The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-01-14
"REMINISCENCES
OF COL. MORTON

Colonel Morton of Fargo, pioneer OF North
Dakota, relates many interesting incidents of
the early life OF the North Dakota metropolis.
Those We're great days for the newspaper
man and the real estate man. said the
colonel Frequently we would advertise
dozen pieces OF property in the morning. and
before night the last parcel had been sold.
People came from Everywhere. l remember
that we had one English client who invested
something over 100000 and was only in town
forty-eight hours.
Sat the time refer to, Jim Hill and Major
Edwards, now of the Forum. but then pro-
prietor Of the Argus, were sparring over a
little matter of fifteen or twenty thousand
dollars that Jim claimed the major owed him
for moneys advanced. The major intimated
that the railroad magnate had value received
for all the money he had advanced-but, I'M
fortunately for our martial friend, James held
O US for the full amount claimed. I was
very confident that the major would have to
liquidate or lose the Argus Long before
this time the little two-story veneered build
ing had given way to a pretentious flve-story
brick afterWard utilized into hotel build
ing. The major concluded to bond the Ar
gus plant In the sum of $4,000, and it was
done. have seen a great many bonds in
my time, but I never saw more beautiful
bond than the Argus bond. There were
twenty five Of them, each representing 81 600,
and all bearing per cent interest twenty
years away. The major, fearing that it might
work a hardship for him to owe such an
amount Of money for such length of time,
had wisely provided that he might pay these
bonds off after eighteen years-possibly it
was after ten years. Anyway the bonds were
beautiful to look at, and | was selected to
sell them to some capitalists in the far east.
II remember that 1 was going that year
to the seashore with my family and the
major determined that I should, either going
or coming, take in Portland, Maine and visit
his friend De Witt, who was the president
of one of the largest loan companies in the
east. De Witt was old friend of the
major s-had known him in Chicago when
story
they were both members of the Board of
Trade-and De Witt was really very fond of
the major-but I am getting ahead of my
Before leaving Fargo the major brought
over the bonds and a photograph of the build
ing. I sat looking at the building and re-
marked, Major, what in the world did you
make that building five stories high fort
would have looked better a four-story
building-and it would have cost that much
less money! He replied, There you go
again! You are always ready to censure
somebody without knowing anything of the
circumstances. When 1 built the Argus
building our regular payday was Saturday,
and when we got UP four stories on Saturday,
we had no money to pay the help and it was
just naturally necessary to go up the other
story, and to demonstrate the fact that 1t
was necessary, I was able to pay for both
stories on the succeeding Saturday. So you
see there was no ground whatever for your
criticism " 5
''Well, after I reached the seashore-after
having been at Atlantic City for fortnight,
| I got telegram from the major, saying,
/ For Gods sake go to Portland and see De
Witt and to Portland I went Governor
| Burke, who was then our county treasurer,
| was on the Island at Portland, spending the
summer He met me at the hotel and took
me over and introduced me to De Witt,
whom l promptly tackled in the majors in
terest. I found that De Witt was the SON
| INLAY of the former president of his COM
! pany-that he was nice fellow-that he was
very fond of the major-but that he had no
| idea of making aslodgment of the company S
funds in newspaper property In North Da-
kota He ordered in a bottle of Mumm's Dry
and we drank it, and while drinking it ex-
patiated upon the prosperity of the Argus
Fand it's value as a newspaper property. HS
assured me thatif he had the money himself
! the major should have it, bonds or no bonds.
r spent couple of hours with De Witt,
| during which time we absorbed a couple OF
quarts of the product of the vine. We both
,enthused-but was no nearer De Wits
| twenty-five thousand dollars than when
Burke introduced me to him. Finally hay
ing exhausted every argument in behalf OF
an advance by De Witt, said to him, Mr..
| De Witt I wish to know If there is anything
! that Il have left unsaid that would induce
you to take the majors bonds and give me
the money He replied, Colonel, there is
nothing You don't know how I regret my
inability to accommodate my old friend, but
if were to intimate to my board of direc-
tors that contemplated buying these bonds
| they would consider fit subject for
the lunatic asylum Well I said, I must
20, but before leaving you feel that it would
be reflection upon my intelligence were !
not to say there never was holy moment in
all this delightful conversation when I ex-
pected to get any nearer your money than
am at this moment" "