The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-09-16
HITS AND MRS

to prove it. When he was very
young, he was born near Guelph,
Ont The time was Sept. 16, 1888.
He kept away from bad habits and
did what he could to keep the home
place attractive, painting the barn
deep box car red, when it began
to look run down and discouraged.
He also skinned the hill down north
OF the house and made it possible
for an OK team to haul load to
town without blowing out a cylinder
head. At the age of 1s, he said good
bye and shook hands all around and
left for st. Paul. Not fidning any
railroad companies advertising for a
president in the local papers, he Sc
cured a job as clerk and broom direc-
tor at the freight and steamboat land
ing. The first railroad built in the
state, was the St. Paul &: Pacific. 1t
was ten miles long and reached from
the levee in St. Paul to St. Anthony.
MIR. Hill became agent for this road.
He sold tickets, collected freight bills
and at nights-if it got home-he
wiped the engine. He was always
busy and cheerful, but took no pleas
ure in spending his Sundays at the
brewery with the section crew. The
Dorr1 P D Cfn
long at st. Anthony. 1t kept growing
like a hole in a boys pants. When
49, miles we're completed, the stock
holders, mostly Holland capitalists,
began to have cold feet and chill
blanes. When their feet were hurting
them worst, Mr.. Hill formed a syn
dicate of five persons and gained
possession of the road, and in the
leafy month of June, 1879, the system
was consolidated into single own
ership as the St. p. Nj. & NJ. r. R.
Co. People began to get on the cars
and come to North Dakota to look
around. The country pleased them so
much that they sent home for their
other suit of clothes and began rails
ing wheat and building big red barns.
Mr.. Hills road gladly hauled the
wheat to market and soon the road
made good money both going and
coming. In 1880, the road was ex-
tended to the Pacific coast and was
given the more expensive name,
Great Northern All the time, Mr.
Hill was president, although lately he
is letting the boys take some of the
work off OF his hands, and is finding
time to talk at a few county and
state fairs. At Grand Forks last Sep
tember, in a brand new grand stand
Mr.. Hill told ten thousand people a
few things about railroading they nev
er knew before. 1t is the people who
pay the railroad taxes; it is the peo-
pie who pay for operating the road
and heat the cars with steam and
build a new depot at Fargo. The
company has men to figure this out
The company takes it's profit out
first, and the people pay the rest.
Mr.. Hill said so, and he ought to
know.
l once srent two weeks in a sleep
hot ic 7 in hn
and boarded outside. There was nc
dining car on the train where the
hungry passenger could slip into and
get a snack for a dollar and seven
ty-five cents, including paying the
help. On the contrary, eating was a
sort of rush for life business on the
train. In the middle of the after
noon, the brakeman wiped his hands
on piece of waste and went through
the train, and took orders for sup
per. Some people thought he was
trying to sell them gold bricks and
shook their heads. Such people were
the first ones in the eating houses,
stuffing themselves with earnest
looking chicken and turnover pies,
while the old prefaution and fore
thought class, whose address and
street number had been sent in by
telegraph, were elected to &C. hungry.
At Tampa, our car came to stand
still on the saw mill track. The en-
gine was cut off and run into the
round house, for the end of the line
had been reached. Passengers, who
had been late for their meals for the
past week, rushed into a nearby ho-
tel and began eating in a reckless
manner Several were invited to reg
lister twice during the meal and the
only thing they regretted was the
time. While on the side track at
Tampa, little mix-up occurred which
caused large drops Of sweat to gath
er on one mans brow. This man
had been spending the long nights in
an upper berth, sleeping with an ex-
tension grip and a friends son, who
ate popcorn in bed and wore his toe
nails long. He had secured very lit
tie peaceful rest and was beginning