Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1895-08-09
Falls & Dakota and Fergus Fails y
Black Hills roads. Cities and coun-

Falls & Dakota and Fergus Fails y
Black Hills roads. Cities and coun-
ties already having one railroad
will almost invariably give bon
uses, concessions and other valu-
able Undue ements for such lines.
It always has been and is to this lli
day considered wise public policy
to aid in paying the cost Of the ll's
construction. of at least a second
railway in practically the same
territory, if it is under different
control from the one already de-
pended on for transportation.
Fourth-The laws Of states, and
especially of Minnesota specif-
ically prohibit the combining
of parallel lines, and as fully
as any laws can prevent the
fraud upon the public which
would result from the consolida-
tion of railroads that have accepted
public aid on the basis of being
under separate control.
When the above indisputable
conditions are considered it is as.
tonishing that an effort to consoli'
date the two great railway
systems of the Northwest
should meet with actual
approval from leading men, papers
and officials, and it is even aston
ishing that anyone who has at
heart the welfare of the Northwest
can consider with Indifference the
proposition now existing to ignore
the legal and moral rights Of the
people and interests invovled.
There is scarcely prominent pa
per in the state besides the Duluth
Herald that has not promptly
sounded the praises Of J. j.
Hill in his efforts that, every
thinking man must know, will
(if successfully remove railroad
competition from a vast region.
Even men who profess to see good
in such a contamination would
clearly demonstrate the benefit to
their own city of new competing
road-even if it traversed the same
territory as one of the present
ones.
&, It cannot be that public senti-
ment is Indifferent, but it has GER
tainly not yet made evident any
such expression of disapproyal as
the facts warrant. The papers and
public men have 50, far been as slow
to appreciate.the danger as the pri-
vate citizen, and that Indifference
to public welfare cannot much
longer continue.
When one puts aside even the
general aspect of the case, and
takes the narrower ground of local
conditions from which to guide his
actions, his conclusions must lead
him to protest against the plans
regardless of which community he
lives in along the line. AS an ex.
ample, take the towns and counties
along the Little Falls & Dakota
road that were penetrated by the
Great Northern before the new
road was contemplated. They had
a line of road, yet cash bonus Of
50, 1000 a mile was given to the l..
F. 4 D., and the state gave land
grant OF 334 ,OOO acres. .. .
Think of it-$175, 900 in cash and
a third of a million acres of land
for railroad through & country
already having lines-and that
magnificent bonus for the purpose
of a short piece of road furnishing
competition to a small part Of the
state! ',.
Did the people and the state give
this royal subsidy for railroad com.
petition TO be told few years later
that the throttling of that compe-
tition would surely promote their
prosperity and add to their happi.
ness? <'@ .~ 80. 49,. =.
And the Little Falls. 4 Dakota
is only one ofmany instances, How
any man who favored any Of these
bonuses or grants can now do else
than protest against a consolida.
,tion that will rob the people of all
+hav obtained For Gifts Of GREAT