
estate. were IN position &c keep their
part of the contract.
"Dillman's effective work for the citv
mad been unsupported at home until
Hlll gave 1t away in the statement that
put for Dillman he would never have
decided to build to Spokane When the
people heard that they lifted Dillman.
flguratlvely speaking, upon their shoul-
GERS ana offered him every Office within
the gift of republic, from alderman to
United States senator. Being a Demo-
crat, Dillman refused all the Offices and
modestly went about his business, sell
ing real estate. If he should accept the
nomination for any office the Republic
ans would be unable to find candidate
III Spokane to run against him."
MI. Dill arrived in Chicago Tues
DAY morning in company with President
Hill, who went OH to New York little
later.
MIR. Hill expresses unlimited conf
dence in Spokane. "The Great North
ern." he said. will give Spokane ter
mlnal freight rates, and thus give a
great impetus to its wholesale trade.
The location of the car shops there
means a pay roll of a million and
quarter for the city. Spokane is in fine
shape, and crops in the surrounding
country are large, land the Cnur d'Alene
mIaes are in full blast. the strike being
entirely over. BY the way. Pm glad
chicago got that worlds fair appropria-
ton. She deserved four times as much.
I'm Democrat, and Pm ashamed of the
way those fellows acted in congress-"