The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-02
Tales Of Life on the Rail.
4 THE FARMERS RAILROAD.
Copyright BY Mcclure. Phillips & Co..
By F. B, TRACY.

Copyright BY Mcclure. Phillips & Co.
HI wen now open this meetin' with.
,pra'r. Brother Mercer, will you lead In
tpra'r ?'''Sai
,Fhes people arose while Mayor Mercer
asked the Lord to bless the gathering.
The audience was typical of the dwell
ers on the second mountain" (Which was
not a mountain at all, but only the Sec
ond elevation from the level of the river,
eighty mites away. They We're 5uncouth
people Their long dog skin overcoats.
their high coon skin caps, their uncombed
hair and shaggy boards all told Of their
hardy. toilsome pioneer life. Fifteen
years ago that now rapidly growing and
rich section of Dakota lay deserted by all
save the roaring billiards the wolves and
the deer--lay all unconscious of the ma
jestic power in it's womb to yield NO.
hard wheat, which at Liverpool grades
above all other wheat in the world.
The presence of these people in that hall
of the proud and new courthouse at
lansing was to hear Daniel Minds give
out his scheme Of railroad building. At
the end of the prayer the man who had
called forlit rose from his knees Che was
Methodist) and began to talk IN an en-
barrassed, hating manner. There was
something peculiarly attractive in his way
I OF speaking. There glistened In his eye
as he stood before the people that night
"a winsOnneness, q courage and nope
which the dullest felt. He was tall. with
q small head and eyes; his hair was red
dish brown, and the slight mustache,
which clustered around his mouth, was of
the same color. AwkWardly, apologelcal-
ly and with a strange smile, he said:
ner. and they amt any better Off,
Il s'pose yuh want tub know what I've
got tub say about this new plan to build
railroad. Well, it seems kinder funny
fer me to stand up here and try tub talk
tub yuh. Alnang of yuh, I reckon, think
my place is cleanin out Moodys stable, z
useto do seven and eight years ago.
Law me, of course can't make speech
but, can tell yuh in plain way what Is
1.-THE Lords will regardin' this road, fer
|blieve that the Lord hez called me tub
this work.
/ "Yuh know, I guess, that we've he'd
.purty hard times the last few years. OF
Ecourse, we amt ez bad off the corn
Estates. and z long ez this land will raiss
~ good wheat u it does now and 4 muct
lDf it, We'll git along. But we amt dom
Sz well as we useto when wheat was sc
high Now, don't look fer any more
dollar wheat, stiddy. I don't know why
Some say it's silver and some say it's
aerif. but it seems tub me that with al
fthis wild lam beln' plown up and sowed
an wheat we can't expect anything but
more wheat and lower prices. And the
sonly thing we can do is to kepe down ex-
penses. and lower what it cost to produce
The wheat. "
Nov, one big reason why you and me
hev sub little left after the crop is sole
Is the big slice the railroad takes of it
The Great Mogul charges us jest ez much
fer haulin' out stuff tub Duluth z he die
ten years ago, when wheat was worth {
dollar a bushel
can this high charge works two ways
Yuh know we complain a good deal at the
way the stores stick it onto us in the wa!
fof prices. Well Brother Mercer showed
me a. freight bill the other day on some
hardware and it was awful. 1t explained
tub me why he had tub charge sub mucl
fer his goods.
Now you fellers know all this. and
tell yuh the only way fer tub get relief i
fer US tub build a road ourselves up tut
Duluth. 'TWon't help us at all to git il
another road here Of the same kind >
this one. They've got both roads at Gard
II got our school teacher at Hannin,
tub draw map for me. and here it is
Yuh see, both these Dakota roads swa
way down to the south a hundred an
more miles out of their way to Duluth
Why don't they run straight Here Iv
drawed a. line acrOst from this town Q
Lansing straight tub Duluth, over Ian
. where a grade would cost most nuth1
and a hundred miles could be saved. Thi
roads goin toh be built some day. TIL
only question is, whether we're goin' tn
build it fer our own benefit or let som
eastern fellers build it fer theirs. I sd
I'VE can build that road, and I'll tell 20
how r.
Daniel Minds had always been odd. I
Ibis youth he was converted, and Ebecan
camp meeting exhorter and REVEALS
in his ignorant, hearty and peculiar wa.
but suddenly "the power left him an
he returned uncomplainingly to his far1
|crudgery, holding fast all the while to h
devout faith To all appearances he we
q. serious, hard working farmer, like hur
t1reds Of others who helped to enthror
King Wheat in that frozen land. He WE
Regarded as 'queer'' by his neighbour
4 but they were all queer.
He was thoughtful, and the long wlnt'
nights gave him opportunity for muc
reading. In some way his attention b.
came fixed on the transportation prol
dem, and it absorbed him. Bit by bit
plan came to him, and at length he I'LL
Il folded it to friends and relatives. The
3 told him that it was wild and impracti
4 able but their words disturbed him
no way. It
This meeting at Lansing was his fir
zone, and it had attracted a great crow
8 But it was q silent, undemonstrati
sthrong. The road was to be called Il
Z Farmers railroad, and it was to be bu
by the farmers Of the Red River vail
themselves. The project was to ea
mo profits. except to keep up repairs a,
equipments, and was to be wholly G.
operative. But the message was too go
ITO be true, and the audience would n
receive it. When he had done, he ask
any who cared to PROFOUND questions
him; but no one replied. All sat perfec