The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-25

= 4,
Now you have some problems be-
fore you. We all have. The problem of
cheap transportation is one that has not
several occasions. I have sometimes
thought that on the principle Of CO.
operative society might be able to do
something that would help it out. We
have had from some sources help, and
from some sources we have had, 1 might
say, obstruction-ma good-natured,
maybe it WASH It. At the same time to-
night I want you to bear this in mind:
I am standing here thru cooper
call it, representing little more than
one-tenth of the railroad mileage in the
United States, and it has its roots driv
en- deeply into the location upon which
your city is built Your prosperity will
be its prosperity. We don't want you
to feel at any time that there is any
thing that will help you that won't
help us.
Remember that we are just as ready
to push you forward today as yesterday,
ten years ago or twenty years ago, be-
! cause there has never been time when
we have not been ready to forward Min
neapolis. And I will 90 on record right
here and ask you to examine your city
today and see if we have not spent more
money to make it comfortable, to give
you good cross streets, good crossings,
than all the other railroads combined.
Take them all. The hardest thing |
ever had to do in my life, the hardest
undertaking I ever had to face-be-
cause I was young in the business, and 1t
seemed SO unnecessary, and everybody
else shook their heads and looked dis
couragingly ominous-was to build the
stone arch bridge. / remember that the
manager of the New York Central rail
road said: whoever is behind that
Young man had better catch him, be-
cause we wouIdn It bnild'-and you had
at that time about 10000 or 81, OO0-'we
wouldn't build a bridge like that in the
city of Rochester, just think OF It.
Rochester couldn't have bridge like
that. He said, 'The young man ought
to be taken in and restrained.'
Old Citizens Were Generous:
"But there were some things that
| happened. that were very pleasant.
remember when I tried to come down
toward the old stone arch bridge, near
Tuttle's creek. Some Of you, know
where it is. We had a, right-of-way
there and it had been in a measure
abandoned. One Of my old lumber
friends who used to follow the river
! ana uSeu w AuOW Ills Ahoo on' iA'S
batteau-was Caleb Dorr, as honest a
man as you ever had among you. He
might be close, he might be little
near, but he was a square man. l went
to Caleb. and said, Look here, look: at
these Treason your property. l want
to bring the railroad right down. here
thru your backyard and want to put
a bridge in here to raise the street in
front Of your house. ~ 2: 81!
\ IT took him out for a walk andshe
told me how he had brought those little
trees down from the woods. He said;
do you want the barn9' I said, "The
barn has got to go, the, whole thing
"When I had staked it out [ asked
Caleb to tell me about what he thought
he ought to have, and he told me. J
he had asked me twice the
amount that he did, to have paid il
cheerful1y. That is one Of the bright
spots. .---- -.zss---.z.. ---..-- 49,.
81 came little farther down to thu
Il old Morrison cottage. Some of you may
not know where the Morrison cottage
was, but some Of you would remember
the. Morrison cottage on the other side
George Perkins lived there. He had 6
lot Of trees planted in front. We wanted
to take the trees down and wanted t.
said, take it. said 'all right, George
What shall we pay you9' He didn'
know. -. .;- -.
i at had taken Charlie Pillsbury along
Charlie marked down price, Georg'
marked, and I marked. My mark wa
the highest and George Perkins wa
the lowest. I said George, are yol
sure you have got enough9' He said
sYes, I think that is all right. 70,
want to bring the railroad down and
don It want to be in, the way
! I had to buy the st. Anthony Fall
Water Power company out, and the1
when we got to the middle of tn
stream we encountered another waite