The Sauk Centre herald., 1900-01-25
JAMES J. HILL.
AS Seen by One not In sympathy
With Him or His.

i George M. Lamphere, editor of the
Moorhead News, a prominent fusion
ist, who was candidate for state audi
tor two years ago, man with excel
lent ability and always sincere, has
; this to say of James j. Hill president
of the Great Northern railroad, who
has ever been bogie man to the pop
ulo-fusionists of the northwest. Mr..
Lamphere frankly admits that his pre-
conceived opinions were some what
revised as the result of this interview
\ While in ST. Paul on Monday the
editor of the News called upon James
J. Hill and was politely given an audi
ence. 1t was the first time we had ever
conversed with the great railroad
president. We admit to having har-
bored in the past more or less pre-
Judice against Mr.. Hill. We have
never doubted his great abilities, but
have not given him credit for disinter-
ested motives, or OF possessing the
philanthropic spirit. We were desir-
Gus of talking with the great man face
to face for the purpose of satisfying
ourself, if possible, whether or not he
was animated alone by a neyer-satis.
fed ambition to increase his wealth,
even though he impoverished mankind.
He talked with US freely and gave US
the salient points and exemplifed at
length in his speech delivered the next
day before the State Agricultural So
ciety. He dwelt particularly upon his
desire to do something and everything
possible to put men in the way of help
ing themselves. He asserted that a
great deal of energy is wasted be-
cause it is not directed in the most in
telligent manner, illustrating this
point by agricultural operations and
giving examples, as where men plant
ed a certain product in soil that was
much better adapted to another pro-
duct, etc. This is true philanthropy,
and it impressed us with Mr.. Hill's
SOOu lnboQGlOnS.
His hobby, if it is not belittling
great undertaking in which are bound
up in immense and almost measureless |
possibilities to call it by such name,
is the development of the carrying
trade upon the Pacific Ocean. He be-
lieves that our wheat can be introduced |
into China and Japan, and when once
the Orientals begin to eat it, market
will be opened that will absorb not on
ly all our surplus, but would call for
many times as much. When we sug-
gested that a people whose earnings
are SO small as those of the Orientals
possess little capacity for buying our
wheat as compared with
rice, he promptly answered that he
had entertained the same thought, but
supposing, he said, that they wouldj
buy one cents worth of -four per day
per capita; that would mean for the
400, 600, 900 people, 81, 600, 900 day, or
81, 46O, 600, 900 a year, which is many
times more than we have to spare
Again, as was suggested by us and as
sented to, the wealthy classes in those
eastern countries are numerous, and
they certainly are able to buy our
-four. There is meat in his reasoning,
or bread which is just as good.
Mr.. Hill thinks the government
should encourage by subsidies the
building of ships for the Pacific, but he
believes the bill introduced i'm the last
congress and again in this, is not the
right method. Such law, he thinks,
would inure alone to the benefit of
ship owners. It would encourage the
building of faststeamships which would
carry passengers-people who want to
make quick trip across the ocean to
spend their money--and not assist i'm
the remotest degree in increasing the
export of our surplus agricultural
products. He would give subsidy Or
bounty upon the products carried. He
says that it is a wOrld-recognized fact
that the cheapest carriers are the low /
speed vessels. The Lucania and Camp
ania with 10000 horse power engines
have a speed of q knots an hour. En-
gines of of 1900 horses power would
drive them IA knots an hour, one-fourth
the power and two-thirds the speed.
Such a ship with measured capacity
of Is, 900 tons could not possibly carry
$500 tons of agricultural products, and
still under the pending bill it would /
get an average bonus out and back of [
$1,000 day. Mr.. Hill is strongly |
opposed to this measure, and he seems
to have good reason for his opposition. (
AS a matter of course Mr.. Hill sees
in the increased traffic upon the J
Pacific ocean increased business for
his railroad, but if such increased COM
merce will benefit the producers, it is
something they should advocate, even
if Mr.. Hill does derive benefit. He
would be fairly entitled to it. We have
long been an advocate of and believer
in a national nOlicy that would nut the