The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-10-12

The Mail drove up the little steep, |
And stopped beside the tavern door,, i
A moment stopped, and then again j,
With crack of whip and bark of dog,
Plunged forward through the sea Of
fog,
And all was silent as before
But we must push the proud fingers
of the by-gone stage driver aside, along
with the captains and officers of the old
fashioned muster" and training day."
for new era has come upon us.
In the matter of intercommunication,
domestic and foreign, the memory OF
most Of us goes back to the time when
telegraphs and telephones, and even
postage stamps were unheard of. Many
of the members Of this club have keen
recollections of Rowland Hill and tho
vast influence which his suggestions,
methods and ideas have had upon the
dissemination of thoughts and ideas
throughout the civilized world.
The soldier members Of the Monday
club had been two or three years in
the army fighting its battles with the
rebellion when the railway mail service
was organized and when the carrier
system was inaugurated. AS to the tele-
graph, some of those present can recall
when the first dispatch, What hath
God wrought" flashed over the wires
from Washington to Baltimore. Others
of you can remember when Prof. Morse
offered his interest in the invention to
the government for the ridiculously low
price Of 100000, but brilliant post
master general, who could see no value
in the telegraph invention, turned down
the offer of Prof. Morse, and so the
government ownership of telegraphs.
which many now advocate. died "a
Eornin'."
10 discussion of this evenings topic
is complete without some consideration
Of canals, telegraphs, our merchant ma
rine, our inland lake and coast service,
our river navigation, our express and
transportation companies, our mail
service, our street railways, electric fire
alarms ana messenger service. With
each OF these subjects are connected
boundless chapters of history wonder
fully ir:el esting, and out of them arise
social, economic and municipal cues.
tions of deepest interest-questions an
10 municipal government, municipal cx-
persc, municipal extravaganza, mncici-
pal regulation or ownership, taxation,
the handling Of valuable franchises.
etc., but in the brief time accorded ria
l must .rave these questions TO" the
members of the club to discuss later.
for have thought that out of the mule
titude Of themes suggested by my sub.
ject I ought to single out hat of rail-.
roads and transportation, because rail.
roads in their growth and development,
in their struggles and competitions, in
their consolidation and methods and in
their direct and remote influence and
effect, present and involve many of the
most difficult and intricate questions in
business, economies and social life-all
of which questions are nuts for the
Monday club to crack.
It Is with feelings of disappointment
that am forced to leave wholly out OF
consideration, as means Of intercom-
munication, the press and magazines,
educational institutions and lectures,
Monday clubs, Tourists clubs, Authors
clubs, libraries and books, the illustra.
tive arts, modern photography, car.
ICONS, theaters, exhibitions and expose
thong Of various sorts from the country
fair 10 the great national expositions
like the Philadelphia Centennial ex-
hibit, the worlds fair at Chicago and
the Trans Mississippi exhibit at Omaha.
Your own thoughts suggest what bound-
less sources Of intercommunication
these each serve and how vast and far.
reaching their influence. The subject Of
American shipping, its growth, Develop
ment aud decline, and the ascendency
OF the British flag in carrying the pro-
ducts OF this rev world, I am forced to
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