River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-01-21

the markets are not closed to us and tx
the farmer is taxed 10c bushel on his
grain J., and Proporthionalte tax is places
his lard, his tallow. his cotton. which he
has to sell, going. 10 Great Britain, bear
in mind, you will pay the tax. When
you have no surplus or only a very small
surplus. then they will come here and
compete for your food it they need it.
You may say: Oh, Well. they have
people will starve.' 1 will call your at
tention to the facr, that twenty years
ago the province of Manitoba did not
crop it exported $4,000. 000. At the rate
your American farmers are going into
all the wheat Great Britain needs. Then
you will pay the tax, or you will hold
your wheat, or you will find a new mar
ket, You may, then appreciate the value
of the Oriental market Possibly it's in
ception was in the mind of AN Oriental
dreamer, but 1T makes no difference
about the dream as long as the dream can
time comes l want you TO bear in mind
that an old man called your attention to
it before. (Applause.)
Some Comparisons.
To show that Minnesota was not MAX
ing the progress which she should, Mr..
Hill took, the receipts of the Great North
Anoka, St Cloud. Alexandra, Barnes
vile, Thief River Falls. St. HiIaire, stew
ems, Hallock and st. Vincent.
o The Te YEARS ago % a sse en e
year ending Goth ofsJune last it was ST.
435, 900. the increase being s4s5,O0O OF
which $148, 900 was at Thief River Falls.
He then took the following North Da-
kota towns: Larimore, Park River, Lang
don. Devils Lake, .Cando, Rugby, Gran
vile. Minot, and souris and thus sum
These ten towns, five years ago. had
business of $752,00O, against $3.50, 600
grown to 81, 435,00O-or an increase OF
$485, 600 Dakota has grown from 1852,
600 to $2,304 900, or an increase of $1,552,
THE time has come when. you are not
growing as fast as you think you are.
Your cities are growing. but your coun-
best farming land in the state of Mime
sofa where there are not as many acres
under cultivation as there We're twelve
or fifteen years ago. Some parts of our
road in Minnesota 1 go through at night
because l don't want to see the absolute
neglect and infamous farming. l don
everything 1 could in the way of teaching
by giving them stock, by helping them in
every possible way to do better farm
ing. There is only one thing that. will in
the end teach them to do better farming
and that is when the Reaper gathers
them in and somebody else takes their
IF any of you gentlemen think that /
have painted the picture in too high
colors by calling your attention to what
the absolute and immediate effect that
you may and must look for, will be
ready to answer for the faith that is in
time is coming when you will have to
bear an additional burden of from $780,
100000 to $50, 000 600 year in these three
northwestern states unless you can find
a new market for your stuff. Where will
Ing e., es. ~ rr''-e ' $500 -. ' -.
doesn't care so much for wheat flour It
is singular fact, but it is true, that
every nation, including India, once they
get wheat -four, prefer tito all other food.
the other day-a professor in one of their
universities, and in his country an emf
cause of their great tendency to dropsical
complaint was the large proportion of
rice which they consume and that an
imperial commission had made this report
to- che government and for that reason
they wanted to buy more of our flour.
You have always been in the habit, I
think, of feeling that we are at all times
ready to do anything in our power to
help you, but when the exercise of power
in the carrying Of your business to new
markets, to take the place of the mar
ket that you are losing becomes a crime,
and we lay ourselves open to fine and i'm
prisonment, / have got to tell you that
to see, if you want to, whether your
representatives are ready to stand for
your interests or against your interests.
AS far as we are concerned we are per-
fectly happy. AS I said before our divi-
dends won't suffer whether we carry one
barrel of flour or 100000. barrels of
flour. There is very little in it. But there
is this in it: l always hold as principle
that in operating railroad our greatest
prosperity came from the greatest pros
perity of the people living on the line,
and unless we can take the natural re-
sources of the country (and your natural
resources are confined practically to what
is raised on the farm unless we can
take the natural resources Of the coun-
try to some market where they can be
sold with profit to the man who raises
them, who creates them. the time is not
far distant when he will stop creating
them; ooa son o,+ 4. anonaon ,,o,,
farm. We cannot abandon our railroad.
We might sell the shares, but the railroad
must be there; it is under contract to be
operated and it has got to be operated.
whole situation where it is within your
reach, within the reach of the people liv-
ing on the line, to develop the local in
terests, whatever they may be, with a
profit to themselves, or else. our invest
ment is worthless. And, following that
up, have tried in every way that l
could to find new markets for your stuff.
Before we built a mile of road west of the
Rocky mountains we had men in the
east seeing what the business was and
how far it might be developed. And we
have kept men there from that time to
this"
He read quite a lengthy report from an
agent, in China which he had just re-.
ceived. This showed how Russia and
other countries were getting their grasp
upon the commerce of China and the
Orient generally. to the exclusion of the
products of the United States.
Now, have read you this to show you
that it is not all fun. 1t is not the easiest
task to compete with all the nations for
their trade, and with all the adverse con-
ditions we have to meet. And it is a
still harder job when we are told that it
is against the law to do it. And when it
comes to a point where you need that
market, if you are barred out of it, it
won't be our fault.
II won't detain you any longer. It is
getting late. and l have trespassed on
your time too much. l simply want to
say this: That if the time comes when
the conditions that l have outlined are
realized by you, remember that, as far as
could, you were forewarned. Cap
plause.)"