Up St. Anthony street to Fort street, up Fort street to Ramsey street, then countermarch down Fort to Fourth street, down Fourth street to Minnesota street, up Minnesota street to Seventh street, down Seventh street to Jackson street, up Jackson street to Eighth street, down Eighth street to Broadway, down Broadway to Seventh street, up Seventh street to Jackson street, down Jackson street to Third street, up Third street to Market street.
Ex-Gov. W.A. Gorman and ex-Gov. Alex. Ramsey were the orators of the occasion, and they delivered very lengthy addresses. It had been arranged to have extensive fireworks in the evening, but on account of the storm they had to be postponed until the following night.
It was a strange coincidence that on the very day of the celebration the last message was exchanged between England and America. The cable had been in successful operation about four weeks and 129 messages were received from England and 271 sent from America. In 1866 a new company succeeded in laying the cable which is in successful operation to-day. Four attempts were made before the enterprise was successful—the first in 1857, the second in 1858, the third in 1863 and the successful one in 1865. Cyrus W. Field, the projector of the enterprise, received the unanimous thanks of congress, and would have been knighted by Great Britain had Mr. Field thought it proper to accept such honor.
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Some time during the early '50s a secret order known as the Sons of Malta was organized in one of the Eastern states, and its membership increased throughout the West with as much rapidity as the Vandals and Goths increased their numbers during the declining years of the Roman Empire. Two or three members of the Pioneer editorial staff procured a charter from Pittesburg in 1858 and instituted a lodge in St. Paul. It was a grand success from the start. Merchants, lawyers, doctors, printers, and in fact half of the male population, was soon enrolled in the membership of the order. There was something so grand, gloomy and peculiar about the initiation that made it certain that as soon as one victim had run the gauntlet he would not be satisfied until another one had been procured. When a candidate had been proposed for membership the whole lodge acted as a committee of investigation, and if it could be ascertained that he had ever been derelict in his dealings with his fellow men he was sure to be charged with it when being examined by the high priest in the secret chamber of the order—that is, the candidate supposed he was in a secret chamber from the manner in which he had to be questioned, but when the hood had been removed from his face he found, much to his mortification, that his confession had been made to the full membership of the order. Occasionally the candidate would confess to having been more of a transgresser than his questioners had anticipated.
The following is a sample of the questions asked a candidate for admission: Grand Commander to candidate, "Are you in favor of the acquisition of the Island of Cuba?" Candidate, "I am." Grand Commander, "In case of an invasion of the island, would you lie awake nights and steal into the enemy's camp?" Candidate, "I would." Grand Commander, "Let it be recorded, he will lie and steal," and then an immense gong at the far end of the hall would be sounded and the candidate would imagine that the day of judgment had come. The scheme of bouncing candidates into the air from a rubber blanket, so popular during the days of the recent ice carnivals was said to have been original with the Sons of Malta, and was one of the mildest of the many atrocities perpetrated by this most noble order.
Some time during the summer a large excursion party of members of the order from Cincinnati, Chicago and Milwaukee visited St. Paul. Among the number was the celebrated elocutionist, Alf. Burnett of Cincinnati, and Gov. Alexander Randall of Wisconsin. They arrived at the lower levee about midnight and marched up Third street to the hall of the order, where a grand banquet was awaiting them. The visitors were arrayed in long, black robes, with a black hood over their heads, and looked more like the prisoners in the play of "Lucretia Borgia" than members of modern civilization.
On the following day there was an immense barbecue at Minnehaha Falls, when the visitors were feasted with an ox roasted whole. This organization kept on increasing in membership, until in an evil hour one of the members had succeeded in inducing the Rev. John Penman to consent to become one of its members. Mr. Penman was so highly Indignant at the manner in which he had been handled during the initiation that he immediately wrote an expose of the secret work, with numerous illustrations, and had it published in Harper's Weekly. The exposition acted like a bombshell in the camp of the Philistines, and ever after Empire hall, the headquarters of the order, presented a dark and gloomy appearance. The reverend gentleman was judge of probate of Ramsey county at the time, but his popularity suddenly diminished and when his term of office expired he found it to his advantage to locate in a more congenial atmosphere.
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The Minnesotian and Times, although both Republican papers, never cherished much love for each other. The ravings of the Eatanswill Gazette were mild in comparison to the epithets used by these little papers in describing the shortcomings of their "vile and reptile contemporary." After the election in 1859, as soon as it was known that the Republicans had secured a majority in the legislature, the managers of these rival Republican offices instituted a very lively campaign for the office of state printer. Both papers had worked hard for the success of the Republican ticket and they had equal claims on the party for recognition. Both offices were badly in need of financial assistance, and had the Republican party not been successful one of them, and perhaps both, would have been compelled to suspend. How to divide the patronage satisfactorily to both papers was the problem that confronted the legislature about to assemble. The war of words between Foster and Newson continued with unabated ferocity. The editor of the Minnesotian would refer to the editor of the Times as "Mr. Timothy Muggins Newson"—his right name being Thomas M. Newson—and the Times would frequently mention Dr. Foster as the "red-nosed, goggle-eyed editor of the Minnesotian." To effect a reconciliation between these two editors required the best diplomatic talent of the party leaders. After frequent consultations between the leading men of the party and the managers of the two offices, it was arranged that the papers should be consolidated and the name of the paper should be the Minnesotian and Times. It can readily be seen that a marriage contracted under these peculiar circumstances was not likely to produce a prolonged state of connubial felicity. The relations between Foster and Newson were no more cordial under one management than had hitherto existed when the offices were separate. This unhappy situation continued until about the time the legislature adjourned, when the partnership was dissolved. Dr. Foster assumed entire control of the Minnesotian and Maj. Newson was manager of the Times. George W. Moore was associated with Dr. Foster in the publication of the Minnesotian prior to the consolidation, but when the offices separated it was stipulated that Mr. Moore should have the printing of the Journals of the two houses of the legislature as part payment of his share of the business of the late firm of Newson, Moore, Foster & Co., thus entirely severing his relations with the paper he helped to found. After the arrangement was made it was with the greatest difficulty that it was carried into effect, as Orville Brown of Faribault had entered the field as a candidate for state printer and came within a few votes of taking the printing to that village. The Times continued under the management of Mr. Newson until the first of January, 1861, when he leased the office to W.R. Marshall and Thomas F. Slaughter, who started the St. Paul Daily Press with its material. The Press proved to be too much of a competitor for the Minnesotian, and in a short time Dr. Foster was compelled to surrender to its enterprising projectors, they having purchased the entire plant. This ended the rivalry between the two Republican dailies. Dr. Foster and Maj. Newson, some time afterward, received commissions in the volunteer service of the army during the Civil war, and George W. Moore was appointed collector of the port of St. Paul, a position he held for more than twenty years.