St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-11
Beautiful NIInnewas.

| ore mas yet Deen shipped Ill any Qudn-
tity. The amount OF grub" slowed
away by the Legislators in about fifteen
minutes would do an ordinary company
of soldiers day. Pork. beef, beans,
potatoes, bread, crackers, cake, pie, tea
and coffee were consumed lndlscrlml-
nately. The veterans among the crowd
feasted on the solids, especially the
beans. Mr. Horton fell in love with
pumpkin pie and the yellow tidbit was
soon no more. A cherry pie fingered
not long on the tongue of handsome
Dan Hopkins, whose capacity was
hitherto undreamed OF. EX-Mayor WIN
ston, himself veteran of the camps,
stuck close to the stuff that sticks to
mans ribs. and showed himself a
worthy guest or a plenteous board.
Amid the, general hilarity eX-G0v. Gill
man was seldom heard from, but he
wore a satisfied air after dinner.
Many of the party had gone down
| about 100 feet into the mine on ice
covered ladders, and came up looking
somewhat the worse for wear, but they
had left their dyspepsia at the bottom.
For time it was a question as to
whether Representatives Hunck and
Hopkins could be gotten to the surface
again without derrick. But Lon Mer-
rift, ready for any emergency, induced
!
"cinched''ssa belt around them, and they
managed to squeeze through the man-
holes.
Hitler Horton excused himself from
going down OH the ground that, not
being a member of the committee, he
was not expected to know anything
about mines except to draw the divl-
dends on his Montana treasure holes.
Mr.. Winston stayed above ground be-
cause he happened to be wearing a SILK
hat OF Republican shape which 1t would
be sin to soil. Clerk Bowling had the
same kind of "dicer." and swell coat
that couldn't stand iron drippings.
Basil Smout couldn't go below on ac-
count of his patent leather shine. A. b.
Kelly wouldn't go because he thought
the others were bluffing. Joe Markham
had all idea if he went out of sight some
| Minneapolis paper would accuse him OF
being engaged in a deal to lift" Lon
Merritt'S timber bodily.
At this shaft were several cars OF de.
composed ore of excellent quality. and
under ground the VentureSome visitors
saw enough more at hand to load many
thousands of cars. Other shafts will be
sunk and drifts run to connect them, so
that when present plans are perfected
MInnewaS will put forth vast quantities
of valuable mineral.
The Duluth, Mesaba & Northern rail-
road has built branches to various
points on the range and others are now
being constructed. In the construction
of this line its projectors have been
fortunate. There is not a rock cut OIL
it. very few bridges, and along every
mile timber is plentiful for all purposes
| In this connection it may he stated that
the owners of the road sold timber at 81
thousand to build the road, and have
since been obliged to pay 81 thousand
Tor the same kind.
The fact should be stated that, while
it may not have cost an average sum
! per mile, as railroads 90, to build this
one, it will need as much ordinary roll
ing stock as any road Of its kind, and in
| addition must have 1000 or more ore
! cars, which, at $40 each, will represent
neat sum. Several hundred of these
cars are already built and set off along
the line until needed. And they were
all built at the head of the lake. though
they cost there many more dollars each
than they could be had for in the East.
At West Duluth the Merritt company
| is constructing docks to receive the ore
as it comes from the mines for shipment
by water. They are planned Oh an eX-
tensive scale and admirably located for
the purpose to which they are to be de-
voted.
The Question of FAX.
Can the ore on the Mesaba range be
be cheaply mined?
In one sense, yes. AS a general
proposition, no. In many cases the ore
can be reached very handily and
quickly transported to the manufac-
tories at Duluth. In other instances
arduOus labor and large expense Will
be necessary. But outside of the facts.
the initial expenditure CT money-be-
fore the companies can cover dollar
into their treasuries-has been
and must be large. At the
mines visited by the legis-
lative committee much work had been
done and a great deal OF money eX-
pended. There was little to show for
the expense incurred, so far as ineXpe-
rienced eyes could judge. Pits had been
sunk here and there, "stripplng" was
done i'll patches. camp ShantleS erected,
etc., but there was no impressive lndl-
cation that even the preliminary work
was in any sense complete.
What will be the wisest course for the
state to adopt?
Here's the way Duluth men lay the
ground for reasoning on that point: 1t
is admitted that the MeSaba range prop
|
element of uncertainty is now practi-
cally eliminated from tho problem of
mining the ore as it rests in the ground;
that the newly opened region is ca
pable of putting forth vast quanti-
ties of raw material every year;
that the quality of the ore is such as to
secure it a good market; that the fin
ished product to be manufactured from
Mesaba ores is certain to compare ia
vorably with any like product in the
land; that the growing requirements OF
traffic and commerce i'll the Northwest
will. to large extent, use up this prod
uct as it is sent forth from the mills and
factories.
In RZichigan,s Favor.
The Gogebic and other iron ranges of
Michigan at present have large per-
ceutage of advantage i'll freight charges
by rail and water. Coal, large and
important factor in such business, is
cheaper and more quickly available at
the Michigan mines. In the Wolverine
state a tax is levied on the gross yalua-
ton of the property. AS is we'll known
this means the most liberal kind of
treatment for the mining industry of
that state.
In Minnesota it was thought wise to
clap heavy royalty Oh as soon as it
was reasonably Surei that ore was tn be
found i'll paying qualities; and there is
now pending bill to Increase the tax
on the industry. The money to develop
the Mesaba range must be secured from
Eastern capitalists. To them an unset
tied question of taxation is bogie of
repellant aspect Taxation that threat
ems 10 become oppressive at any time
they likewise view with sour giances.
These peculiarities of financiers have
been aud must be faced by the men who
are endeavoring to open up what will
undoubtedly be the richest region of the
state within a decade. These being
facts, the mine owners and stockholders
argue earnestly that this promising in
dustry-which is as yet San infant" in
reality-shOuld not be Strangled in its
cradle or hampered in its growth. This
view comedies with the opinion of the
legislative committee, as generally eX-
pressed after personal study aid OBJ
servation. Senator Leavitt's bill will