St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-13
TOMS TERSE TALK.
The Street Car Magnate
Writes a Letter to Joe
Wheelock,
In Which He Takes the Sleek
st. Paul Editor Into
Camp.
Policy of the Railway Com
pany in st. Paul and Min
neapolis.
Some Caustic Comment Sand
Wiched Between the
Facts.

few lines to you personally, and.
through you, 10 citizens of st. Paul.
For months past you appear TO have
tried to create sentiment against the
citv railway company by publishing
every rumor against the company, no
matter how absurd or untruthfuI.
In your issue of Sunday, July 10. UNI
Ger the head of Local Transit, "you put
me in such a false position that deem a
reply necessary. The present rights
of the company will not discuss with
your paper, but will. in future as in the
past, endeavOr TO protect them when as
sailed. In Sundays issue you say:
Not content with building a Minneapolis
chute for st. Paul pleasure seekers and
forcing them 10 enter II or stay at home, he
has attempted to divert trade and business to
Minneapolis as the wretched street car
service given to ST. Anthony Park and Ham
line citizens to reach st. Paul amply DEM
onstrates.n
When did l "build a chute for St.
Paul pleasure seekers, etc." and how
have l attempted to divert trade and
business to Minneapolis" l suppose
you mean by the chute" the line of
street cars in Minneapolis extending to
Lake Harriet. This line was built many
years ago by Col. McCrory, afterwards
sold to James J. Hill. of ST. Paul, and
by him sold to the street railway com
pany. 1t was in operation as st. am
road at the time the electric ordinance
was passed in st. Paul, in 1859. In
our contract with the city OF Minneapolis
to build electric lines, we agreed to con-
vert existing lines of street railway into
electric lines, and to build about forty
miles additional road. In our contract
with st. Paul, under Ordinance No. 1927,
we agreed to convert existing horse car
lines into electric lines. and to build
about thirty-five miles of additional
road. In Minneapolis. outside the con-
tract, we have not built loot of road
Except switches or turn-outs), but have
bad the time Tor completion extended
OH twelve miles of road included in the
contract. In st. Paul we have built
about twenty miles of read not in
cluGed in the contract. and have COM
pleted all the lines except the Striker
and Maria avenue lines, total Of less
than une anda half miles. thus making
AboH. Fifteen Miles More
new electric lines built during this time
IN ST. Paul than iii Minneapolis. The
residents Of st. Anthony Park have
urged Us for two years to extend the
Langfort avenue line to Minneapolis, a
distance of 200 miles to connect. but
we have declined to build it because the
hOt Will dit l!lS CAittliI-
ture. The same with Fort Smelling
The distance to connect our present
line with the fort is less than three
miles. but there is no travel to warrant
the outlay. Does this look like discrim-
inatiol? When the electric ordinance
was passed in st. Paal your council and
committee listened to the clamor of
every real estate owner, and imposed
un1n tie company a burden that you
admitted to me womid not have been
undertaken and carried out by
any twenty of your own citizens. The
Fort Smelling. Maria avenue, State
street, Iamline, Stryker avenue and
Jackson street extensions We're forced
upon the Company against my protests
There was no pubic demand OF need for
these extensions at the time. AMI there
has been no travel since to warrant the
operation of any of them. When the
ordinance passed Ii was generally sup
posed that the extension of electric lines
would give renewed impetus to real
estate sales. and that many houses would
be built along the lines. AS matter of
fact, our improvements met with no re-
spouse; even at the present time there
Is noting to warrant the building of
street car lines in these localities.
Within the past few months your paper
the best street car service i'll the United
States. The service has since been in
creased, but the travel and public ne
ceSSitieS" have not increased. If we
are to ran our street car system OH
strictly public necessities" it would be
far better for us 10 let the matter be
brought to the courts to determine what
are public necessities" | am sure it
would reduce. the service in both st.
Paul and Minneapolis. You say:
MIR. Lowry seems to have seen afar off
that Como park would make resort far be-
yond anything of its character possessed by
Minneapolis. and that. when once easily ac
cessible, il would attract thousands of st.
Paul people now forced into going to Mime
apolis for an outing it they would have a par
ticle of comfort in transit. So, in the fran
chise granted in 1881. he caused to be in
serted express provisions that the line 10
Como park need not be extended until the
streets i'll that section are severed, or until
the lake it up 10 the same level as in 1885,
The streets i'll that section are not severed
there will lie no necessity for sewers for
years Neither is the lake up to the height at
tanned i'll 1SS5-an absurd provision laughed
at by outsiders. doubtless chuckled over by
Mr.. Lowry
This statement is unfair and unjust,
aside from its untruthfulness. l have
given more attention to Como and its
beauties than most residents of st.
Paul. Many years before / was inter-
ested in the street railway company, l
joined a few residents of st. Paul to
build line to Como. After spending
about $4,000 in the line it was merged
with the st. Paul City Railway COM
pany, when your citizens owned four
fifths of the stock, and they decided it
was not feasible line to build
Long before the electric ordinance
was passed l was importuned to build a
line TO Como. not because it was neces-
sary to reach the park, but parties in
terested Ill real estate urged it OH
the ground that the locality would
soon develop if it had street car
service. You recently said in your
paper that not one of st. Paul's citizens
in hundred knew of the beauties of
Como park.
IOu made the statement, coupled with
the assertion that it was because it was
not accessible by street cars. Why at
the same time were you not fair enough
to say that this same park, 320 or more
acres, was purchased by the city of st.
Paul by issuing twenty-five-year bonds,
which boEds lave long since matured,
ana that. until Minneapolis began
system of parks, your city
Never Thought of 1t
as worth improving? When the electric
ordinance No. 1927 was under consider
alton. your committee of thirty from
tbs chamber of commerce and your city
council insisted on all the extensions
requesttA by real estate agents and
owners, the line from Rice street OIL
Como to Front street included, but
had very little to say about the extern
sion to the park. When It was spoken
of, | INSISTED that the city Should prop
erly IMPROVE it before the company was
compelled to run street cars to will
derness. 1t was then asserted that ar
rangements had been made to make it a
beautiful park, and it was your own
committee and cOuncilSthat inserted the
requirements as to raising the water.
to its height in 1885. / did
not know how high it was in
1885, or how low it was in 1889,
but had faith to agree to the extension
conditioned on any proposition that
y fuld make the park a favorable resort.
lou now say that waived the clause.