The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-21
THOUSANDS HEAR
HILL AT PRESTON
Railway President Discusses Mar
kets, Graft, Transportation
and Other Questions.

.
Meighen accompanying him from st.
Paul. He was escorted to the Tibbetts
house, where he held a short informal
reception:
Speaking at the fair grounds, he said,
in part:
A farm in Minnesota produces more
value, more gold every year, than the
mines of any state in the union. and Diff
ferent from any gold mine or silver mine.
or copper mine or any other mine, every
year you will have a new and additional
crop II You will cultivate the soil.
You are going to be here as long as this
country endures. and you are going to be
an agricultural people. You have not any
other resource; you have not any
thing else that will make money for you,
so stand by that interest and give 1t a
fair show. That is what you must do If
you are going to make progress and /
saw most satisfactory progress today.
There are two main essentials to all
successful and happy effort; industry and
character in the man as private indi-
vidual and honesty and intelligence in
his acts and in the acts Of those who are
chosen to represent him in the life Of the
state. You cannot get along without
either the one or the other. -}.- =
Graft a Disease. ~.
mere Is no "OTQ more 1aEn1l1ar, as
there is none more ominous In America
today, than the word graft It shoots
from the mouth like the spit Of a rife
ball and it is doing as deadly work as that
weapon in the hands of a murderer.
Great commemorative are today as com
pletely in the hands Of mercenarles as
captive in the power of brisands holding
him for ransom. 5o g. e.:S-. T.
In great cities all authority resides in
v1y1,~
word claw except that of a convenient
means Of acquiring dirty money; and who
use it solely to sell to criminals the right
to violate 1t for a stipulated sum in cash.
This loathsome disease has penetrated to
high quarters. There Is hardly depart
ment of the federal government itself
that has not recently been under fire.
And the work Of gathering statistics con-
corning the furnishing Of crop informa-
ton has struck hands with the gamblers
in futures, and the market for your prod
ucts been prostituted to the thief. T."
Now all this Is your business. The
stream does not rise higher than it's
source. monarchy may get a good king
or a bad one, according to accidents Of
disposition in the eldest son Of the sover-
eign. But republic chooses its own
servants and it's own masters; and If they
are evil, it is because the people are
Indifferent.
| You can have, perhaps, no higher duty
than that Of stamping out every tendency
| toward this evil. =
It's Dangers. -.
No man and no nation ever was or ever
| will be rich enough to Withstand the con-
| tinuous attack Of unrebuked peculation:
and no national or individual character
can be pure enough to remain unsullied
| nv a federation Of l., low standard Of
| honesty. :. 49,.
You would be rightly alarmed II a case
| Of cholera or plague were to appear In
4 the community in which you live, an6
you spend money and labor to stamp out
the disease. Are you not careless in the
presence Of an all-pervading peril fal
more threatening in both its immediate
and its future effects? = -.
Markets for the Farmers.
Your main needs are two; an adequat
market in which your products may b
sold at a fair price, and an opportunit,
to purchase those things that you nee,
which the farm does not supply. To wha
extent have these been furnished to you
and in what condition do you stand wit
reference to them?
AS far as your grain Is concerned, 20,
must sell in the markets of the world
There is no escape from that. The whea
of southern Minnesota and the wheat o
every other country on the face of tn
earth will bring to the farmer the pric
that is fixed in the worlds markets.
There is one way, however, in wficl
! you may be helped, and that is by lessen
ing the cost of transportation. What 20,
get for the yield OF your farms is tn
price where the consumer lives, less tn
/ cost of carrying the article from you t
him. That cost you have to bear. Any
I thing that diminishes it Is money In you
] pocket; and when any one advises 20
/ that you are vitality interested in decreas
ing the cost of transportation he is tellin
you the truth. But how Is this to b
/ brought about?
ii No one can arbitrarily send out a proc
lamation that such service shall be pei
formed at such and such charge. TT
business Of transportation IS like all otfe
| business in this; it must be conducted &
IL a business basis. The cost of 1t can
Il lessened only by economies growing OF
4 of increased volume. So he does most Il
II you in this respect who opens new ma
kets, secures new customers and hell
| to swell the volume Of products and
| purchases. This is the way in which tt
diminution of the cost Of carriage h;
been effected, and the change is great
than has occurred in the price of alno
any other commodity 49, T.
Bouquets for Great Northern.
The average receipts ton per one hui
dred miles Of all the railroads in tt
United States we're s19e in 1870, Silt
= 1880, 81 cents in 1890, IA cents In 1916
while in Great Britain it Is $2.35 and
the continent Of Europe from $210
s1.70. The Great Northern railroad HI
been reducing it's. rate progressively
the last twenty-five years.
The records of the company and Of tt
state railway commission show that,
its freight tariffs had not been altered
that time, If it had charged througho
until today the rates that were then
force, it would have received more tn.
1915, 900, 900 more than 1t has receiv
during the twenty five years, an avera,
Of over s27. 100000, and this reducti
on one road, and I am as proud Of tn
as am of being with you.
How has this been accomplished? ]
seeking to build up the country by stud
ing how to develop it's resources and
prosperity. by inducing settlers to co,
and, till the vacant land and by TAXI
care Of those already here.
No public body would dare to make !
, auctions so sweeping as those that ha
been made voluntarily by the railways
Canal Of No Help.
But perhaps some one will tell you tt
among the great things that our pub
men have done for YOU is the building
= the Panama canal, thereby opening
you new markets and giving new {
1 IS. -,