The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-08
The Twin Cities Of the North.
Rev. Samuel q. Smith In Methodist Magazine.


activity Of business Is shown in bank
clearings amounting to more than $780,
100000 year. The cities are tied to.
gether by one electric street railway
system. having $50 miles Of track, and
an equipment unrivaled in the world
Though the cities are practically one
they are distinct enough in character
and development to make the aggregate,
colossal as 1t Is, even more significant
than these eloquent figures testify There
Is a social and economic differentiation
which adds much to the energy of this
human group. 1t begins in the busi-
ness activities. Minneapolis manufac-
lures more flour and more lumber than
any other city in the world, and, with
collateral factories, gives employment to
larger number Of men than
! does st. Paul. She has. there
fore, larger population. St.
Paul is the headquarters for two great
transcontinental railroads and, with her
other great railroad ard JOB
bling interests, has no rival as
a commercial center. st. Paul Is the larg-
est primary market for furs in the world.
and at the other extreme has the largest
law publishing firm in the United States
Minneapolis has to care for about 100. 9OO,-
600 pounds Of fruit annually, and is one
OF the chief markets in this country for
that branch Of trade. The state capitol
and the leading courts Of law are located
in st. Paul, so that here Is naturally the
political headquarters of the state. Min
neapolis has the state university, with
about 5000 students, an adequate faculty,
fine group Of buildings overlooking the
;; river, and is the literary capital Of the
state. But between the cities and located
on the st. Paul side are group of edu-
cattonal institutions in which Hamline
university, Manchester college and the
Catholic colleges are conspicuous, so that
even here may be found a generous RI
valry.
The elements Of the population differ.
St. Paul has more Germans and Minne-
apolis more Scandinavians; indeed, so
| many are there that Minneapolis is lit
orally one Of the leading Scandinavian
cities in the World. But Minneapolis has
more men Of New England, and st. Paul
has larger number Of the sons Of the
South. In religion st. Paul has more
| Catholics and Lutherans; Minneapolis
| more Presbyterians and Methodists.
In structure the cities have much in
| common. Both have splendid business
blocks, noble public buildings and mag
| nifcent homes. The new marble capitol
in St. Paul will compare with structures
of It's class anywhere. The new city
whole range of municipal architecture.
| The office buildings in either city are
| among the best of their kind, and some of
| the strongest insurance companies have
| wisely put millions of their surplus into
great business blocks But in buildings
again there Is difference. OF the $50
| churches in the two cities, each can claim
| fine ones, but Minneapolis has the larger
number. The latter city has many beau
| h11t
| that equals in beauty ST. Paul's Summit
! avenue with its five miles Of boulevarded
and architectural splendor. Minneapolis
| has wider and more regular streets, but
St Paul has It's picturesque hill slopes.
| and it's wider vistas. Minneapolis has a
| larger park area, but st. Paul has its
| Como, which is finer than any park own
ed by her sister city. Minneapolis has the
water power but ST. Paul has the head
! of navigation.
There are also distinct social differ
ences between the cities; but Of these
matters one must speak with caution.
It Is not amiss to say, however, that st.
Paul cares more for music and Mime
apolis more for lectures. On the other
hand; Minneapolis is more given to dis
| play, and st. Paul cares more for solid
comfort. One might say that Mfnneap-
OILS has many of the characteristics
Of Chicago, while st. Paul Is more like
St. Louis But both cities meet on a
common social ground in the Town and
Country club, on the banks Of the river
The men have various social clubs In
each city. and the social. intellectual and
other clubs Of the women are too beWil-
dering to be sketched, much less to be
analysed Minneapolis has the stronger
Young Mems Christian association and
the better public library, but st. Paul
has the State Historical society and the
state law libraries, and Is superior to heI
sister city in the development, organiza'
ton and administration Of public and pr,
Vate charities. Each city has three I'M
portant daily newspapers, and there are
q multitude Of weekly and monthly pub
locations, some Of them OF great import
ance and of wide circulation
| Do these twins love each other? Ger
tainly they do. OF course they have 90
casional little infelicities, as all twins
are likely to have; but these are only OF
| the surface, for these twins are ready Il
| fight for each other against all the world
The widespread impression of hostility
has grown from the action OF Individual:
more noisy than numerous, who In re
atty do not represent either community
If the we'll known scientific doctrine tina
it Is the homogeneous which Is really IN
definite and incoherents in spite OF al
| appearance to the contrary be really
true, then the variety of the structure
and life of these citieseis partial ex
PLANTATION of the tremendous human en-
ergy that they display. Thefr growth i:
the conquest of half a century. FIFTY
| years ago a few rude log houses made
| the humble beginning OF this modern
| metropolis The Dakotas had no white
Inhabitants, and in the whole of Mime
sofa there were but 5000 persons In this
territory alone there are now about 1900,
| 900 inhabitants. The races OF northern
Europe have sent their best blood II
various streams, alert with the conquests
| of 1000 years of civilization, to mtngle
with the hardy stock selected from the
| Northern and Middle states of the Union
and the natural friction of Industrial pur-
suits, together with the task Of organ