The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-05-13
Success Of the Great Railroad Man
Has Been Phenomenal.
Many Mean Things Have Been Said
of G. N. President.
Has Accomplished Large Things For
Entire Northwest.
From Mondays Daily.

nights sermon from the pulpit of the
Christian church on lessons From the
Life of James j. HIP took the stand
that the general public is very prone to
malign any man, who had made an un-
usual success in life, and to level at him
countless accusations wholly without
foundation. The community is too apt
to overlook the good that successful
man has accomplished and to attribute
to his doings, evils with which his acts
had nothing to do.
That every man should make the best
of his opportunities in this world and
that such efforts are perfectly in accord
with the duties of Christian, is plainly
brought out in the parable found in the
twenty fifth chapter of st. Matthew,
tributed out to his servants various
sums of money and told them to do the
best with the money that they could.
Those servants who doubled the money
received the highest commendation. The
one who buried his money in the ground
and simply brought it back to the mas
tsr ON the day of reckoning was severe
ly condemned.
Rev. Shellenberger went on to say that
there was no other man in the northwest,
in his opinion, about whom more mean
things had been said, than had been said
about James j. Hill. Here was man
whose success was phenomenal and
whose life history plainly shows what
may be accomplished by making the best
of ones opportunities. He was born
in Wellington county, Ontario, Canada,
and received his early education at Rock
wood seminary. The boy was of pc
culiar dreamy turn of mind. Nobody
ever thought he would be fitted for any
commercial pursuit. His parents agreed
that he must be either minister or a
doctor. He did not seem fitted for the
pulpit, so it was decided that he should
be a doctor. With this idea in view, he
had his studies chosen for him at Rock
wood seminary. Financial reverses over
took his father and the son at the age
of fifteen was obliged to start out in
the world and shift for himself.
He made his way to st. Paul and
found employment in connection with the
steamboat service. Here he began to
study the methods of transportation.
Ten years after coming to st. Paul he
was in the steamboat transportation
business himself. He was the first to
bring coal up the river from the east
for sale among the western people. He
gradually extended his river traffic until
his boats were carrying goods out into
the western part of the state. Now be-
gan his great dream of developing the
northwest. He dreamed of connecting
Puget Sound with Duluth and st. Paul
He would have great railroad reaching
all this distance. He was laughed at on
every hand. In vain he asked the gov
eminent for aid in carrying out this en-
terprise. People declared that such a
railroad could never pay. He was not to
be discouraged. He finally began the
railroad almost entirely on his own foot
ing. As soon as the road was laid, the
country, through which it ran, began
10 Nv do 70
bring colonists into the northwest. He
kept up a steady stream of Irish,
Swedes, Norwegians, and whatsoever i'm
migrants he could find. One whole Irish
settlement seemed threatened with star
walton one severe winter. Mr.. Hill with
his own means supplied these people
with the necessities of life, and tided
them over to the following summer,
when the colony got on a substantial
footing and entered into a great career
of prosperity.
The Great Northern railroad, as the
country grew UP and was settled, began
to pay better and better Wealth rolled
in upon Mr.. HILL To be sure, it was
wealth of his own creation. If there
ever was one of the kings of industry
who actually earned his millions, it is
James J. Hill.
He now set to work to extend his
great system of transportation farther.
In order to connect his new northwest
ern country more closely with the east,
he established system of steamers
on the Great Lakes for the transporta-
ton of freight from Buffalo and other
points to Duluth, where connection could
be secured with the Great Northern.
His next dream, also des, ined to be
realized, was the opening up of Chi
nese and japanese markets for the food
products of the northwest, by the estab-
lishment of a line of ocean transports
in connection with the western termin.
us of the Great Northern railroad.
1t is true that Mr.. Hill has accumulat-
ed vast fortune in the execution of
his colossal plans. Yet, it is also true
that he has made happy homes for thou
sands and thousands of poor people, and
has added immensely to the strength
and material resources of the nation He
certainly deserves all honor that can be
bestowed upon him for his successful
execution of his benefcient and seeming
ly impracticable ideas.
One of the secrets of Mr.. Hills great