The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-12-27
RAILROAD SITUATION IN THE
NORTHWEST.
A Review Of What Has Been Done in
in the Past and the Prospects For
4hn E..t..~~

OF 81. raul regarding the railroad stu
alton in the northwest, from the
Pioneer Press, is given that our readers
may have chance to survey the ques-
tion from the standpoint of the railroad
by 8. disinterested looker-on. Mr.. Hall
says:
Without wishing it to be considered
that / am asking the Pioneer Press to
commit itself to the views herein ex
pressed by their publication, | ask for
brief consideration of the railroad
situation.
Many of the newspapers of the state
, and many Of our public men have with
much unanimity during the past two
weeks expressed great alarm over the
railroad situation in the northwest,
and hostility toward these corpora
tions, which is not consistent with
sound business principles. 1t seems to
be one OF those olden time railroad
| waves which from time to time has
swept over the west during the past
forty years, with the result, as rule,
of damaging and demoralizing bust
ness interests
Having come to Minnesota before
there were any railroads in the state,
and having seen the resultant develop
ment, OWING to their construction, do
not believe it is wise to make war
fare against such great business in
! terests. | do not mean by this that the
railroads should not be controlled and
regulated by law. Fortunately that is
already done, and that principle was
established by Minnesota in the case
of Blake VS. The Winona 81 st. Peter
railroad, which was contested and car
ried to the highest court In the coun-
, try by Mr.. w. P. Clough, now one of
the vice presidents of the Great
Northern road, who won the victory
for the people.
| recall the era when Gen. Sibley
spent the entire summer and fall
marching with his troops from st.
Paul to and from the Missouri river,
at point near where Bismark, N.
D., is now located, in pursuit of the
Indians, having to carry every pound
of his supplies from his starting point.
the soldiers being met with supplies
for their return trip, which had been
sent up the Missouri by boat from st.
Louis. The same distance is now
traversed by rail in about twelve
hours, much of the country is dotted
with prosperous towns, villages and
cities, much of it being occupied by
prosperous farmers who annually pro-
, duce over one hundred and fifty mill
lion bushels of wheat for export. But
for the railroads that territory would
/ still be in the condition it was when
GEN. Sibley made his memorable
march, and the twin cities would be
an insignificant speck upon the map of
the business world.
While not advocating that the capt.
I, talists who have produced this trans
, formation shoald be permitted to OPP
press the people, | cannot refrain from
some sense of gratitude toward the
men who invested their money in the
wilderness and have caused this vast
territory to blossom with prosperity
I for hundreds of thousands of people
/ That this was not accomplished with
out great financial risk Is demonstrate
ed by the fact that the Northern Paci-
hc, the pioneer enterprise, has three
ruptcy. It was Mr.. Willard s undoing
when he took party of foreign capt.
| talists who had invested in the North
III klCW NhC hAluCLACSe,
which had been penetrated. They
could not be induced to believe that in
their lifetime the country would be
developed, and they FASTENED to the
telegraph stations along the route to
order their holdings to be unloaded at
any sacrifice. and this, notwithetand-
ing the immense land grant given by
| the government to encourage the
construction of the road. They con-
sidered the land too worthless to be
regarded as an asset.
In the face of this situation our
townsmsn. Mr.. j. ]. Hill. constructed
another line through corresponding
wilderness to the Pacific coast. with
out land grant and without dollar
of bonus. 1t was an achievement
which no other trans-continental line
ever even attempted. On the con-
trary, all of the other transcontinental
lines, Notwithstanding the great
amount of public aid they secured,
suffered financial reverses, all these re-
verses demoralizing business, bringing
almost irreparable loss to the regions
traversed by the unfortunate lines
The darkest financial day Minnesota
ever saw was when the wires brought
the announcement of the failure of Jay
Cooke, the financial promoter Of the
Northern Pacific. when but fraction
of that road had been constructed.
The Great Northern stands alone as
the line which has never brought dis
aster, but on the contrary has brought
business prosperity to a vast region of
the country and added almost untold
millions to the wealth OF the world.
1t has never passed dividend. and
has created a confidence in financial
circles, which has not only enabled the
Northern Pacific to recuperate, but
has caused millions OF dollars to be In
vested In other roads in the northwest,
which have made development in the
past twenty Eve years the counterpart
of which Ia not to be found in the his
tory of the world. The Great Northern
WAS constructed, at greatly increased
expense, with such low grades that 1t
carries larger tonnage per train than
any other trans continental road. with
the added result that transportation
rates are greatly reduced. The history
of it's management has been reduction
Of freight rates IS the country develop
ed and business circumstances would
permit. Three years ago q reduction
Ia the rates for the transportation of
wheat was put In force, which gives
to the farmers not less than an addi-
tional million dollars per year for each
crop. Perhaps this could not have
been accumulated by the railroad
alone, but Mr.. Hill. with that sagacity
for which he has been famous, erected
great elevators and utilized the Great