The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-12-17
HAS The CLIMATE OF
M|NNESOT CHANGED?
PIONEERS DIFFER ON PEREN.
NIALLY DISCUSSED QUESTION.
Some Declare old-fashioned Winters
Have Gone Forever and that Present
Day Minnesotans Do Not Know What
Cold Weather Is-Others Can See No
Change Of Note.
rs Minnesota climate changing?

Is Minnesota s climate changing?
With the middle of December already
here and winter caps, earmutfs and fur
lined gloves hardly used at all as yet,
this question, for years the subject of
heated debate and cold argument in
Minnesota, has leaped to the fore and
is again common topic of discussion.
Some declare that the climate has
undergone decided change and that
never again will the intensely cold days
of yore be suffered by residents Of Min
nesota. But there remain enough per-
sons Of opposite conviction to make the
question a contested one. " a.
A group Of prominent pioneers, men
who settled in Minnesota in the forties
and ffties and who have had chance
to view the development Of the state,
show the same difference Of opinion in
the ranks of these veterans who
"doped' the weather and accurately,
too, before the days of scientific OBJ
servations and forecasts. -.- b.
Of seven pioneers interviewed, three
were positive that there had been a
marked moderation in. the climate Of
the state; three took the opposite view,
declaring emphatically that there had
been no change, and one was "on the
fence,' admitting that the weather Of
the past few years indicated a change,
but expressing the thought that pos
sibly the climate was regulated by
epochs and that Minnesota might yet
suffer some of the weather that froze
everything but the ambitions Of the gal
liant men who built the stable founda-
tion upon which the state now stands.
Conditions Are Different.
Frank G. O'Brien fearlessly declares
that in his belief the climate has not
changed. He thinks that many state
ments to the effect that there has been
a change are made without due con-
sideration of the difference in the condi-
lions of the past and present. ,..
"In pioneer days. said Mr.. o 'Brien
awe were not 50 well housed or clothed
as We are nowadays. Then we had no
steam-heated houses, or even Offices
Our homes were not so we'll built. They
did not stand between the bitter cold
and tho shivering mortals within so eff
fectually as the modern houses do. Oul
clothing was Of very different texture
than the comfortable garments of this
day, and we did not wear so much OF
it. Underwear was seldom worn Their
and the flannel shirts and jean trousers
were not so warm as the modern day
clothing. Men sit in warm steam-heateC
Offices, wearing heavy wooden under
wear and close-woven suits, and say thu
cold is not so severe now as it, wal
when they were poorly clad and shell
tered, but I>believe they are wrong.'
G. P. Lovell's View.
Charles P. Lowell, the veteran rea
estate man, declares that there is NJ
doubt Of change. %%@s
."Why,. thirty years ago." said MI
Lowell, "people were wont to 60 sleig]
riding in 1the; afternoon, but almost in
variably they were compelled to see]
their fresides by a o'clock because i
began to get cold at that hour. Now yo7
see them starting out at noon and rid
ing until midnight. They had fur robe
then and were bundled up just a
tightly as they are now, but it got to
cold for them before the afternoon wa
well spent. = &&$
IT, cit was during the winter Of 1873
that we had the last big blizzard in thi
state. Thirty lives were lost during tn
terrible storm. Thousands Of cattle pei
ished and. the farmers could not yer
ture from their homes for days. Th
st. Paul & Sioux City railroad wa
blocked for ninety days and an expend
ture Of thousands was necessary to ope
it for traffic. Have we had any storl
like it since9 Do we have bad blizzard
at all any more9 I should say not. II
stead we have nice, warm days
January. Frequently during that mont
the water trickles down the car track
on Lowry Hill and overcoats are u,
comfortable. In the olden days whe
things were frozen they RENAME
frozen until spring.
g. "Years ago the first corn was plante
In Minnesota. The stalks grew to a goo
height, but they bore no ears. Poop
scoffed at the idea that corn coul
thrive in such cold climate. But the
raise fine corn now. 1t compares favo
ably with the. big ears and even stan
of Iowa g star product. It was the san
with clover and apples. We got OF
apples from southern Iowa then; pal
fancy prices for fruit that was bougl
in Mills county for 20 cents a bushe
But now our. apples are taking fir
premiums in the big exhibits, frequent
winning over the apples Of some Of tt
oldest and most famous apple distric'
Of the country. If climate is not respo1
sible for this, What -is9
Thanks Rails and Wires.
CHOW what worked this wonderf1
change in the climate9 I have pondere
long on this question and have reache
the conclusion that railroad rails an
telegraph and telephone wires play.
an important role In MAJ c1ls one
frost-ridden, barren country a veritab
Eden. These rails and wires seem
absorb electricity from the air. Timbe
given chance to grow after the Sc
Tiers stopped the prairie fires that 70
merly kept it RACED, has also contri
uted by breaking the force of the wiz
oo5 1ircipatinr ct crms that ori uina a