St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-09
The Garden Of Nation and the Granary Of a
World Brought to Our Doors by the
Completion Of the Great
Northern.

twas in 1862, five years after an act
o. congress granting lands to aid III
building a railroad, and its acceptance
by the territorial assembly, that Mime
sofa had its first mile OF track. The
line in question was the Minnesota q
Pacific, and ten miles were built that
year, from st. Paul to st. Anthony
Falls, the line being opened for
traffic in September. The name of the
company was subsequently changed to
st. Paul & Pacific, and eighteen years
later when in the hands of a receiver,
it was bought by company organized
by j. j. Hill, Norman w. KittSOn and
others, and became the st. Paul, Mime
apolis q Manitoba railway. The ex-
tension of the line during the period of
nearly two decades was but a
few hundred miles. With MIR. Hill
at the head of the organza-
ton new life was infused into
the line and energy given affairs until
now it has grown into a corporation OF
international Importance, with credit
not dimued by single failure to pay
regular dividends in all the fourteen
years he has managed its business. This
is record that few, if any, of the West
ern lines, or what the East has been
pleased to term the granger" roads,
can show. The uniform success of the
management of Mr. Hill served him
well when he concluded to make his
line transcontinental one. He did not
have 10 hunt around for buyers to take
his stocks and bonds; capitalists IN the
old world and in the new eagerly sought
them as safe investment.
Money Came Freely
from the cautious financial centerS. and
he was able to pay cash promptly for
material and labor, and no expense was
spared in getting the best of both. He
profited from the experience of other
Western lines and avoided errors in
grades, bridges, cuts and fills, and
more than that, employed all the
modern appliances in facilitating
the work of surveying, grading,
bridge building, track laying, etc. The
result of all this is that he has the best,
as it is the shortest, line across the con-
tinent, and it was built too, at about
half the cost OF the other Pacific roads,
all Of which are struggling under tinan-
cIal burdens due TO expensive eXpendl-
lures in the days or expensive mate rial
and labor, and i'll some cases from side
SpeculatlonS.
Mr.. Hill enters the field for not 10
cal trade with the Pacific coast and the
intervening territory, but for an inter
national traffic. He brings the Pacific
tides and the Atlantic waters in the
great lakes into closest possible union
by rail, and with its own steamers Oh
the lakes has what is prac-
tically an extension OF the Great North.
ern railway to within 400 miles of
the Atlantic seaboard. Until he put
on these boats no Western road had
direct ay-so in lake business. all Of the
companies being controlled by the East
ern trunk lines and by Lake Michigan
cities. Mr.. Hill has made the ports at
the head of Lake Superior rivals of
Lake Michigan cities, and given the
Twin Cities a chance to get the whole
sale trade of the Northwest, which
would not have been possible under
other than existing circumstances,
which he was instrumental in bringing
about-to wit, reduction OF rates.
1t was six years ago that MI. Hill de-
cided to begin the work OF going
Through 10 the Pacific Coast.
He pushed his line to the Rocky
mountains, created the city OF Great
Falls, and gave renewed prosperity to
Helena and Butte. He sent branches
into the Belt mountain mining country.
New towns and industries sprang into
being along his tracks. lie gave
wear or more of time to stirring up
things in Montana. and two and half
wears ago tegan active operations in
completing the extension to the coast.
He had 500 miles to build, and the two
largest mountain systems in America
stood in the way. Nothing daunted, he
put 10000 men at work, and between
September, 1890, and January, 1898, put
down the tracks Of steel and gave st.
Paul its second line to the Western
ocean. 1t was a marvellous work, and
men less determined and fearless
would have fallen by the way.
No government land grant nor
money subsidy was behind him, nothing
except his reputation and wonderful
property which he had been most potent
in creating. In Minnesota and the Da-
kotas his lines went ahead of settle
ment. The country developed rapidly
under encouragement. He led III the
growth on Montana, and is now dong
the same work in Idaho and Washing.
ton.
Through the only belt across the con-
tineut possible of continuous settle
ment, the zone which produces bread.
meat and clothing in quantity and quail
ity unrlvaled in the world. the Great
Northern has its course. Its main line
passes through the Lake Park region OF
Minnesota interspersed with prairies
and groves of hardwood trees, through
the No. hard wheat region of the Red