The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-15
THIS .DRUMaIETsv SELLS NOTHING
BUT LOCOMOTIVES AND HE
RUNS Light.
AFRICA BUaNG ENGINES
THESE DAYay HE SAYS, FASTER
THAN AMEnaCA, WHERE THEY
y ARE HMADE.
RIO VERDE, CANAL sToPPAGE.
Edward Brena anfThinlks That work
7 ON the Ditch VIII BE Resumed
,Es Shortly.

locomotives gl to railroads in South
Africa, Brazil. China, Japan and Rus
STA, in fact, the foreign trade Is far
better than the local." remarked 4. j.
Gross, Of the Brooks Locomotive
works. yesterday. Mr.. Gross Is regis
tered at the Ryan He gave Dunkirk
as his home, but the fact Is that he IS
on the road so much of the time, In
this country and foreign lands, that It
Is hard to tell just where he does live.
There is very little demand for en-
gines in the United States at the pres
emit time,e because of the decreased
earnings and decreased business.
cannot remember any four years In the
history Of my connection with locomo-
tive building firms, that there has been
SO little call for new engines in thie
country, as there has been for the
last four years. During this time We
have done more repairing and rebuild
! ing, and railroad companies have done
more Overhauling than ever before.
Locomotives which would have been
consigned to the scrap heap a few
years ago are still being repaired and
kept in service.
II am glad to say that this condi-
ton of affairs does not exist In our
foreign trade. There was never a time
In the history of locomotive building
IN this country when foreign nations
have bought SO many Of our engines.
will tell you why this is. We have
overcome foreign prejudice and 5eal-
ousy In markets from which we were
formerly excluded. The American loco
motive Is far superior to any other
| made in the world. It is more dur
able, more powerful, and what Is es-
pecially necessary in foreign service,
it Is more adaptable to all kinds OF
service and tracks. The English, Ger
man or French locomotive is q very
complicated piece Of machinery. Ger
man engines especially have shown no
marked development for years. Eng
lish engines are bound up in stiff
frame and are adapted only to English
tracks. But the American locomotive
| is adaptable to almost any kind OF
track or usage to which it can be put.
We can also underbid. the foreign con-
Germs. can remember the time when
| they could underbid us. One reason
| why we can take the trade away from
them is that our manufactures are of
six times the capacity Of the foreign
| shops It requires all the capacity OF
| foreign shops to supply their own
| roads. During the past four years, the
| American roads have been taking So
| few engines that we have been able
| to turn ourc attention largely to the
| foreign market.
| '.It will not be long before railroad
| trains will be RAINING in nearly every
| country in the world. Progress in
| this direction is wonderfully fast. Last
week we made shipment of thirty en-
| gines to Dongola bay, in South Africa,
for use on the new Transvaal railroad.
| This Is essentially an English coun-
and succeeded in Introducing the i'm
| proved American pattern of engine.
| Our engines are now used In nearly
| all Of the newer railroad countries OF
| the world
Does this not create a demand fol
| American engineers and trainmen" g
was asked.
"Emphatically no." replied Mr.. Gross
II am sorry to say that American engi.
| neers are not wanted, for the reason
| that the natives of the country in which
our engines are sent are always giver
| the preference. A few months ago
was in Brazil, to which country we haC
| just sent large consignment of loco.
| motives I found that the Brazilians
were invariably employed, If possible
| The fact that American engineers car
not speak the language and are not
familiar with the customs of the coun-
| try, works against them. Another very
| strong reason is that American engi
neers will not work for the very low
wages that are paid in foreign coun.
/! tries In Japan, the government, few
years ago. set about to do away with
! all foreign railroad men in service or
the Jap roads. The result is that to-
| day there is only one foreigner in the
country employed in railroading. He Il
| a Scotchman and is kept only on &C.
count of his long service and extreme
| Skill
| Mr.. Gross represents firm which has
sold to the Great Northern railroad
| company during the past twenty years
no less than 100000 worth Of locomo-
| tiyes. 1t is surnised that the Brooks
company is after another large con-
| tract.
| Edward Brennan, of the northern par
| Of the state, is back in Minnesota after
| a winters rest in Arizona. Mr.. Bren-
| nan is registered at the Merchants. He
went to Arizona last winter for the Qua
purpose of securing contract on the
new irrigation canal and to benefit his
| health. The latter object was accom-
| plished and the first would have been
presumably, had not work on the cana
been temporarily suspended.
'"The canal" said Mr.. brennan to 8
| reporter for the G o b ''is the project
of the Grants, Of Faribault, and others
| 1t passes through Phoenix and will irri.
| gate the Rio Verde district, which Ii
sometimes called Paradise valley The
name is at present misnomer for the
whole country is desert almost with.
out vegetation. But when the canal Is
completed, this condition will be chang.
| ed Immediately. It is the intention Of
! the syndicate to tap Rio Verde lake
and river, andI carry the water to ar
immense reservoir through the canal
During the summer season, the reser.
voir will be utilized to convey the water