The Detroit times., 1912-09-18
|OLD jim" HILL HAS }
FINE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Citizens of st. Paul Banquet
Builder of Northwest, Who
is "a Years Old

isT. PAUL, MINI, Sept. 1.-THE
biggest birthday party In America
vas held last evening In the Auditor.
|um at ST. Paul. II was James j.
dillss party. He Is "a years old.
"Have as many as the old-timers
here as possible" said Mr.. Hill,
when the citizens OF st. Paul told
him they were going to give him a
birthday banquet.
The former president. chairman OF
board OF directors and still the whole
works In the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific railroad had his
wish. Many old-timers from over the
limited States who were associated
With Mr.. Hill In the Indian days be-
lore the Civil war were here.
He didn't care much about the rail-
road presidents and fnanciers
kmonx the old-timers that Mr.. Hill
Insisted upon Is an attachee OF the
st. Paul central police station, and
another Is a retired engineer from his
railroad.
In addition TO old-timers, however,
khere was the greatest cosmopolitan
Gathering at the dinner ever seen In
The northwest; 1900 people sat down
ITO the modest $2-aplate dinner
Pierce Butler. trust busting lawyer
who recently prosecuted the beef
|barons In Chicago, was POSTMASTER
| Mr.. Hill isn't fond OF trust-busters,
but he comes from a family OF old
timers and II was all right.
!. Among the prominent guests was
chbishop John ireland, lifelong
friend OF Mr.. Hills, who was born IN
ireland just Ave days before Mr.. Hill
saw he light OF day In Guelph. Ont.
The dinner was a tribute by the
people OF st. Paul to "Old Jim" Hill.
There Is nothing dlsrespectful about
1.-The AOld jim" either. 1t Is a title
|of Affection.
About 10 years ago Mr. Hill sent
10 Hrope and purchased a great herd
OF Holstein cows and bulls and blood
ed pgs. These he distributed free to
farmers along the Great Northern
railroad, telling them that the day was
coming when the big ranges would
pass out OF existence and that the
small breeder would make the money.
Somebody started the cry that Mr..
Hill was trying to make cattle
-
the following winter the blooded
hogfl we're sold for Christmas pork
and sharpers got the Holstein cattle
awN from the farmer.
Sfll he kept on, and the farmers
are how raising live stock.
A. the age OF "a Mr.. Hill is plan
mini one OF the greatest financial in
stitItions In America. He has under
way the purchase OF the Second Ma
. tional Bank Of st. Paul His friends
say that he Is going to establish a
grdt trust company In connection
wild the bank, and that millions OF
dollars worth Of business that he has
heHtofore transacted In New York
an, Chicago will go through his own
baik.
The United States Steel Corpora
tio, too, may soon find Old Mr.. Hill
a dangerous competitor. He owns
Thousands OF acres OF ore lands which
IN. Steel Corporation formerly had
under a lease from him. and is inter-
Mnn., which are now starting to
make pretty good steel rails.
He has other plans for further de-
y,lopment OF the Great Northwest.
Every summer Mr.. Hill spends a
month fishing in Labrador. and the
only other vacation he gets outside
q that Is playing solitaire on his pri-
yate car.
One never hears OF James j. Hill
Icing among the first cabin passen-
Cers to Europe, because he is the IA
fher of See America first"