The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-24

''The fight is on the high seas The
great traHic contest is between the Pa
1 ciflc on the one hand, and the Suez canal
| and Cape Horn on the other
This Is the way James J. Hill, of tie
Great Northern, put the traffic situation,
| in an interview which he gave the Min
neapolis Journal yesterday.
ut is not a fight between this section,
or city, or road, or the other" continued
j MIR. Fitll at least SO far as am con-
| cerned. It is a big question of traffic
| Development; 1t is a question of COM
| mercial development and Industrial de-
| velopment for the country at large
| Our competitor is not here not in New
| York, not in San Francisco; he is on the
! high seas Our fight is national. or
rather, it is international. Our problem
| is to get hold of the commerce of the
Pacific ocean and bring 1t across the
Pacific and across the United States in
stead of allowing it t. be diverted
around the globo via the Suez canal and
Cape Horn"
Then he had word to say regarding
those who thought he was engaged in
traffic fight. Showing his hand through
his hair and striking quickly across the
room. he said iE subdued tone full OF
energy:
''All ! desire is to be let alone, to he
left IN peace, and do what I can to
develop the countrys commerce, I'M
hindered by petty jeaIousies and SLAM
ders.
II do not expect to receive any bless
inss for my labors during this life"
said Mr. Hell with q laugh But 1 shall
try to lay the foundations of my work so
deep he continued, that when 1 pass
from the scene it will not be necessary
for those who follow to dig it all up and
begin over again
A GLANCE INTO THE FUTURE.
Nov, looking at it broadly, what is
the situation? What Of our commercial
future? Turn to our rate of population
growth. We are doubling every thirty
years. We have multi aplied more during
the past thirty-five years than during
the 300 preceding. From the landing Of
the Mayfower down to the close of the
Civil war we grew to 35,0O0.00O; but since
1865 We have increased Al, 100000. AT this
rate during the next thirty years we
may grow to 150.0G0,0a0.
What shall we do with this popula~
ton? How many can we use IN manu-
featuring? We now employ less than
| one-quarter. At the most not over one
| third, or 100000, car be employed in
manufactures, raDroading, trade and the
professions. The bulk Of the remaining
100009.01e must go to the land. Where
will they go? Not to New England with
it's rocky and unproductive hills. New
England, to use term in physics, Is
filed to the 'saturatioE point. Nor will
the South take much of the increase,
with the exception of the Latin influx
! from Southern Europe. No., the great
: increase will be in the valleys of the
| Ohio. Mississippi. Missouri and west
ward. the fertile prairles CT the great
Central West and beyond, wherever frri-
cation is possible
nNa
J. on the land OF the West produce? Food,
t will they not? They will produce the
|, three great staples of traff1c-food. fuel
|, and shelter-but food in the MAN.
WHAT ASIA WILL. BUY.
Now, cross the Pacific and what do
we find? Millions of people. and what
can they buy? What can a man who
: earns a shilling a day, and that Is the
|. average wage of the Orient, buy of US?
Can he buy luxuries? Can he buy any
great amount Of manufactured goods at
all? No. He Will buy only what he IS
| compelled to buy to sustain life. He
after a little. for labor with him is
cheap and plenty. He will want of us
only the simple staples as grain, pro-
| visions, raw cotton, etc, from which TO
weave his cloth, and perhaps a little
lumber coal and some hand tools. But
| MS prlllclPal demand VIII De Tor fOod--
| just the products which the present COM
ing population Of Americas great cen
trail end western zone is prepared to
! furnish.
80 here we have big traffic PROPOSE
! tion-to place the great surplus staples
of Central and Western America at the
door of the Orient, and bring back from
the latter anything that we can use. The
| future has in store for us along this line
! a vast commerce.
PUGET SOUND THE SHORT CUT.
! 'The next question is: How shall 1t be
handled; by what route shall 1t go?
! Shall America handle it, or Europe? VIII
1t go by the Pacific or by the Suez and
! Horn? l hope that America will handle
! it, and 10y the Pacific. Geography and
/ nature declare it and trade cannot resist
| them"
Mr. Hill then brought out from a stack
of aliases a number of maps giving
| ocean distances; showing that Puget
sound, by the great meridian circles, is
the short cut for commerce, not only
with Japan and Northern China, bat
with Manila and the entire Pacific coast
of Asia.
THE BURLINGTON TERRITORY.
eve come now" said Mr. Hill ito