Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, January 13, 1909, Page 1

Vor, XVI.—No, 30 Grand Uap Granpv Rapips, Irasca County, MINN., WepNEsDay, JANUARY 13, T908. anc “4 ty © COUNTY EDITORS Vo, STATE LAWS Some of Our Itasca Contemporaries Much Perturbed Over the County Printing. COMMISSIONERS OVERLOOKED THEM Bat They Don’t Care a Snap About ~That—All They Aimed to Ac- complish Was the Saving of Money For the Taxpayers. The state legislature acted wisely when it repealed the act relating to public printing requiring the boards of county commissioners to consider the lowest bids submitted by pub- lishers for the rendering of such sere vice. As the law now stands the board of commissioners are the sole judges of the merits and value of the papers that may petition to perform such service in hehalf of the county. It is the duty of the board to exer- cise their best judgment as to the circulation and general qualifications of any paper that may ask to perform public printing for the covaty. The state legislature has fixe by enact- ment of law the compensation for such work. just as ‘t has fixed the compensation of county officers. The board has nothing whatever to do with the price to be paid. In their consideration of the advertising yalue of the several papers that ap- plied for the distinction of represent- ing the county in the matter of pub- lishing the official proceedings, tinan- cial statement, delinquent tax list, etc., the board of Itasca county very naturally reached the conclusion that the Herald-Review is decidedly to be preferred over all competitors. It is recognized as having the largest cir- culation of any paper in the county, The aim and duty of the commission- ers was to secure for the public the best possible seryice in the designa- tion of the official county paper, and in naming the Herald-Review their duty was fulfilled. 1f they had done otherwise under the circumstances there would have been just cause for complaint by the citizens of the county. Under the old law, whe the board of commissioners was required tocon- sider bids according to the price pamed by the publishers, it very free quently bappened that the paper with the smallest circulation and of the least merit of any in the county would secure the printing and thus the purpose of the law was nullitied. Whatever money thus paid out was virtually thrown away. Having learned this fact through experience the legislature very wisely repealed the provision relating to low bids, and left the matter entirely to the discretion of the county boards. All this talk about saving money to the taxpayers is mere buncombe and will not serve to fool anybody. It is the same tale of woe that is told and re- told year after year by the editors of inconsequential papers all over the state. Nobody pays any attention to them—in fact they don’t eyen pay any attention to themselves. The publisher of a little paper that neither merits nor receives recogni- tion is always on hand with a bluff bid for public work when it is to be contracted for, fully cognizant of the fact that his paper should not be considered it the publie is to be serv- ed as the law contemplates. The law recognizes that the taxpayers have a right to know how the public busi- ness is being conducted. For this reason provision has been made for the publication of the official acts of county boards and similar bodies, and the price fixed by legislative enactment for the payment of such service. The very fact that the ‘low bid” provision bas been eliminated ~ from the law relating to public print- ing is sufficient evidence that the state law makers did not consider the lowest bid the most desirable. It was eliminated for the express pur- pose of eliminating the necessity of considering propositions from irre- sponsible publishers. That the Her- ald-Review is the leading paper of Itasca county is shown by its adver- tising columns. It certainly cannot be because of the personal popularity of the editor and publisher of the Herald-Review that this paper pub- lishes more legal notices throughout the year, comiag from attorneys, than all the other papers in the county combined. 1n making publi- cation of legal notices attorneys look to the reliability of a paper. It is net a sentimental proposition with them. It cannot be because of the editor’s personal popularity that the Herald-Review is now the offieial paper of Itasca county, the villaye and township of Grand Rapids, the villages of Cohasset, Holman, Nash- wauk and Keewatin. This recogni- tion was not received at starvation wages. The maximum rate as fixed by law is charged in every instance and collected. There are no cuts or rebates. The individual as well as the several municipalities are per- fectly willing to pay a fair price, be- cause they are sure of receiving .the best possible service that can. ve rendered. Our local contemporaries intimate in their respective issaes of last week that the countycommis- sioners were not actuated by the highest motives in designating the Herald-Review as the official county paper. If their insinuations are jus- tified the same charge might be made against every attorney in Grand Rapifis—save one—who pub- lish all their legal notices in this paper; might be made against the city council; against the township board, and against the councils of the Yillages named above. The Deer River News man regis- ters his little protest because he was not “given something.” while as a matter of fact the poor fellow didn’t even putin a “low” bid. A year ago the Deer River paper was included with the Heraid-Review to publish the beard proceedings, each to re- ceive one-half the maximum rate al- lowed by law. In order to carry out the contract the Herald-Review had to do ail the composition and supply it gratuitously to the Deer River News. The work could not bave been done in the Deer Riyer office be- cause of a lack of facilities to per- form it. The Tlerald-Review has not hitherto complained of this un- fair arrangement, but it was a de- cided injustice to the publisher, and did not save the taxpayers any money. Ifa similar deal could have been made for 1909, it is not likely that any complaints would have is- sued from the Deer River shop. Four years ago the board of county commissioners saw fit to desigaate the Northome Record, then publish- ed by A. L. Lafreniere, as the paper in which the tax list should be pub- lished. The Herald-Review offered at that time to do the same work for a small fraction of the amount paid to Lafreniere. The same year the Itasca County Independent was given all other printing at the full rate allowed, and the Herald-Review offered to do the same work at less than half the amount paid. Lafren- iere at that time and under those circumstances did not offer to refund any part of his “‘bit’’ to the taxpay- ers. Nor did the -Herald-Review complain. It is possible the commissioners did not know that this paper bad a larger bona fide cir- culation than tne two others com- bined. In any event the Herald-Re- viewfaccepted the result, not feeling that it was incumbent upon the board to favor it with public busi- ness unless the best judgment of that body so dictated. The Itasca County Independent seems to feel agreived because it didn’t “get something.” It 1s a seri- ous question in the opinion of compe- tent attorneys as to the legality of the Independent as required by law. It has been republishing the same “plate” matter for several months, and hasalso been issued with two blank pages for some time past. If it could hold its legal standing be- fore a court it would do better than it has been able to do before the peeple. The cemmissioners could not be expected to give it any con- sideration under the circumstances. The Coleraine Optic’ is also whin- ing like a cub bear with a sore paw, because ‘‘nobedy never gives it nothin’ nohow.” For the benefit of the Optic man the Herald-Review will state that his proposition sub- mitted to the board was not stated in terms that would make its ac- ceptance legal. 1t is also very doubt- fulif the paper published at Cole- raioe has a sufficfent number of bona fide subscribers to place it on the legal list. However that may be, the commissioners would be placing themselves in a most ridiculous po- sition to name so obscure a sheet, at any price, as the official county paper, when they had access to the splendid services that is rendered by the Her- ald-Review. The Herald-Review has the newest faces in job type. Phone 159. GREAT NORTHERN HERE NEXT JULY The Extension tien Nashwauk Will Be Completed in Time to Celebrate WILL BUILD TO GRAND. RAPS The Herald-Review Has Direct In- formation That the Road Will Not Give This Town the Goby —No Longer Any Doubt. There has long been serious specu- | lation in the minds of the citizens of Grand Rapids as to the ultimate des- tination of the Great Northern ex- tension from Nashwauk to connection with the main line. It has been conced- ed during the past two or three years that the extension could not long be deferred. Will it strike Grand Rap- ids, or will it build to connect with the main line somewhere in the vicinity of Blackberry, about five miles east? This is the question in which our people have been vitally interested. To-come or not to come, means much to this community. The Herald-Review is in a position to announce today on positive author- ity that the range extension will make connections at this point. And this paper is also ina position to say that the Great Northern expects to be running daily passenger traias be- tween Grand Rapids and the eastern Mesaba range towns by the first of July next. The line of the extension from Nashwauk will probably connect with the main line just east of Grand Rapids, somewhere between Mee place and Blackberry, the exact. loca~ tion having not yet been definite: decided upon. Several surveys have been made and it is probable that a final decision will be reached very shortly. It has been definitely decided, however, to run all passenger and local freight trains into this station as soon as the road is completed, by using a “Y’’ at the junction point. This positive assurance was given to State Senator D. M. Gunn by of- ficials of the Great Northern at St. Paul last week. Senator Gunn says he has absolutely no doubt of the fact that the plan to build to this station is definitely and conclusively se ttled. This consummation, together with the building of the Duluth, Mesaba & Northern will provide Grand Rap- ids with railroad facilities that cafi- not fail to be the cause of immedi- ate business activity and substantial growth. Ora Zamona, Violinist. Mr. O. Zamona, the rising young violinist of New York, whois shortly to appear in recital at Duluth and Superior, will be heard in Grand Rap- ids on Friday evening of this week. Bye J Two Dollars a Year. DEVELOPMENT OF “NORTH MINNESOTA Governor John A. Johnson Ably Dis- cusses the Resources of This Section in His Message. DEPICTS FUTURE AS SAGE AND SEER Great at Present; Still Greater Fu- ture—The Governor Produces the Strongest Array of Facts Ever About This Region. However strong and swift the growth of Minnesota during these first fifty years of its history, the new era of its internal and industrial development which now is to follow can be even more remarkable. Draw an east and west line across Minnesota, from Big Stone Lake on the west to the southern boundary of Pine county on the east, and you have, to the north of this line, with- in a 150-mile radius of Mississippi headwaters, a vast empire, over 250 miles square—Northern Minnesota— the most interesting, fertile and re- sourceful region yet undeveloped on the continent of North America. Its 45,000 square miles of area approxi- Mate Wisconsin or Illinois im area, _ are materially.greater than New ‘York or Ohio. It contains 2,000,000 acres of government Jands, subject to homestead entry, about the same acreage of state school lands open to purchase on easy terms, and a total of something like 15,000,000 acres of virgin agricultural lands which are offered to settlers on most reasonable terms. Two-thirds of this northern domain is covered with timber, the chief remnant of bs celebrated white aad norway pine Stiperior region, in addition to forests of hard- wood, and the greatest area of spruce and poplar pulp wood for paper manu- facture in thiscountry. The western portion is the world’s greatest center of wheat production, and the north- eastern section is the world’s greatest producer of irun ore. The 200,000,000 tons of iron ore thus far mined and shipped from Minnesota ranges dur- ing the past twenty-five years, repre- sent less than one-fifth of the un- mined ore “in sight” to say nothing of the vast ore deposits still unde- veloped, unsurveyed, or yet to be dis- covered. Up to this time the great bulk of Minnesota’s iron ore product has been shipped to furnaces and rolling mills in other states; we are now about to enter upon a new industrial era in which our wealth of iron ore, the greatest in the world, will be con- verted into commercial iron. steel, hardware and machinery by Minne- sota labor and on Minnesota soil. Iron and steel mills, flouring mulls, sawmills, stone quarries, agricultural implement works, the various cereal and wood-working enterprises, are only a few of the many industries The evening will probably be given in the Presbyterian church, under the patronage of a number of promi- nent ladies andggentlemen. Mr. Zamona will be assisted by a talented young pianist of St. Paul, Miss Ver- na Bohlke. The program will em- brace gems from the great composers, including Dyorak, Mendelssohn. Beethoven, Grieg,j Chopin, Drdly, Schubert and Leonard. Mr. Zamcna comes highly recommended and will doubtlessly be greeted by a good sized house, Tell the Editor. Many persons feel offended because their comings and goings are not mentioned while those of others are, and wonder what the matter can be. The explanation of the matter is that the editor means to be impar- tial but some escape mention. The likes and dislikes of an editor have nothing to do with it, and while it is not pretended that the editor is more than human he knows that the suc- cess of his journal depends on his fairness and impartiality to all. It is the best way always when a notice is desired to mention it to the editor or communicate through the post- which will enjoy a great and enduring prosperity, by reason of the vast re- sources of raw material lying in this northern domain. Among other no- table industrial developments wlll be that of the wood-pulp and paper in- dustry, which is about to give Minne- sota the greatest paper mills in the world, But, besides the raw mater- ials, Northern Minnesota likewise has the power, existing in its endless network of streams, its thousands of lake reservoirs, and its sustained and heavy rainfall, to convert the ma- terials with the minimum of cost, into products of commerce. Outside of the Niagara district alone, North- ern Minnesota has more ayailable water power than any other section of North America. The two great water-powers now being developed, respectively, on the Rainy and St. Louis rivers—water-powers that equal or exceed the great water-power_of St. Anthony Falls, which operates the milling industries and street rail- way at Minneapolis—are a sample of the new power developments and re- sources of the great watershed of Northern Minnesota. One of the great drawbacks to the highest industrial_development of Minnesota in the past has been the office. No one feels worse about a seeming neglect or partial perform- ance of duty than the editor him- self. lack of coal. We had the raw mater- ials of dll kinds in vast abundance, but lacked the coal for industrial power, and fuel to convert them into finished products. But this draw- { back is now overcome. First the im- mense lake waterway traffic and low coal rates by water have reduced the cost of transportation of coal to Du- luth toa point which is equivalent of eliminating 80 to 90 per cent of the distance which separates Minnesota mines, mills, factories and furnaces from the coal mines; and, second, re- cent developments in the long- distance transmission of electric power make the great and numerous water-powers cf Northern Minnesota available for all industrial purposes and a much more economical source of power than ¢éoal. As a result of these two conditions, Minnesota now stands in a position to convert its vast resources of raw materials into finished products and compete successfully with the most favored states in the great staple lines of manufactured products. The greatest merchant fleet which today floats the American flag, is the lake fleet which enters the ports of Duluth, Superior, and Two Harbors, to carry eastward the iron ore, lume ber, wheat, flour, and building stone produced by Minnesota labor and capital. So heavy is the eastbound traffic, that a large percentage of the vessels and barges return to their westbound trip without cargo. The effect of this condition is to reduce the water rate on coal shipped from Lake Erie to Duluth to about one- third the eastbound rate on iron ore from Duluth to Lake Erie. Thus it has become cheaper to bring coal to Minnesota coke ovens and furnaces for conversion of our iron ore into Minnesota pig iron and steel, than to ship the ore to the furnaces and rolling mills of the lower lakes. This means an ultimate revolution in the commercial geography of the iron and steel industry, Minnesota up to date, has shipped over $600,000,- 000 worth of iron ore to Eastern ports and furnaces, for the profit of East- ern labor and capital. But now we hold in our three iron ranges a body of ore worth mauy times that which in the past twenty-five years we have shipped away. Minnesota conversion of iron ore, which is one of the logical certainties of the near future, there- fore, neaus the most important re- volution of the century 1n the West- ward progress of industrial empire. How vast are the water-power re- sources of Northern Minnesota is in- dicated by the fact that the great timbered plateau of the upper half of this state is the head reservoir of three continenta! watersheds; First, the Mississippi river system, which flows south into the Gulf of Mexico, second, the Great Lakes system, which flows eastward into the At- lantic, and third, the Ked River of the North and Rainy river systems, which drain northerly into Hudson bay. Our northerly timbered pla- teau, which bas nearly two-thirds of the combined area of the six New Enyland states, is the most thoruugh- ly watered region on the continent of North America. It has something like 8,000 lake reservoirs, ranging in surface area from a few square miles up to the vast expanse of Lake Su- perior; and these thousands of lake reservoirs are connected by streams with available water-powers. Even the old Father of Waters, the Missis- sippi has at least a score of water- powers between St Paul and the northern source, the federal rights for something like a dozen of which have already been secured by far- sighted capitalists from the general government, When we consider that the average elevation ‘of the lake reservoirs and streams of our northern plateau is 1,200 to 1,600 feet above sea level and 400 to 800 feet above the level of St. Paul, it is apparent that it is only a matter of time, capital and engi- neering ways and means when our vast water-power potentiality will be converted into a great magazine of power for the conversion of our raw materials and the development of our unparallel industrial resources. When Espeak of Northern Minneso- ta as undeveloped, I employ only relative terms. The greatest iron ore industry, the greatest white pine lumber industry, and the greatest wheat-growing and flour-milling in- dustries on the globe tell their own stories of developmeot. Two Har- bors, Hibbing, Virginia, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Bemidji, Little Falls, Brainerd, Ste Cloud, Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Crookston and Interna tional Falls speak for themselves. Furthermore, already 600,000 indus- trious and epergetic people already have made this northern domain their permanent abode, among whom are 90,0000 farmers and 100,000 work- ingmen. Moreover, eighteen rail- roads are operating and laying new iReader Continued on page 8. BUSINESS MEETING OATURDAY EVENING All Members of the Grand Rapids Commercial Club Are Re- quested to Attend. MANY MATTERS TO BE CUNSIDERED A Reorganization of the Commer- cial Club to Be Taken Up—The Interests of Grand Rapids Re- quire United Action. There will be an important meeting of the Commercial Club next Satur- day evening at Village hall. All members should make a special effort to attend. A new era of activity is dawning for Grand Rapids and dur- ing the next two years the future of this town must be shaped to insure future growth and prosperity. There is much to be done to advance our material interests, and if the oppor- tunities now bemg presented are overlooked every resident will share in the general loss. For some time past the public affairs of the village and county have been neglected by the Commercial Club, except as Sec- retary Dickinson has given them his personal attention from time to time as opportunity was presented. No town in northern Minnesota has greater or brighter prospects than Grand Rapids. But towns do not grow and prosper without proper care and cultivation any more than do crops on the farm. We have been fayored by nature with greater possi- bilities than most communities can boast of. Let every citizen interested turn out Saturday evening next and help to kindle an enthusiasm that will bring about many permanent benefits. Our Telephone Troubles. A considerable percentage of Grand Rapids subscribers to the Mesaba Telephone service are making good on the signed agreement to discon- tinue the service if the company should persist in raising the rates trom $1.00 for residence phones to $1.50 and to $2.25 from $2.00 for busi- ness house phones. All day yester- day the local force was kept busy re- moving the hello instruments. It is claimed by the local manager, Mr. Dalcour, that only fifty have been taken out up to @zte, but others say that more than one hundred have been placed in the store room of the compavy. Enough have gone out, however, to greatly impair the value of the service. The insistance of the company to collect three months rental in advance is resented more than the proposed raise. The people hereaway are determined not to stand for this imposition and they are amply justified in taking the stand. There is considerable talk of putting in an independent system and ordering out the Mesaba people entirely. The Contest Goes On. Judge Caut of Duluth is still tak- ing testimony in the contest case of Riddell vs. Riley, for the office of sheriff of Itasca county. The same line of evidence that has heretofore been introduced is still going on re- cord. The contestant bas not yet finished with the Sand Lake precinct, and as there are several cther pre- cincts tobe threshed over, the end seems still far off. [tis yet to be proven to the court who’s a liar? Judge Cant gets to work early eyery morning and has been holding ses- sions every evening during the week. Farmers’ Short Course. A Farmers’ short course will be held at the school of Agriculture at St. Anthony Park for one month, commencing Friday, January 15th. The course consists of lectures, de- monstrations and judging of stock and grains. The most particular sub- jects connected with farm life will be discussed. The course includes nearly all the farm subjects taught at the School of Agriculture. No entrance examination is given and there is no age limit. The expences are low. Itis hoped that there may be a large attendance of farmers. Herald-Review — Official paper o Itasca County. pee