New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-08-04
Mr.. Hill and the Inestimabl< Ser.
vices.

Yesterday Gov. John A. Johnson
unveiled at Seattle the statue of J ames
J. Hill. The news item says that the |
placing of the statue is to be ian APP
probation of Mr.. Hills inestimable |
services to the Northwest. It is hard |
to understand just what these services
were. True, he built a trans-conti-
mental railroad and whilst this under
taking, no doubt, was of Significant
Importance and great advantage to
the Northwest, the financial results for
the individual Hill were still greater.
He certainly did not 60 into railroad
building for pleasure, nor was he
prompted by any charitable motives.
He simply recognized in the building |
of second nothern transcontinental |
road great money-making scheme |
which would serve in time to increase
his bank account. In all of Hill's en-
terprises we fail to see anything that
savors of charity. Whenever he made
any donation it was either to glorify !
himself or to follow out some selfish |
profitable purpose. He is an exploit !
ter, pure and simple. Whenever his
employees ask for a raise, claiming
that they can not live on a $40 or $50
salary they are told that railroads are
not a charitable institution, but a
proft-making business with so many
dividends every six months. In siz-
ing up this man Hill we find that he
was the instig ator of the notorious
Northern Securities Co. It cost the
state thousands to prosecute and to
terminate it's obnoxious existence.
The taxpayers footed the bill. He has
always been and still is a prominent
factor in politics. At one time dem
ocrat, then a gold democrat, then
again a republican with the notorious
"yellow-dog" corruption fund in 1908.
Though a democrat he has always had
his Shiny hand on the republican poll
tics in Minnesota. Hill is not only a
great railroad builder but an ordinary
politician, whose influence stands for
corruption. The ''inestimable servi-
ces' were so profitable and great Ito
Hill of course) that he is now in po-
sition to control large portion of the
northwestern press, to dictate the po-
Icy of political parties, to own the
greater part of the mineral interests
in Minnesota. He owns three mill
lion dollar mansion in st. Paul, a
palace in New York, rides in pala-
tial special and when the public is
slow in Offering the incense, he holds
speeches. His dreary looking passen-
ger cars merrily roll over the prairie
with no such comfort as reclining
chairs for tired women, and any addi-
tional comfort such as most eastern
roads offer in common cars can be had
in the Pullman at the Well-known pro-
hibitive prices for the average public.
The stations along his line have no
night service. His employees are
worked to the limit of human capacity
for the measly consideration of $40 to
$75 per month, often doing the work of
two men. And this for no other pur-
pose but to cut down expenses and to
increase the earnings. Mr.. Hill has
no regard for other people, whatever,
only in so far as he can proftably use
them for exploitation. He tolerates
no divergent opinion employing, if
needs be, the pugilistic method of ar
gument.
Now what has this ''great" Hill done
whereby, in every instance, he didn't
get the biggest end of the lead? We do
not begrudge him of his mansions or his
wealth, the accumulation of which is
not so much due to his genius and the
desires to render inestimable services
but to the deplorable and unjust con-
ditions whereby one man or small
group of men are in a position to ex-
plot their fellow-beings. And for
these inestimable services the latter
erect monuments in full appreciation
for the privilege of having been ex-
plotted. In the name of self-respect
and all that is manly and becoming to
a Sovereign citizen let us quit this
humiliating and idolatrous hero-wor-
shipping which is nothing more than
a barbarous remnant of dark ages
gone by. Any schoolman and old
maid having evidenced tAe courage to
undergo the hardships of pioneer-life
on the prairies of North Dakota have
done fully as much for developing that
country and deserve more apprecia-
tion for their inestimable services than
a Hill ever ought to have in a hum
dred years.
The ignorant and thoughtless mas
ses, no doubt, were loud and demon
strative in their applause when the