The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-22

enough to get so interested in his bust |
ness that he does not hear the whistle
blow. 49,. A-
Minneapolis Commercial Growth
The action of the veteran secretary
Of the Minneapolis Chamber Of Com
merce, in laying down the active duties
Of office, after years Of faithful serv-
ice, recalls many an incident Of COM
mercial growth and development in
Minneapolis and the northwest in the
last quarter century. Of all things that
come to mind in this connection, moth
ing is so impressive as the evidence Of
human fallibility with reference to pos
3sibilities in the great grain and milling
industry. Many men of business promi-
hence and first class judgment looked
upon the proposition of the organiza-
ton of grain trading body, when put
before them twenty-five years ago, as
somewhat visionary. They were willing
to support anything for the general
good of Minneapolis, but could not see
the possibilities, and forecasts Of con
ditions not half so strong as realized
today, were considered oversanguine.
Some things were SO clear, in the de-
velopment of our country, that any one
might see them. Everyone knew that
on the site Of Chicago a. great, city
would one day rise. The settling Of
The west and northwest in it's general
progress led to expectation of. great
things. That the northwest would ulti-
mately be covered by net Of railroads
was clear. Also it was seen, from many
years back, that at the Falls Of st. An
thony, "a city would rise, and much
manufacturing be carried on, and mill.
ing Of wheat was foreshadowed from
early days.. Yet when Colonel Rogers
went around town in 1880 trying to in
terest business men in the organization
of the Chamber of Commerce (the
Board of Trade, and the Millers' asso-
citation being already in existence) he
found division of opinion. About
half the leading business men. Were for
it at once. About one-quarter; were for
it because they did not wish to appear
as opposing any move for advancement.
One-quarter paid little attention to it,
and thought it never would amount to
much.
Arguments Of that day are interest
ing now. It was pointed out that while
Minneapolis would necessarily use more
or less wheat, the Millers' association
would buy it and that would be all
made 904,786 barrels. and ], ISL, 789, re-
spectively, in the two years preceding.
These conservatives expected, the in
dustry would grow, but 16,000,000-
barrel year was not dreamed of. It
=. was pointed out that wheat would not
make a grain market, and that there
were no coarse grains here, which was
fact, as Minnesota and Dakota ter
ritory at that time did not raise enough
corn, oats, rye, barley or flax tozzbe
worth thinking about, and feed stuff
for cattle was brought in very largely
from Iowa. Moreover it was contended
: that conditions in the northwest were
such that the country never would pro.
!. duce coarse grains in any Quantity, an
idea that maintained for some years
thereafter, just as the old idea, that
the farther northwest was very barren,
and that the men who were pushing
railroads into it were rash, died hard.
/ But the railroad men of the ultra
conservative. class brought out the
clinching argument. They cared moth
ing about the production, or the mill
! ing growth in this consideration. They
based their Indifference upon the great
economic fact, that nowhere in the
world was there an interior grain mar
ket that amounted to anything, and
J; that there had never been one. No city,
they said, ever could hope to deal ex-
tensively in various kinds of grain,
build up a trade in futures, and play
a prominent part in governing prices,
unless located at the seaboard, or on
the lakes. Milwaukee, Toledo, Buffalo,
Chicago, Duluth, all these they could
see, might do it, but Minneapolis
never.
i What we have done here everyone
knows. It illustrates the danger Of go
i ing wrong by tying up too closely to
old economic ideas, and failing to con-
slider possibilities in a new country.
Il The charge Is made nv the Star Chr0n.