Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1896-11-06

= NM I N -"
PRINCE HILKoFF.
though, the prince does not come as a So
oial envoy, but he is here strictly on bust
meas.
Prince Hilkoff comes here to study our
wonderful systems Of railway and river
transportation, with a view of applying
some Of the lessons we have learned to the
vast expanses Of his own great country. He
wants to take comprehensive glance at
the immense stretches Of steel rails which
Rridiron the states and to study the diff
culties which our railroad builders have
overcome and the methods by which they
surmounted them.
It Will be no dilettante trip which the
prince will take, for he 10 q thoroughly
practical man and one eminently fitted for
the task At home he holds the Office Of
Imperial minister Of ways and oommuni-
cation, and it Is In this capacity that he
has been dispatched by the ozar on his
present errand. Perhaps the various per-
sons with whom he will come In contact In
tho course Of his journey clear across the
continent and In bis side trips will be in
terested 10 know something about the
prince. He has had most romantic and
unusual career.
The railroad magnates whom he may
meet should remember that the prince Is
nouninformed official, but practical rail-
reader who has learned tho business from
the ground up, and who can do any part
OF the work connected with great system,
from stocking or handling the throttle Of q
big locomotive to taking entire charge Of
the laying OF / 900 miles Of rails and equip.
ping q road with rolling stock. Are not
those unusual quail locations for . prinoel
It was not 10 long ago, and since he has
become member Of tho imperial family Of
Russia, that the prince had occasion to
got into the cab Of locomotive and dem
onstrate bis ability In this line. The train
on which he was riding was behind Time
and the imperial minister of ways OF com.
munication was convinced that 1t was net
the locomotive, an American built one by
the way, but the engineer, who was at
fault. Removing bis tall hat and uniform
coat, he took the engineers place for an
hour, making up the lost time and bring
ing the train into the terminal exactly on
the scheduled minute
As q youth he followed for a time the
usual course taken BY the sons Of wealthy
mobiles. H5 became page to the empress,
and by the time he was 16 was an officer in
the Horse guards Of her imperial majesty.
But he found time to become proficient In
almost every modern language and to get
deeply interested in mechanics, especially
In the military railroad problems which
the Crimean war brought forward In
1867 he made visit Of 10 months dura-
ton to the United States for the sole pur-
pose Of studying our then undeveloped
railroads. He travelled az far west as the
Rocky mountains and returned with a pro-
found admiration for everything Ameri
can.
When In 1851 Alexander II freed the
serfs, Prince Michael's father was stripped
Of his Immense fortune, but the democratic
prince only rejoioed. This caused him to
quarrel with his aristooratio father and
to start out In the world to make his own
fortune Naturally he came back to Amer
lea, but this time he left his title behind
him, and when he applied for work at the
shop of Philadelphia machinist and rail-
way contractor 1t was as plain John Ma
gill, a name suggested to him by wrong
pronunciation Of his given name. The
first wages the prince earned here were 81
Q day for making bolt heads.
For months the present imperial minis
ter worked a. . common laborer In the
shops, and was finally promoted. Then
no was sent BY his employer TO the Argen-
tine Republic on . railway construction
sob. His wages bad been increased to %
O day, and ON that sum he lived and sup
ported his vito and children, for he had
married before leaving Russia Think Of
that for an income upon which . prince
0.,k kn
rose rapidly, and finally, a. supeeintend-
mt Of roundhouse, earned u . day.
Then his proud father, who had never
him TO return TO Russia, giving him per-
insisted upon It. So the prince and his
family returned, but he was somewhat dis
appointed to find that the only position
open to him was that Of locomotive engi-
neer. But he pluckily entered the cab
aaain and once moro worked bis way up
nom tho very foot Of tho ladder. In 1880
he suggested to prominent general, q
boyhood friend, . scheme for building
military railroad IN central Ada. The
plan was adopted. Working under the d.
rection of tho famous General Anneko6,
he constructed 800 miles Of railroad In az
sctly ono year, an aohasvsment Of which
even an American might b proud. He
was made inspector general Of rail lays,
and finally attained his present exalted
position, in which he ID the right hand
man OF the young car, whose psf project
is the completion Of tho great Siberian
railrosd, and who promises to lay more
rails In Russia during the next few years
than are put down in all the other coun-
tries Of the world combined Such in
brief is the career Of Prince Hilkoff, who
u now in America once moro.
FRANCIS B. TALDERT.