The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-11
TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD
GREAT NORTHERN AWAITING
THE CITY COUNCILS ACTION
inc shops Which President Hill Pro-
poses to Build Will BE of Ines
Unable Value to the City-Any
Make Concessions to Obtain Their
Location.

Inc officials Of the Great Northern
railway company are patiently await
Ing the action of the city council re-
gardlng their request to be let alone
IN the matter Of building new shops
at Como. They are anxious to add to
Inc general prosperity of the city,
winch already owes much to that rail-
way for its material welfare and de-
velopment, but they are not going to
sacrifice their own interests for sen
tlment, II the city is not willing to
meet them half way
meanwhile the people Of st. Paul will
nave time to reflect upon the advan-
tages Which will accrue to the city if
the city council allows the railway to
nave d little latitude in the matter.
II the railway company decides to
erect its new shops at Como it will
mean the establishing in this city of
a new Industry. 1t is the company's
intention to buildfa great car and loco
motive works., where all the coaches
ana locomotives used on the system
Will be constructed. 1t will be a heav-
Ter class of work than is now done in
this city, and it will necessitate the
employment Of large number of skill
ed mechanics All those now in the
company's service will be retained. and
many more will be brought here from
distant cities. p The present number of
men employed in the shops at Como
is 500, and the annual payroll for shop
work alone amounts to 100000. Besides
this item there are many others which
swell the yearly expenses of the shops
to about million dollars All this
money comes to St. Paul tradesmen in
one way or another, and goes to in
crease the value of the city as a, resi-
dence and business place.
The. erection Of the new shops will
mean the purchase of building material
and the employment of ST. Paul labor
in every department Of the work. It
will bring to that section of the city
larger population and will increase
the value Of real estate in that part OF
the CITY,. In every way it will be a
direct benefit
The Great Northern system Is already
4,ooo miles long, and its mileage is In
creas1ng every year. AS the road
grows and It's business develops more
coaches and locomotives will be re-
CURED to keep pace with it's business.
and this will necessitate the enlarge
ment from timesto time Of the shoDs.
Inc company owns ample real estate
in the vicinity Of the proposed shops
to erect the largest shops in the world
r1val1ng those ait Pullman, and it IS
very reasonable TO suppose that in a
few years they will be as large as any
now known. This will mean the EN-.
ployment Of steadily Increasing num-
bers Of workmen and a permanent in
dustry that will become one of the
wonders of ST. Paul.
The question isl said a prominent
merchant yesterday, whether the civ
can afford to throw away such a
chance. There are few cities that would
not gladly make almost any conces-
sions to obtain such an advantageous
opportunity for development If the
CITY council refuses to let President Hill
alone in this matter, it will commit a
blunder that should be considered Grim
1nal. The welfare of this city is at
issue. If it is the policy of the city
authorities to drive away industries,
then the business men Of this country
should be notified, so they will not at
tempt to establish enterprises in ST.
Paul."