The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1910-12-30

THE TALE OF A DOG.

AV@
:. THE TALE OF A DOG.
For some strictly personal reasons
this writer is somewhat reminiscent on
this 23rd of December, 1910.
The "reminiscences may be of intere st,
though the reasons are personal.
Seventy-five years ago a puppy was
growing down by the Falls of st. An
thony. Its front quarters we're at the
head Of navigation while it's hind
quarters lay at the brink of the Falls.
Its tail then as now, stretched far
into the northwest, and finally ended in
trail of Red river carts.
With the later advent of steamboats,
and railways the puppy grew into a
bigger and bigger dog-and the rail-
ways became part of the tail and were
wagged by the dog, for the dog and to
the dog.
Once a lot of farmer fellows who
didn't know anything about railroads
las part Of the dog'scaudal appendage)
attempted to build a road which would
run across the country to Duluth and
not be part of the aforesaid dog-tail,
but they found that according to the
war. or some other department., of the
general government that it was not
according to the constitution to run
railroads over an Indian reservation,
and they stopped. It wasn't good for
the constitution of the dog. But inside
Of two years a railway was run across
that same reservation+but this railway
had its headquarters at the dogs front
quarters which made it constitutional
for the dog.
In fact by this wagginx of the tail in
proper manner, even the "Great City
of the Unsalted Seas is as yet only like
burr attached to the hair. on the tail.
Not graia commission merchant Of
Duluth has his headquarters on the
tail, but at the hindquarters of the dog.
Time was when the political dogmas
of the Dakotas were as tale that was
told'' At tho Meschaats hotel at the lar
end ot tho dog, and it was expected that
the Legislature would adjourn once or
twice each, session to see that the band
wagon Was like real Twin City dog
cart.
As noted, efforts have been made at
times TO wag the tsi in other directions,
bRt these have been mostly failures.
The dog somehow always wants to veg
his own tail
A few years ago, some North Dakota
bankers went TO Duluth and .Minneape-
u to ,see how the wheat and other
grain Mastreated by the elevators. We
havn't time to tell thewhole story, but ii
wes nothing new, just an old story, and
jast what tlmight be expected Of the men
Who buy ,our wheat at their own etsa-ii
ing and ;at their own prices and who,
sell thesame to others with the same
opportunities. No wonder was expires
sed to find that a sort of miracle
occurred in 1.-THE elevators by which, the
mere passing through of number three,
tour or rejected wheat caused it to grade
naamber,one or better. We had isag
known that we had been for yeaes
sending ;as q free gift '"dlrt" to the
elevators there, and buying it back rs
"seed" and paying the freight both ways.
Then our Senator McCumber at-
temptad to get the wheat graded by
the general government, but the dog
growled thatsnobody could do it Is we'll
as he could.
Wisconsin Thought Superior might be
able to ,erade.and store wheat as we'll -
the dog but that has never amounted to;
much, because the dogs tail don't wagI
that way so rapidly as in some other
directions.
The only reallresult that We know of
from o,ta,de agitation of this candal
appendAse has been that North
Dakota man has been placed on some
sort OF . state board, but he seems "a
quiet and still las some others are
who are laid out on a board.
In 2 tariff fight about year .or more
ago many people made lots Of fun of our
Senator MoCumber who got an increase
in the tariff OF wheat. Among these
were the dog and his friends.
For many years the dog has Aanted
more wheat. There IS only one place
where he can get that kind of wheat
up in the Canadian northwest. The
tariff prevented his adding that oonatry
to his tail.
Another plan Of the dog is to got the
government to allow him to just grind
the Canadian wheat, and then send It
abroad as -four, without paying duty.
Nhi, Il n.:,, "a II