Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-02-26
FARMER HINES AGAIN.

Il hrief news dispatch from Winni7
49, talla Of the ar-est n that city OF
Is K. Hines popularity known -
t..rarmer', Hines, on the charge OF
having tried to beat a oar Dill. inc
ineiden. will recall to q good many
old timers sQme very interesting tacoS'
!. M. Hines. as the dispatch stakes, was
Il one time a resident Of North Da-
}kota. He was engaged in the pro-
motion Of railroad enterprises. he
was active in This territory IN the
. early nineties, having conceived the
idea of building a railroad from the
Red River Valley to Duluth, thus
| giving q direct outlet to the axes or
, the great wheat Gro OF northern
North Dakota and northwestern Min
!, nesota. His original project was to
build from Drayton to Duluth. and
] Ms plan of financing was ingenious,
aid up to q certain point, effective
His plan was, in short. that his rail-
foad should live of its own territory,
depending on that territory not only
for operating expenses, but for con-
srruction costs. Right of way was 10
b paid for IN railroad stock. Farm
ers were to do the grading, receiv-
ing their pay in the same manner.
A. road was to pass through the great
timbered section of northern Mime
sofa, and from that section ties were
70 be obtained, pay for these also be-
ing ,Lade in railroad stock. 1t was
expected that the entire construction
work up to the point Of laying steel
would be paid for in this manner.
Some stock, if We remember rightly,
was actually sold for cash. but the
backbone off the whole enterprise
was the exchange of railroad stock
for early construction costs. Sub
s~equently bonds were to be issued
and with the proceeds from these
steel and rolling stock were to be
purchased.
The plan attracted the favorable
attention Of a great many farmers
Some grading work was done, guam
rites Of ties weee obtained, and if thu
facts are correctly recalled, a few
rails were actually laid. Hines Wa,
! farmer with little education, ant
mo business experience, but he had
way Of making his plans seem plans
ible to those whom he approached
I. OF his earnestnsss and faith no on
&xeE had any question. He was con
side4ed by1many to he les
mentally unbalanced and at 4 late
period no was actually confined i
the asylum at jamestown as an in
sane patient. His railroad s9hem
went to pieces, possibly because
wa essentially. unsound. partly be
cause it rev too rapidly for hin
and instead of combining his attentio
TO his original projected single lin,
he began planning branch lines q
over the country, and in the late
tages Of the enterprise he got int
the hands Of stock jobbsrs who di
neither him nor the enterprise an
good.
Since the collapse of his railroa
scheme Farmer Hines has operate
Jogging camps in Minnesota, conduc,
ed arm1n operations in North d.
kota, and in northwestern Canad,
planned farmers railroads in til
Canadian northwest. preached a p,
cuiiar religious doctrine OF his ow
at odd times, and just lately he seen
10 have conceived the idea that tn
Canadian prohibition law is a
wrong, and to have devoted his a
tention to overthrowing that. H
career a been a, checkered one, an
it affords an illustration among othl
], things of the ann in which a ma
y! unsound mind can influence tt
decisions OF thousands of others an
indnce them to invest their none
or their labor in enterprises whic
under his management have not IL
remo chance of success.