The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-09-18
Governor Van SAINT Delivers Speech at
Chicago Saturday Night.
Tells the Boys in the Windy City
All About Minnesota.
No Longer Gopher State" Bread and
Butter Commonwealth.
Discusses Merger and Declares Com
bination Unlawful.
From Tuesdays Daily.


Governor Van SAINT was one of the
speakers at recent meeting of the Chi
COCO Press club He spoke as follows:
after accepting the cordial invitation
of the Chicago Press club to take part
in its outing to western newspaper
men, | wrote your honorable president
to learn the subject of my toast. His re-
ply was, Tell us something about Min
nesota and incidentally about the mer-
GER so Minnesota and the Merger will
be my theme.
Minnesota is vast in area: it would
make state the size of Illinois, includ-
ing three like Massachusetts,, one like
Rhode Island and have one hundred
square miles left for good measure. A
New Englander, after travelling broad
prairies, remarked that he never before
in his life felt like he was out of doors.
Well may Il man have said this who had
been hemmed in by the granite hills of
New Hampshire and the Green mountains
of Vermont. for this state is larger in
area than all New England, New Jersey
and Delaware combined.
Formerly we were well known as a
wheat producing state; it is our boast
that We raise the wheat to feed the world;
and we grind it into the best flour ever
made. Annually our great mills in Min
nesota alone make flour enough when
baked into bread to encircle the globe if
the loaves were placed end to end.
Our tiilers of the soil in their wis
dom have diversified their farming. and
we have now nearly 1000 creameries.
Last year their output amounted to Co.
100000 pounds of butter, or butter
enough to spread all the bread before
mentioned. We have achieved so much
in this direction that we are no longer
known as the Gopher but the Bread
and Butter state.
ITO give some idea of the great value
of our iron interests, let me state that
on one section of school land, and l get
this from the state auditor, the revenues
when all the ore is removed will amount
to 100000 900 to enrich our school fund.
and the amount received as taxes, local
and state from one company amounts
practically to $4,000 day for every
working day of the year; and we have
enough iron ore in our mines to supply
the world for century to come.
"The change in industrial conditions
during recent years has been of such
character as to arouse not only the in
terest. but the solicitude of the people
of our country The tendency has been
toward the Capitalization of capital to-
such an extent that in some cases par
ticular lines of industry have been
brought under central management and
control, thus destroying competition and
enabling those in charge to regulate pro-
duction and arbitrarily fix prices. The
evils resulting therefrom have been so
often pointed out and are so keenly APP
preciated, affecting as they do each of us
in varied ways, that they need no es-
pecial mention at this time. Competition
ever has been and ever will be the great
regulator in the markets of the world,
protecting alike both the consumer and
the producer Not alone in the line of
manufacture, but also in the line of
transportation has the tendency to CEN
tralize with view of throttling compe-
tition been manifested.
"A most persistent effort has been
made to consolidate or merge two great
railway lines traversing the northwest
ern states. The Northern Pacific and
Great Northern are parallel and compel
ing roads. Some time ago the manage
ment of one of these lines attempted to
gain control of the other, but immediate
action in the courts thwarted the plan
and gave US from the supreme court,
in the Pearsali case, wholesome and
welcome decision to the effect that such
consolidation was unlawful.
Should the supreme court affirm the
decision of the lower court, then it would
seem that the Northern Securities COM
pany must be dissolved. 1t is not improb
able, however. that all the ingenuity and
skill of able counsel will be employed to
maintain this company in some form
and to carry out in some manner the
purpose of its organization. This APP
prehension may be warranted from the
fact that ST. Paul director is quoted
as having recently said in New York,
The existence of the company does not
depend upon the decision of the supreme
court in the federal suit
Can this statement be true? No, nei-
ther should this corporation, nor any
corporation, nor any individual be per-
mitted to render null and void the man
dates of this, the highest court in the
land"