Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, January 18, 1902, Page 3

GRAIN ‘GROWERS Tr. Hill’s Speech Before the Grain Growers’ Convention at Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo, N. D., Special, Jan. 10.—Thjs was Hill day in the Tri-state Grain and"Stock Growers’ convention. It was the final wind-up of a most successful four day’s session, and the close was in the nature of an ovation to the president of the Great Northern railway and the recently organtzed Northern Securities company. Great interest was aroused in Mr. Hill's appearance here and had increased since {ts original announcement. Each day since the convention started had aug- mented the attendance, and to-day was the banner one of the meeting. Mayor Johnson introduced President Hill in a complimentary eulogistic speech, as the man the audience had come to hear. His reference to the liberality of Mr. Hill in providing free excursions for North Dakota farmers to the North Da- kota agricultural college brought forth a lot of applause. When President Hill erose to speak there was another ove- tion. He said: Mr. Hill's Speech. I want to present to you to-day some important figures which I think will es- tablish many facts that are of great in- terest to all the people of this country, end more especially to the people’ of the Northwest. An advance in the material prosperity of our country has always marked an im- provement in the condition of the people. Every United States census from 1780 to 1900 shows an average growth which has Practically doubled the population of the country about every thirty years. At the close of the Civil war this country fon- tained, say 34,000,000 of people; since that time we have added fully 46,000,000 of peo- ple. At the average rate of the increase of the past one hundred years we should have at least 150,000,000 of people by ‘1930. The present increase is more than one and half millions annually. The all-important question presenting it- self to every individual and to every com- munity is: Where will they go and what will they do to secure for themselves com- fortable homes and the ability to educate their children and to bring them up in such manner as will mnake them good, useful citizens of the republic? At the close of the war a large portion of the States of fowa, Wisconsin and Min- nesota were government lands, open for homesteads, and practically all the country west of these states to the Pacific ocean ‘was open to settlement. The census rv ports show that a large portion of the in- creased population has gone into this new country and built up cities and states, opened up prosperous farming communi- ties and detted the land with schools and churches—every. evidence of American Enterprise and Progress. Nearly one-half of the capital of the country is invested in agricultural land and what goes with it for the purpose of making it productive. Nearly one-half of the population of the country is directly or indirectly connected with the cultiva- tion of the soil, and if we judge from all the experience of the past, the agricul- tural half of the population has done more than tts share in everything that goes to benefit the country as a whole; that half has always shown itself more intelligent, more patriotic, and in every way the sheet-anchor of the nation. When mea have been called to defend the flag of our country the farmers’ sons have always been ready to step to the front and an- wer to the call. While the farmers are ready to go ten miles on election day to cast their votes, others hang around the polls in the cities waiting to sell their votes, From the farmers’ sons in New England’ and the Middie 4nd Western states are constantly recruited the num- bers of those who engage in the profes- sions and the various walks of business, and their individual successes clearly es- tablish their right to be placed in the front rank wherever they haye been called. My observation leads me to be- lieve that the nation at large has more to expect from those whe cultivate the soil than from ali others combined. The largest area of unoccupied land where green trees and green grass grows, and where clear water runs, lies in the gone between Lake Superior and the Pa- cific ocean, and to the settlement and de- velopment of this country we must look for the increase of our traffie and the future value of our investment in rail- ways. How are we to provide homes for our Rapidly Increasing Population? Most of the lands that will produce crops every year and are susceptible of culti- vation are already occupied. The impor- tant question to-day before the states- men of the nation is: How can the re. maining lands best be made to furnish homes for the rapidly crowding popula- tion? A_ Hittle reflection will show every individual man that it is only by the wisest action on the part of the gen- eral government by well-matured plans for irrigation and every other means which will make available every portion of the country that is or can be made susceptible of cultivation. There is a movement among a few of our statesmen to secure this end. In some localities in the West this movement is opposed by cattle and sheepmen who desire to retain these lands for their own purposes. In some cases an effort is being made to in- duce congress to convey the lands to the several states, to be disposed of by them. ‘This latter movement can only end in failure. The lands would be frittered away or practically given away or ap- propriated- without benefiting any con- siderable number of people. I consider the future welfare of the country depends more upon the wise disposition of tee public domain, so as to secure homes for the people, than upon any other single condition in our nation. Our country is Garge; our population and occupations differ as widely as the climate and nat- ural conditions differ. Every congre: shows an active effort being made to se- cure some advantage to some local dis- trict, overlooking, as I think, the broad general fact that the nation should and must prosper as a whole, In 1896 this country settled the question of a gold standard; the universal want of confiderice prior to-that time came to an end; péople who had money to invest ‘were no longer afraid that if they put out a 100-cent dollar they would. be compelled. to take a 50-cent dollar in re. turn, and now the business of the coun- try is marching forward at a rate greater than has ever been known in our history or in the history of the world, Our at- tention is frequently called to the enor- mous balance of trade in our favor; in other words, the amount of money we receive for what we sell is above that which we pay for what we buy, thus our country rich beyond all: making precedent, If we carefully inquire into the source from which this enormous bal- ance of trade comes, we find that about three-fourths of our experts are fur- nished directly and indirectly from the cultivation of the land; the farmers have done the work and have benefited the na- tion. Now let us consider what the na- tion has done in return for the farmers, or what it can do in their behalf. The first and great object is to provide them means to sell the product of their land and their labor, at the Highest Possible Prices it will bring. I will ask you to look over the statute books of the nation and the different states, and find, if you can, any intelligent step that has been taken to find new markets for our agricultural exports. I have examined these records carefully and up to the present time I do not find one intelligent sentence or line the object of which has been to find new markets for the products of the land, except as to Southern sugar and vice, and some wool. In order to ad- vance the price of every commodity the first step is to increase the demand for it; as long as there is a surplus in the market seeking a buyer the price must remain low, and whenever there is a shortage and the demand is greater than the supply it follows that prices must advance. Great Britain buys about 70 per cent of all our exports. She is our one great customer, and the single nation that does not in her markets or through her tariffs discriminate against the prod- uct of our soil. In order to buy from us she must be able to sell her own prod- uets and get the wherewith to pay for her purchases. England and Germany seek for markets over All the world; they are nations of merchants, and their ships go to all parts of the earth where a harbor can be found and trade relations established. During the past ten or fif- teen years our consular service has been greatly improved, and is now furnishing valuable information as to the conditions under which Our Trade Relations might be extended, but our consular agents are comparatively few and their action in that regara limited. Twenty years ago the foreign trade of Japan was not to exceed $1 per capita of its population; to-day this trade is equal to $6 or $7 per capita of its popu- lation. Twenty yeas ago it amounted to about $40,000,000 and to-day it amounts to about (0,000,000, of which the United States’ share is less than one-fifth. The total foreign trade of China in 1890 was about 75 cents per capita; should it in- crease in the near twenty years in the proportion of oné-.alt that the trade of Japan has increased in the past twen- ty years thé foreign trade of China would amount to $1,200,000,000. The Chinese race is a commercial race. Their merchants in point of commercial ability and integ- rity will rank with those of any other nation. The Russian-Siberian line will soon, extend through Siberia to Man- churia aud Port Arthur, an open port all the year round, This will give Russia an opportunity to distribute more of her products in China and will place her in a strong position. The treaty between China and Japan at the close of the Jap- anese war secured to Japan the right to trade in China and to make use of ports and rivers and provide facilities for that purpose. Under the most favored nation clause in tre treaty, each nation has the s:me privilege, as respects trade relations, as is secured by Japan by its treaty. 6 yi iad gh 5 clad nde d bates 4d If we are to enjoy a fair share of ® = the benefits of the development of @ @ Oriental trade it must come from @ @ finding a market for the necessities @ @ of life, nearly all of which “aie ® @ from the farms. Seccos es eoeeeeoees The farm bears a relation to the mar- ket, and a vital point of national pros- perity and a happy social condition will be in proportion to our success in gecur- ing our share of this trade. In the Orient men get from 10 to 50 cents per day; they cannot buy luxuries; their wants are re- stricted to the mere necessities of life— food and clothing. A few years ago I sent a man to China and Japan, keeping him there a year, to find out and report upon the commercial conditions of those countries and to learn what was neces- sary for this country to do in order to create a new market for our rapidly in- creasing products which were being sent+ to Burope and sold, not to the highest, but I might say to.the lowest bidder, be- cause of the surplus we had to sell. Dur- ing the past six years the flour trade of the Orient has grown to fifteen or twenty millions bushels of wheat per annum, and if there wus a supply of cheap ocean transportation, this amount could, in my judgment, be very much increased. If we could take twenty-five or thirty mil- lion bushels a year out of the surplus that is sent to Europe, it would nearly offset the average exports of Argen- tina. If the new order of things follow- ing the recent war in China is to secure a stable government and protection for life and property. the development of China cannot fail to be very greet, and I see no reason why it may not be as great as that of Japan. In that case we would be called on to furnish one-half of our entire surplus grain, taking this amount out of the European markets and greatly advancing the price of every bushel exported from this country. A few years ago some very intelligent Japanese gentlemen were in my office and I asked them why they did not_use American cotton to mix with the short staple cotton from: India, They did not seem to know that our cotton was 890 much superior to that which they were in the habit of using. T told them if they would try a few carloads of our cotton, and if they did not find it to their advan- tage to use it I would pay the cost of the cotton. They ordered a few carloads; the result has been that we have not been able to find transportation to supply the Oriental demand for American cotton from that time to this. During the months of September, October and November just passed, we shipped about ‘sixty thopsand bales of cotton to. the Orient. This was all we could find ship- room to carry; the amount could have been. doubled had the ship-room been available, During this time other roads have also carried their share of cotton to the Far East and their experience has been practically the same as our own. b ae fdr dng dnd dhdncindh Pugh < @. Five years ago land in the Red @ @ river valley and in North eed @ was selling at from $3 to $20 per ® @ acre; to-day the demand for these @|- @ lands ete ited nag tine worth from @ @ $10 to $50 e sees eeeeeeeeoooees As we have extended our raflway lines throughout the Northwest our first oB- ject has been to settle up the country. census reports of 1890 and 1900 shows that in Minnesota in forty_three counties reached by our lines there has been an increase of 289,000 people, in North Da- kota in twenty counties over 80,000 peo- ple. In fifteen of the counties in North- Dakota most depending upon the Great Northern for their railway service I find that the vacant land in 1893 was 9,356,000 acres; in 1901, 4,300,000 acres, showing that in the eight years there had been settled upon in fifteen counties on the lines of the Great Northern road 5,050,- 00 acres. In Montana the increase in counties on the line of the Great North- ern was about 70,000 people and in Wash- ington 110,000-people. This year the indi- cations are that the influx of new people will be greater than at any previous time in the history of the country. More peo- ple will come in to make their homes with you and help you as neighbors and fellow workers in the development of your state than ever before. bene i gindnodict ad atudy dodeadete gy | At the present time we hear much @ D4 about the “community of interests” @ @ between the railroads. I want to@ @ say to you here and now that the @ @ only community of interests that @ @ there is or ever can exist is the @ @ community of interests between the @ @ producer of tonnage and the car- @ @ rier; the man on the farm, in the @ @ forest and in the mine must be able @ @ at all times to sell the products of @ @ his labor and his lands at a profit, @ @ or he will cease to labor and have 3 @ nothing to sell. Soe seseseeeeeeoees The railroads depend for their existence on the products of the lands served by their lines; it has no other source of in- come. Individuals may come and go, wé will all sooner or later pass from active life, ‘but the land—the country—its reé- sources and the railroads will be here permanently, and they will either prosper together or be poor together. There fs no other community of interests that can ever exist against this one. While it Is necessary for the railroads that the farmers, the lumbermen and the miners shall be prosperous, it is also necessary that the railroads should prosper. SHPO SHHHEOHOHHOOOOD @ Much is being said about the com- @ @ bination between railroads, and that @ @ the country for its prosperity must @ @ rely upon a continuance of competi- @ @ tion. The law of the survival of @ @ the fittest must inevitably end such @ @ competition as exists by the de-@ @ struction of the weaker by the e @ stronger. Poy Sere Tee eee ee ee This has already been done in the East to the extent that throughout all of New England the hundreds of original railway corporations are now mostly consolidated into three or ‘four, and the people are better off than ever before. Twenty-five years ago it was supposed that competi- tion was necessary to reduce rates. I think we have shown in the Northwest that, without competition, rates have been reduced faster than anywhere else in this country, SPOSSCHCSOHH SOO SOHH HOOD @ To-day the farmers can ship their @ @ grain from the Red river valley to @ @ the Twin Cities and the Head of the @ @ Lakes at from 15 to 20 per cent @ @ lower rates than farmers living in @ @ the Des Moines valley and Western ® @ Iowa, where there are many lines, & @ can ship to Chicago, the same dis- @ @ tance. ° PHOS SOHHE SS HHO HO OOD The effect of this has been to_ bring thousands of farmers from the Middle Western states, including Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois to find homes in Min- nesota and North Dakota. This, more than anything else, has doubled the price of your lands in a comparatively few years. We have about twelve hundred miles of railway in North Dakota. The average cost of our railway, including terminals, equipment, shops, elevators, ete., is about thirty-five thousand dollars per mile, as shown by its capitalization. In the fifteen counties depending almost entirely for their transportation upon the Great Northern railway, there are, in round numbers, sixteen million acres of land. If the building of the railway and what has followed it has added $10 per acre to the value of this land it is worth $160,000,000 more than it would have been without the railway, and you have the benefit of this advanc Iam glad that it is yours dnd hope it will enable you to enjoy your old age in com- fort and to make those who follow after you good and worthy citizens of your state. SOSSHHHHSOSCOH OHO HOOD @ There has recently been an at- @ @ tempt to show that we have no inter- @ @ est in building up the prosperity of @ @ the people of your state and of the @ Northwest. If we did not do every- @ @ thing in our power to build you up @ @ we would be false to our best inter- @ @ ests. Our object in acquiring the @ @ Burlington, jointly with the North- @ @ ern Pacific railway, was to insure @ @ an outlet to the best markets for @ @ the grain, live stock and lumber of @ @ the Northern lines, and to increase @ @ the volume of our traffic, to the end @ @® that we might at all times be able © to establish the lowest rates and @ @ most favorable conditions under @ @ which the traffic must be carried. © PHOOCOSOHTOOSHOOHO OOD The Burlington, with its own rails reaches Chicago, Peoria, Rock Island, Davenport, Quincy, Alton, Hannibal, St. Louis, St. Joseph, Kansas City, Des Moines, Omaha and Denver, and then connects with the main arteries of traf- fic of the wliole country. Assuming that the line of the Burling- ton had not been constructed and that the Great Northern and Northern Pacific jointly had raised the money and were engaged in the construction of it, would there be anything to meet the dis- approval of the states traversed by the lines of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific? On the contrary, would not such a course have been hailed with aj proval as a means of opening up marke’ for Northwestern produce and of reach- ing markets in the South and Southwest and of securing business, increasing the volume of traffic of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific, thus’ making re- duction of rates and adding to the gen- erql prosperity of the Northwest? —In- stead of building the Burlington system or a line of railway alongside of it, the Great Northern and Northern Pacific purchased the capital stock of a line al- ready constructed, instead of issuing stock or bonds for the purpose of raising money to build a line reaching the same country bonds were issued to purchase the stock of a constructed line. Convincing Rensons. The capital stock of railway vumpanies, as of other corporations, will be held by somebody and somewhere. Railway com- panies as carriers are subject to super- vision and control by the public for the purpose ‘of insuring ‘the performance of their obligations’to the public. Railroads make public through published rates the price charged for transportation, the only thing they have to sell, and must report the amount they receive for what they sell and what has been done with it. Courts are open for the purpose of de- termining whether railway companies as carriers observe their obligations to the public, The question of the reasonable- ness of rates and service does not depend upon whether one man owns the capital stock of a railway or another—whether. the capital‘stock is owned by ten men or one thousand, by persons or by cor- ‘along these lines. A’comparison of th? | sold, transferred. ‘against persons or localities, porations. The capital stock of a rail- Way company is personal ;, to be from one man to an- other, ‘and any cne may purchase and hold all that he has means to buy and pay for. The capital stock of the North- ern Pacific and the Great Northern will be held by somebody, persons or corpora- tions, if not by the present owners, by other owners. Suppose by death of pres- ent owners the stock should be scattered and a majority of it find its way into the hands of those interested in competing lines serving the country to the north or to the south of the territory served by the Great Northern and the Northern Pa- cific. Would the people along the lines of those railways be benefited? If the present owners of a majority of the stock of the two companies could be compelled to sell it or dispose of it on the market, would it fall into hands more interested in the developm@ht and prosperity of the Northwest than its present owners? How is it that the lines have been extended and improved? What brought about the present condition of the property of the two companies? What has enabled them to serve the people along the lines as they have been served? Plainly the will- ingness and ability of those controlling large interests in the stock of the compa~ nies, who found it to their advantage to build up the lines and promote the set- timent of the territory tributary to it and who will continue it. Broad-Gauge Competition. The great freight producing area of the country is along the Atlantic sea- board and in the territory south of Lake Erie. The freight that is the product of all the manufacturing enterprises which. find a market west of the Missis- sippi river to a large extent must pass through the lakes to Duluth and to St. Paul and Minneapolis and into the terri- tory between these cities and the Pacific, or around Lake Michigan and at that point going largely to Southwestern lines. The question of stock. ownership, so far as the public dlong the lines served by the Great Northern and Northern Pacific is concerned, is to be considered in the light of a great competitive condition between the territory served by _ the Northern lines and those of the Sluth and West—between lines whose interest it is tp secure traffic as against tne Northern lines, to populate and build up the country in which the people along the Northern lines have no special immediate interest. 5 A few years ago the transportation on Lake Superior was mainly in the hands of what was known as the Lake Superior Transit company, a pool line made up by steamers operated by Eastern trunk lines, who also operated boats running from Chicago, and whenever we reduced the rates from the wheat fields to Lake Superior a corresponding advance in the water rate was made to offset our reauc- tion on land and equalize the rate by Lake Superior and by Chicago. We built six steel steamers, which at that time were the largest on the lakes. ‘The first cargo we landed at Buffalo we were told that it would have to pay the local rate from Buffalo to New York, which was practically the same as the through rate from Duluth to New York. We found a way to get around this, and the result was to oreak up the Transit company and break down the rates on the lakes to a reasonable figure. Later the elevator charges at the head of Lake Superior were 14 cents per bushel, and at Buffalo 1% cents per bushel, with an additional charge for shoveling of 4 cent. We built large elevators at both places, the effect of which has been to reduce the rates to % cent each in Buffalo and at the head of Lake Superior; in other words, where the grain paid’ 2% cents per bushel it is now paying 1 cent. The difference to the Northwest on the 200,- 000,000 bushels of wheat is $3,500,000 per year. The proportion of this we handle through our elevators is probably 15 per cent. We did not build the elevators for the purpose of grinding the faces off the farmers of the Northwest. but in order that they might have fair play and that their grain might go forward without undue and unnecessary taxation. I say this to show vou that we are at all times mindful of everything that will add to your material prosperity, Se ote Ge oreo eee In 1880 the average rates on grain @ Bg from the Red river valley to Duluth @ @ were from 25 cents to 35 cents per @ @ nundred; to-day they are from 14 @ @ cents to 16 cents per hundred, or @ @ about one-half the rates of twenty @ @ years ago. The rates on coal and @ @ lumber have been reduced in the $ @ same proportion. Sees eee eeeoerecs Reductions in rates of transportation must be made with the greatest care in order to avoid unfair discrimination A reduction in the rates of the whole country of 10 cents for moving a ton of freight 100 miles would make a reduction of over $150,000,- 000 on the traffic handled during the past year, and would wipe out a large part of the income of the railroads. General Railroad Conditions. The conditioj of he general railroad situation in thé United States at the pres- ent time are hardly understood: For the year ending June 30, 1890, the number of tons carried one mile by all the railroads Was 76,207,000,000 ton miles; in 1900 it was 141,600,000,000 as shown by the interstat- commerce commission reports. In 1901 a safe estimate will bring this to 165,000,- 000,000 tens carried one mile, an increase of 120 per cent in eleven years. During this time the mileage of the railroads in the United States increased 18 per cent. While the tons moved shows an increase af 120 per cent, the earnings show an m- crease of less than 40 per cent. During this time the rates have been reduced to the extent of that difference. During that period of eleven years, notwithstanding the enormous increase in traffic, four of the so-called trunk lines have through destructive competition failed, and been reorganized, and all but one of them have been absorbed by the stronger surviving lines. Destructive competition has forced the weakest lines into bankruptcy, and to- day they are owned by the lines that were able to maintain their position and credit, giving the ability to acquire these bank- rupt roads. The Baltimore & Ohio and the Pennsylvania for half a century have been rival roads. Both states and cities have actively aided in building them up. Destructive competition between them has finally resulted in the Pennsylvania road owning the Baltimore & Ohio. Have the rates advanced? Have the people along the line of the Baltimore & Ohio suffered? On the contrary, the first step has been to furnish money to cut down the grades, to double track the line from the Ohio river to Chicago and to furnish cars and terminal facilities to handle the business to the best advantage, and at such rates as will enable the shippers along the line to open up their mines and increase their business in every branch of trade, and to rely upon the solvent company for the facilities necessary to transact their busi- ness. Hardly a day passes without a raflroad accident, many pf which are attended with much loss of life. What is the cause? In an effort to handle the busi- ness of the public trains are run in such numbers and at a rate of which is ‘entirely beyond the cay _of the roads —to-day there is an absolute blockade of traffic between Chicago and the Missis- sippi river points in the West and the Atlantic seaboard. Furnaces within a “short distance of the coke ovens are cold and thousands of men are idle for want of transportation, There is a coal famine from Pittsburg to Denver. People say it is due to shortage of cars. Ten years ago, with a ton mile movement of seven- ty-six billions, the average freight car movement was about thirty miles per day; at this time ft 1g not more than twenty miles per day. It is not more cars thet ie wanted, but more movement of the cars now in use. Freight trains move certainly an average of sixteen miles an hour while on the road. ‘Twenty miles car movement daily means that the cars move one hour and a quarter out of the twenty-four hours. pick Asatte dh srg gr deep: @ No business in the world can @ @ thrive under conditions when it can @ @ use its facilities for earning money @ @ less than one hour out of the > @ twelve. Soeeeeerooeeooooes When many of the roads were built capital was scarce and high. A very large proportion of the original railway enterprises failed, Josing a large part of the investment—they had no idea of the future growth, and from want of money and want of forethought the terminal fa- cilities are to-day totally inadequate. If the cars could be moved at the principal terminals the main lines would be able to do better than at present. However, with a continuance tor three or five years of the present volume of traffic be- tween the East and West added to in- dustrial traffic in the great manufactur- ing districts, this country will find itself confronted with the most serious com- mercial question it has yet been called upon to solve. Terminals in the larger Eastern cities are both difficult and ex- pensive to acquire. The Pennsylvania railway, in order to get into New York, onto Manhattan island, is building a tun- nel from Jersey City to Brooklyn at a cost of forty or fifty million dollars. Will it bring new business or must the ex~- pense of operation and interest on cost be levied on présent traffic? A careful examination of the railway problem from a national standpoint will, I believe, show beyond question that the business of the country has outgrown the facilities on most of the trunk lines and that new facilities not row apparent will be necessary to relieve the situation. Rates in the United States are much lower than in any other country. Wages are higher—the cost of most of the mate- tial is higher than in Europe, still the average rate charged in Europe is fully twice as high as in America. The con. ditions in this country change very rap- idly—while rates have been cut in two in twenty years all kinds of labor and ma- terial used by railways have advanced from 30 to 50 per cent. Nothing but the increased volume of traffic has made it possible to reduce rates as they have been reduced. To-day we find the volume of traffic so great east of Chicago that the railways are not able to move it un- der the present conditions. How will these conditions be changed and at whose cost? Who will build new lines. or increase old ones? These are the questions which I will not undertake to answer farthet than to say that the West must have the facilities or suffer for the want of them. SPHSSSHSOHSOHSO OOOH HOOD @ The public must always bear in @ @ mind that a bankrupt road cannot @ @ furnish good service. The railroad @ @ must be able to furnish the service @ @ demanded from it at fair and rea- @ @ sonable rates. The problem we @ @ have had to solve has been how to @ @ reduce the cost of operation so that @ @ we can furnish transportation at < @ the lowest prices. Sees eh ee eeoeeeees This can be done only by increasing the volume of traffic. The question is as simple as raising a given amount of money by taxation. The more dollars’ worth of property taxed the lower the rate of taxation will be and the greater number of tons carried the lower the rate of transportation will be. ‘his is one of the main reasons why we are so “anxious to develop the enormous through business that is rapidly growing up along our lines. Every ton of new business that we bring contributes its proportion of net revenue and enables us to reduce the rate of transportation on our local business. The interstate business on our lines in North Dakota to-day constitutes 95 per cent of the whole and still you enjoy all the facilities furnished, both passenger and freight, with the increased mumber of trains necessary to handle this business, every one of which is an additional accommodation to you. It will be thirty-two years next March since I first saw the Red River Valley. At that time there was not a single house on the west side ot tne Red river from the Bois de Sioux to Pembina. During the past twenty years all of my time and efrort has been given to building up the Northwest and no part of the Northwest has given me more satisfac- tion or is giving me more satisfaction to- day than North Dakota. Its growth in the past has been marvelous. The first years in all new countries are marked by hardship and self-denial, but during the past few years you are getting the regard of your labor; pecple are coming into the state by thousands, the value of your land has advanced and will ad- vance beyond your reasonable expecta- tions and I hope that together your property and our property will work side by side and shoulder to shoulder to carry forward the best interests of North Da- kota. No man, no hundred men in your state, represent the same interest in your welfare that it is my good fortune to represent and I hope in the future that with better methods of cultivation and more knowledge of what is required, your condition may be constantly im- proved and if your condition is improved, ours will certainly share it with you. As the yolume of traffic’ increases our rates will be reduced. OOF OOOOHOOOOOOOOOD @ Remember that whatever helps @ @ you helps the railroad, and what- @ @ ever hurts or restricts your growth @ @ restricts the growth of the rail- @ @ road serving you. We will always © @ prosper together or be poor to- _ @ gether. Soe eeeeeeoocooooos Annoyances of the President’s Life. Among the annoyances of a president's life are the intrusions of. well-intentioned people upon his private and personal affairs. He the common property of the nation. He h no home, or as little of one as the public compelled to leave him; he {s worse off than any private citizen in the country in this re- spect, for when he or his wife asks some friends to call on them on a certain day of the week, persons who are not asked, and who do not know them, accept the invitation which was not given them and go also. Not so an- noying, perhaps, are the people who open upon the president.as teachers of morality. They have no delicacy: they rush In where they are not asked; and they insist that now the presi- dent is in the White House he shall conform his life ‘to theirs, shall live as they think is right, and is a monster of iniquity if he does not accept their tutelage. There is not a ‘president who has escaped them, and there never will be until we have a score or so of presidents, each of whom will not heed them, who will not answer their letters, who will insist on having his own habits, and on living according to his own light and not according to the Hght of another. We have recently had a temperance president who has been called a drunkard because some one said he saw him drink a glass of champagne at dinner. Denials of the truth of the statement merely whetted the appetite for objurgation. And now we have another president,, a very abstemious man, who receives letters nearly every day whose writers express the regret that we have a “‘wine-bibber”” in the White House. ‘These letters, we are told, are not answered, but a reply was sent to the woman who reminded the president of the commandment, “Six days shalt thou labor,” and then lectured him for Sabbath-breaking. The reply was written by Secretary Cortelyou, and was this: “T am directed by the president to say that he goes to church on Sunday morning, and takes his wife and children into the country Sunday afternoon. ‘To which of these occupations do you ob- fect ?""—Harper’s Weekly. ——_—_-—__—_—_. Cholly—I think I may change my mind. Miss Mavrbleheart (earnestly—I would, if I were you.—Ji judge. i i ¥ ‘ j CLOSE OPEN DCOR. Might Retliate Against Our Exclusion Policy. Washington, Jan. 16. — The extension of the Chinese exclusion act is not tc be made without embarrassments a difficulties. The Chinese minister has filed with the senate committee on foreign rela- tions a vigorous protest against the ex- tension of this act or the enactment of a more stringent law against the com- ing of his people to this country. Mr. Wu has acquainted himself with Amer- ican political methods and he has adopted some of the same methods in his protest against this proposed legis- lation. His protest to the foreign re- lations committee is a long and Elaborate Argument which is regarded by many senators who have read it as an able and adroit presentation of the case. He has called the attention of the committee to the violation of the treaty pledges in the present law and to the necessity for negotiating new commercial trea- ties between China and the United States. He has intimated that in view of such proposed legislation China will not be able to regard this country as @ favored nation in making new treatics, as the imperial government cannot grant commercial privileges to a na- tion which denies the same to it. If Chinese merchants are to be ex- cluded from the United States the im- perial government will not be able te allow American merchants to do busi- ness in China, nor welcome to that country American capital and business enterprise in the Development of China. Mr. Wu's protest has served to call attention to the open door policy and the danger threatened to that policy by the exclusion laws. The state depart- ment $s concerned about this situation, as it threatens the American market.in China, for which we have struggled 80 long. It is feared that China would have the sympathy and help of Euro- pean nations in refusing to negotiate new treaties with the United States granting the most favored nation clause. The business interests of Eu- rope would be benefited by excluding this country from the Chinese markets, and the exclusion of the Chinese from this country would give them the ex- cuse, as no European nation has taken such action against the Chinese. China MESSAGES AT SEA. Marconi Instruments Work Welland Messages Come Clearly. New York, Jan, 16—Capt. Hogemann of the North German Lloyd steamship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, which ar- rived yesterday from Bremen, South- ampton and Cherbourg, had the long- est wireless sea talk on record with the Cunarder Lucania on her last trip to Bremen from the port. He says that the Marconi apparatus on both ships worked unusually well. This he at- tributes partly to the fact that the Kaiser's operator, Herr Kronken, was formerly on the Lucania and the Lu- cania’s operator was once on the Kaiser. Rach thoroughly’ understands the peculiarities of both instruments. The ships held actual . conversation nearly three days, or until they were ahout half-way across the ocean. The Lucania sailed three hours before the big Kaiser on Dec. 14. Off the Hook, wher the Cunarder was sixty miles ahead, the two ships began * To Swap Sentiments. The signaling kept up all night long. At daybreak the next day, Sunday, the ships were in sight of each other. At 2p. m. the Kaiser passed the Lucania four miles to the southward, Twelve messages were sent by passengers on the Lucania to the Kaiser for trans- mission to the wireless station at the Zizard and thence by land wire to the persons in England to whom they were addressed. Just after nightfall on Sunday the lights of neither ship were visible from the other. They still in touch tele- graphically. At noon on Monday the iners exchanged positions, and their commanders found that they were forty miles apart. Early in the even- ing, off the Banks, the Kaiser Ran Into a Thick Fog. She struck into clear weather later, and her Marconi man sent this mes- sage to the ship astern: “Twenty-five miles east of Banks. ‘lear weather.” The Cunarder thus acknowledged the receipt of the dispatch: “Thanks. Am still in a thick fog.” The liners then were. sixty miles apart. During the night the clicking aboard the Kaiser grew fainter and fainter, and, finally, when there was about eighty-five miles of sea between the ships, the instruments stopped working. Capt. Hogemann says that the mes- sages he receivei from the Lucania were delivered at the Lizard station and sent to their destinations, reaching them before the Lucania got to port. The Kaiser also notified the German Lloyd office at Bremerhaven when she was about fifty-five miles from that place when she would arrive at Bre- men. BORN IN SLAVERY. Peter Lee, an Aged Negro, Continued Afterwards in the Employ of the Stevens Family. New York, Jan. 16.—Peter Lee, who has been in the employ of the Stevens family of €astle Point, Hoboken, N. J., upward of a hundred years, is dying at Castle Point. The date of his birth is somewhat uncertain, but it was prob- ably in 1795 or 1796. He was born in Hobcken of slave rarents, the property of Col.’ John Stevens. He became free in the course of years, but only once was he separated from the Stevens family. He declares he remembers the general mourning for the death of George Washington in December, 1799. He can recall the days preceding steam navigation, when horse boats furnished the most advanced methods of trans- pertation across the Hudson river. _ NEGROES BLOWN TO PIECES. Dynamite Explosion Kills Three and Injures Seven. he Willismsport, Pa., Jan.,16. — A dis- satch from Karthaus, Clearfield coun- y, says: Three negroes were blown to ‘leces and seven others hurt in a ‘ynamite explosion yesterday. The éx- losion occurred inone of the shanties ccupied by negro laborers employed on the new West Branch railroad and followed an attempt to thaw out some dynamite, | 7 | | | |