Year: 1877

the Glyndon and Brainerd branches
of the ST. Paul and Pacific Railroad
will be built during the year, the
former by parties in the manage
ment of that road, the latter by the
Northern Pacific Railroad Com
pany, While our inclination is to
encourage the building of railroads
everywhere in this new country, We
must confess that we are unable to
see any good for the head of the
lake in the completion of these
roads. Ga the contrary We see
trade and travel that now comes
this way diverted to ST. Paul and
Minneapolis the cream of the rich
prairies to the west pouring into
those cities while what is left we
may have, if it will do us any good.
This will be the natural and inevi-
table result.


The Glyndon branch taps the
Northern Pacific at Glyndon, twelve
miles east of Red River, and will
divert towards st. Panl large .por-
ton of the trade of the Red Rir er
Valley, Dakota, and Manitoba. 1t
runs through fertile and generally
well settled country, and will do a
heavy business. Running north
ward from Glyndon, this line, known
as the st. Vincent Extension, is
completed and in operation for
sixty miles, or to Crookston, on
Red Lake River. Beyond this point
the grading is done and the rails
laid for many miles, and the entire
line to the National boundry at St,
Vincent, running as it does through
an almost level prairie country,
could be built and put in operation
in short time, and at a compare
lively small cost. At the Canadian
line this road will connect with a
road coming southwark from Win
nipeg. The people of Manitoba are
exceedingly anxious to see this ST.
Vincent Extension built, rs 1T would
give them communication with the
railroad system of the United States,
and an outlet preferable at all sea-
sons to their own pet road, the
Canadian Pacific. The pressure
from Manitoba for this road, taken
in connection with the now some
what harmonized elements controll-
ing the road, will in all probability,
before long result in the finishing of
this link, and when that is consum.
mated nearly all business and travel
will take the short line thereby
created to st. Paul.


The Brainerd branch, so called,
is line along the east bank of the
Mississippi between Sauk Rapids, a
few miles above ST. Cloud, and the
Northern Pacific railroad, at It's
crossing of the Mississippi at the
town of Brainerd, length about
sixty miles.


The distance from Brainerd to
St Paul by this route is 20 miles,
and the great bulk of the business
of the best settled and finest por-
ton of the Northern Pacific country
that between the Mississippi River
and the Glyndon branch above re-
ferred to-will be done over this
line From Brainerd to Duluth is
Us miles, SO that for all practical
purposes passenger at Brainerd is
as near to St. Paul as he is to Du
luth, and during the season of
closed navigation he is sure to go
east via st. Paul, and very likely to
go the same way during all seasons.
There is little or no settlement or
development in the country between
the Junction and Brainerd, so that
the local business over the Northern
Pacific between those placesis, and
will be for some years, compare
lively Insignificant, and we have
serious doubts whether that portion
of the line can be proftably main
tanned and operated. Of course the
business that comes and goes via
the lakes will go over that part of
the line, but when the Canadian
Pacific is built this traffic will dwin-
die to very small proportions. The