History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 24

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574

USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 24

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cessity pay rich subsidies into the treasury of the rail- road then being pushed towards these buried treasures.

The financial condition of the company was also un- reservedly discussed. Under assurances of the English loan, they had gone considerably into debt in the prose- cution of some parts of the enterprise which, otherwise, the company would not have attempted. The negotia- tions for that loan finally failed, having been delayed un- til the financial panic of 1857. This indebtedness, how- ever, as was shown, was neither ruinous or pressing, as the mortgage on the road had thirty years to run. The impossibility of negotiating bonds, except at ruinous sacrifices, had induced the company to return to their original plan, which was to build the road by the help of the people along the line. It was easy to show that it was bad policy to allow the work to stop where the road then was; bad, not only for the company, but for those who needed the road and had been impatiently awaiting its construction. The company must extend it; and to do it they must have the cooperation of the people inter- ested. Cash subscriptions, in the then deranged state of the finances of the country, were not looked for, nor were they necessary. For the construction of the road, almost every marketable product of the farm was indis- pensable. Flour, corn, oats, cattle, hay, meat, stone, lime, timber, ties, etc., the people along the line of the road had a surplus of, for which they had no market. The gist of the proposition of the company was, to buy these surplus articles, build the road, and pay in stock. The farmers were shown that in so doing they would turn their unmarketable material into a reliable specie paying investment. There was no doubt that the road would pay a good dividend as soon as completed to Ce- dar Falls; and, as a result of the road being owned at home, its revenue would be retained at home to add to the further development of the country, and thus increase the business of the road; but, if built upon bor- rowed capital, every dividend which the company de- clared would be a drain upon the finances of the coun- try. If Buchanan county owned one million dollars in stock, then dividends of twenty per cent. per annum would throw yearly into her lap twenty thousand dollars in clean cash, sufficient to make a decided impression upon the local finances. Every farmer holding a thou- sand dollars worth of stock would be sure of cash returns of two hundred dollars yearly. This revenue would, of course, be derived principally from the local population ; and, if the road was owned by them, would, to a large extent, return to the owners and patrons of the road. But, otherwise, it would be a drain upon them to that extent.

The incentives to secure the stock were apparent, and the facilities offered, all that could be desired. If the road progressed, the company would be compelled to issue their scrip to the contractors; and this they could not do unless it would buy the articles enumerated as indispensable to the carrying on of the work; and, to in- sure this, it was necessary to make it an object to the farmers and others to secure it. For this reason they wanted the people of the county to subscribe for stock

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

for which they could pay in this serip. This would make the serip current and cause it to answer the end of the advancement of the road almost as well as money. Instalments would not be called for oftener than once in every three months, and for not more than five per cent. at a time; thus giving five years in which to pay for stock; while the company allowed seven per cent. interest on all instalments, as a means of placing on an equality the full paid and partly paid stock. It was the expectation that not more than twenty-five or thirty per cent, of instalments would ever be called for. The company's lands would doubtless soon be in demand, and when sold, the receipts would probably be sufficient to prosecute the work as fast as advisable.

The company had then a title to two hundred and thirty thousand four hundred acres of land, and had perfected a plan by which their sale was sure to be ac- celerated, and at the same time their development in- sured. This was to sell them to actual settlers at five dollars per acre, one dollar and twenty-five cents in cash and the remainder in instalments, the last in five years from the date of purchase. This price would, when deemed advisable, be increased so as to bring the mean price to that at first proposed, viz: six dollars and twen- ty-five cents per acre.

Mr. Clinton, who had long been conversant with the operation of the western railroads, gave to the meeting some sound views, both abstract and practical, of the benefits of railroads. This much-needed information, given in his off-hand, humorous and, at the same time, convincing style, influenced many minds favorably to- ward the project so ably presented by Mr. Smith.

The farmers and capitalists of Buchanan were not slow in perceiving the advantages to be secured by this prop- osition. Indeed, with the accumulated quantity of un- saleable products then on their hands, it was impossible not to see that the proposal was one of reciprocal benefit, while the advantage resulting from a large amount of stock held in the county, appealed strongly both to the public spirit and private interest of all classes of citizens. The next link in the presentation of this matter to the people of Buchanan county, will appear in the following proclamation of the county judge :

STATE OF IOWA, 1 BUCHANAN COUNTY, CSS.

The undersigned, county judge of said county, in pursuance of the code of Jowa in such cases made and provided, hereby orders an election by the qualified voters of said county, to be held on the twenty-eighth day of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight, at the several places in said county where the last April election was held, for the purpose of voting upon the following, to wit:

Whether the county of Buchanan in its corporate capacity will lay a one per cent. tax upon the taxable property of said county, to aid the construction of the Dubuque & Pacific railroad in said county said tax to be expended within the limits of said county and not else- where ;- and the means thus collected shall only be paid for work done after said vote shall be taken, and before the payment of said tax. Said tax to be collected before the first of November next, and for the amount of the same the Dubuque & Pacific railroad company shall issue to said county an equal amount of the capital stock of said com- pany at par.

The form of the vote shall be, "for the railroad loan" or, "against the railroad loan."

All votes in the affirmative shall be considered as adopting the prop- osition entire.

STEPHEN 1. W. TABOR, County Judge.

To meet the objection on the part of the taxpayers, that it was then found difficult to meet the payment of taxes for ordinary purposes, whereof the long lists of delinquencies with which the county papers were filled at that time, attested, an able editorial appeared in the Guardian, of which the following is an abstract: Admit- ting the burdens that were pressing so heavily upon the farmers especially, the writer showed that though the vote would increase the taxes, it would at the same time increase the capacity to pay them. With overflowing graneries, and thousands of tons of produce, there was not money enough in the county to pay taxes ; and why? Simply because, having no railroad, the producers were without, or outside of, a money market. Parties were at that moment contracting with the Dubuque & Pacific, and Clinton railroads, for the transportation of hundreds of thousands of bushels of wheat, for which they were paying cash. But these markets were created by these roads, and through them the people in prox- imity were reaping a great, solid, and timely advantage. But the farmers of Buchanan could not afford to send wheat thirty or forty miles to a. depot, at the present prices, even though it brought gold or currency. But were the road in operation within the county, this market would be available, and would place in the hands of farmers the relief so much needed. What man, it was asked, could not well afford to pay ten dollars out of every thousand he owned, for the privilege of that market now? Confidence was expressed, that, as soon as the work commenced in the county, produce would take a material rise. Wheat would advance from thirty to fifty cents per bushel; potatoes, which were now unsaleable, would become marketable at paying prices; butter, which in trade would scarcely command a sixpence per pound, would sell at a shilling, and corn, oats, beef, pork, and other articles with which the home market was glutted, would largely advance in price. By this rise alone the resident taxpayers would be enabled to pay their quota of the tax, and therefore would not feel it. To those who objected to receiving the company's scrip, he answered that, if the serip was taken in exchange for their products, the company had, on their part, guaran- teed to receive the serip in payment of the tax. No danger need, therefore, be apprehended as to the pro- curement of the means to pay the tax. The construc- tion of the road would bring not only this, but a large surplus with it.

The amount of taxable property in the county at that time, 1858, was but two million five hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and fifty-four dollars. The tax one per cent. would give a little over twenty-five thou- sand dollars, fully one-third of which would come from non-resident owners; while the actual outlay of the company, in grading alone as far as Independence, would be sixty thousand dollars. The construction of this portion of the road would leave in the county a surplus of thirty five thousand dollars.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

The benefits accruing from the expenditure of this sum, in exchange for articles of which there was a sur- plus, everywhere needed no demonstration. And then, too, it was to be remembered that this sum must be expended before the collection of the tax. As, in the words of the proposition, the product of that tax, if voted, is to be applied in payment of work done since its voting and previous to its collection, it would seem all fears as to the capacity to pay the tax were relieved, and the means insured for other purposes-means of which all felt the urgent need, and which were not to be secured in any other way. If the tax was voted, work would commence at once ; if defeated, there would be loss to the county through the disadvantages which its want would entail, treble the amount asked by voting the tax.

Still another favorable feature of the proposition was pointed out. Its adoption entailed no extended tax- it began and ended during the current year and could never act as a bugbear to scare away settlers from the county, but would act rather as an incentive to settle- ments. The creation of a market for produce was not the only equivalent which was offered. The stock, until the road began to pay dividends, was to draw seven per cent. interest, payable in stock, which would gradually increase ; and should the company in three years, through the earnings of the road and the sale of land, pay a dividend of twenty per cent., this would give an income to the county of six thousand dollars per annum, which would lessen materially, the burden of taxation. To this result the non-resident taxpayers would largely contrib- ute, so that, in fact, the county was only called upon to make a timely investment, yielding immediately and prospectively great advantages.

It will be seen at a glance that the whole object, both of the tax and of the effort made by the company to secure private subscriptions, was simply to make it an object to the people of the county, farmers and dealers of all classes, to take the scrip which the company must issue in order to proceed with their work, and to pur- chase the produce and materials necessary in its con- struction. The following resolution of the board of directors of the Dubuque & Pacific railroad company, pledging the company to receive the scrip issued in pay- ment of the tax or for stock, was published in the papers of the county, contemporaneously with the other matter, from which our article has been drawn :

OFFICE OF THE DUBUQUE & PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, } DUBUQUE, IOWA, First of June, 1358. 1

WHEREAS the county judge of Buchanan county has issued a pro- clamation to the qualified voters of said county, to take a vote upon the question whether the said county will levy a one per cent. tax on the taxable property of said county, which sand vote is to be taken on the fourth Monday of June, instant, for which tax the Dubuque & Pacific railroad company agree to issue to said county full paid stock ; and whereas it has been represented to the said county judge and the people of said county that, in case said tax shall be voted, the company will receive payment therefor, from the proper authorities in said county, any seript or paper which shall be paid out and put in circula- tion for the purpose of doing work in said county by said company. Now, therefore,

Resolved, That, in consideration of the premises, said railroad com- piny hereby pledges itself to said county of Buchanan, to receive in

payment for such stock, any paper or scrip which may be paid out to the contractors or men for work done in said county, or any other obligations of the company; and that the proceeds of such tax shall be expended in good faith within said county of Buchanan, and not elsewhere.

We certify that the above is a true copy of a resolution passed by the board of directors of the Dubuque & Pacific railroad company, at their meeting on the first of June, 1858.

Witness our hands and the seal of the company,

J. P. FARLEY, President. JAMES M. MCKINLAY, Secretary pro tem. HISTORICAL PROBABILITY.

And now, with this array of fact and argument before us, let us ask this young friend of ours, just now jubilant over his accession to the glorious privilege of the ballot (his natal day and the celebration of the opening of the Dubuque and Pacific railroad being coincident) about this vote, which had been so ably presented before the people.

What was the result of the vote? Was it "for the rail- road loan" or "against the railroad loan?"

"Let me see-that was in 1858 was it? Oh, it was for the loan of course. It couldn't have been otherwise -and then the road was opened in 1859, for I have heard my mother say a hundred times"-

Not so fast my dear young voter. Doubtless your answer would be that of ninety-nine out of every one hundred voters, except those who voted on that question in Buchanan county in 1858; and why it is not the cor- rect answer it may be the special duty of the historian in 1880 to inform you. But, in regard to the reasons of the failure of that vote, the records of that day, like the Sphinx, preserve a sullen silence. Had the vote gone as you think it ought, the road, without doubt, would have been opened at least a year sooner, and you would have lost the distinction of connecting your natal anni- versaries with so important an event.

Should you so distinguish yourself in the future as to make your name an honor to your native town, and should the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad justify its first ambitious cognomen and become really the Dubuque & Pacific, the future historian may guess that he has read the riddle of the lost vote of 1858.

EVIDENCE OF ENTERPRISE AND FRUITFULNESS IN RE- SOURCES.

Not many weeks after the adverse vote in regard to the railroad loan, the board of directors published a cir- cular, setting forth the following plan by which they hoped to secure the means to proceed with the building of their road. The proposition was as follows:

To appraise the lots and lands belonging to the company, issue land script to the amount of the appraisement, and pay off the bonded and funded debt by offering for every dollar of debt one dollar of stock and one dollar of land script, with which scrip any unsold land of the com- pany can be located and paid for. Also to appraise the balance of the four hundred and sixty thousand eight hundred acres of land which the company were to receive when the first hundred miles of the road was built, and issue scrip as before. This was to be devoted exclus- ively to building the road to Cedar Falls. For every dollar of tull paid stock then held, or thereafter subscribed, an equal amount of this scrip was to be issued to the holder or subscriber, in addition to the certifi_ cate of stock. In other words, as an inducement for men to furnish means for building the road, the company donated to each stockholder a hundred dollars' worth of lands for every share of stock for which he subscribed, thus making the stock itself cost him nothing.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

GOOD NEWS.

The munificent display of capitals and wide-spread head lines, which at the present day go so far towards excusing the editorial caput from exhaustive mental effort, had hardly gained, so recently as the close of the year 1859, a very general following. When, then, the local press of Independence, in the autumn of that year, in- dulged in three head lines, of small capitals, prevented from expanding into unbecoming obtrusiveness by their location on the third page and under the usual heading of "Local Matters," and the further top ballast of the "Township Ticket," it must not, after all, be doubted that the subject matter of the announcement was one that stirred every Buchanan county heart with intensest delight,

"GLORIOUS NEWS FOR BUCHANAN COUNTY !! THE RAIL-

ROAD COMING !!!

On Saturday last our citizens were notified by a few lines written on the margin of the Western stage company's way-bill, that the contract for the construction of the Dubuque & Pacific railroad to this point had been signed, and that the work was to be commenced immediately."

But so sick had the aforesaid heart been made by hope too long deferred, that it was not until Monday, when the cheering news was confirmed by the Dubuque papers and by letters, that doubting gave way to universal joy and congratulation.

It appeared from later intelligence that, General Booth, one of the directors of the company, had returned from the east, bringing the welcome news that a contract for a continuation of the road from Dubuque to Indepen- dence was signed the Thursday previous, the contractor being Oliver P. Root, of Oneida, New York. The con- traet stipulated that the work should begin at once, and that the road should be completed to Manchester, then described as being located nine miles this side of Not- tingham, by the first of October; to Winthrop, eleven miles further, by the first of November; to a point five miles west of Independence, by the first of December, and the balance of the aggregate distance of eighty miles from Dubuque, by the first of January. Mr. Root was represented as a practical engineer, a man of energy and pecuniary ability, and the utmost confidence was expressed in the fulfillment of the terms of the contract.

A few days only elapsed before work on the railroad bridge over the Wapsipinicon had been inaugurated. The piles were being delivered and the work of driving them had also commenced. The bridge itself was in process of construction in Dubuque, and was to be brought out in pieces after the cars began to run. It was to consist of four spans of forty feet, and twenty-four spans of twelve feet, making a a total length of four hun- dred and forty-eight feet. In the centre of the river, where the rock bottom prevents the driving of piles, there were two bents ; and the bridge was to be four feet above the high-water mark of the great freshet of 1858.

Already the impetus upon the movement of grain was felt, and an unusual and constantly increasing number of wagons were to be seen in town daily, loaded with cere- als, for which cash was being paid by merchants and grain buyers. A few weeks later, and the city press chronicled the presence of throngs of wagons on the streets, bring-

ing in grain, and active competition among buyers. A cash market had at last opened in Independence ; and, as the crop had been fully an average one, hopefulness sat serene upon every countenance, and an unwonted activity was visible in every department of business and trade. As the time for the opening of the road approached, it seemed a question whether the capital of Buchanan might not be compelled to close her ports of entry and cry, "hold," so continuous was the golden stream which was filling her storehouses to bursting. One of the city editors informs his readers that, on the twenty-second of November, he counted thirty-five teams moving on Main street, loaded with grain, or returning after having dis- charged a similar freight; and still they came. Several new grain and produce buyers had already commenced operations in the place, and a new era was fairly estab- lished, in expectation of a speedy outlet for the accumu- lating stores of cereals and other produce.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE OPENING.

A call for a meeting of those interested in celebrating the advent of the iron horse was published early in No- vember, and arrangements were perfected to give fitting welcome to the long desired steed with his attendant train of cars, and manifold train of advantages.

The first of December arrived, and though the road was not completed to the county seat, all were ready to acknowledge that the utmost energy had characterized Mr. Root's operations; and the only surprise felt was that he had overcome so many obstacles incident to opera- tions in a new country, and was so near the completion of this section of his contract.

The second week of the month created a perfect furor among the youthful portion of the community, by sending the shrill echoes of the voice of the approaching motor vibrating through the oak groves of the Wapsie; a voice heard by many born on Buchanan soil for the first time. At last the iron horse (we wish somebody would invent a name more worthy of him) was within two miles of the town, and, within a few hours, would be seen tossing his billowy mane at the new station on the east bank of the Wapsipinicon.

The track layers were busy during the whole of Sun- day, the eleventh of December, the contractor doubtless justifying the desecration of the day on the plea that he was nearly two weeks behind the time specified in the contract. The rails were laid to the depot grounds, the turn-table brought up from Masonville, and put in order, passenger and freight cars were at the depot, and all nec- essary preparations made to commence the formal open- ing of the road on Monday. At 9 o'clock on that day, December 12, 1859, the first regular train left the depot at the county seat of Buchanan county, taking the first shipment of produce, which was made by West & Hopkins, and consisted of wheat and pork.

RAILROAD CELEBRATION.

The day was all that could be desired, the entire au- tumn having been of exceptional mildness and bright- ness. At an early hour, people came flocking into town from all directions, and Main and Chatham streets wc e

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

filled with teams and people. A large concourse was at the depot to welcome the train, which came in punctual to time, at 2 o'clock p. M., with four car-loads of guests, among whom were the Governor Greys, Captain Robinson, of Dubuque, accompanied by the well-known Germania band.

After a brief and appropriate address, welcoming the guests to the hospitalities of the town, by D). S. Lee, esq., on behalf of the citizens of Independence, and a graceful response from Captain Robinson on behalf of the Greys, the large concourse formed in procession, headed by the military company and lead by the band, and marched through the village to the Montour house, where the guests were quartered. About 4 o'clock, an elegant dinner was served to the invited guests by Mr. Purdy, which was pronounced by all to have been, in quality and style of serving, worthy of the occasion. After dinner, the Greys paraded and went through vari- ous military evolutions, with admirable skill and pre- cision.

At night there was a ball at Morse's hall; and, though the company was the largest ever assembled fn the place, harmony and good order reigned supreme, and the tide of enjoyment flowed on with undisturbed current, until the summons for the return train, during the "wee sma' hours," brought the fete, long to be remembered by some who participated in it, to a close. The "Germania" furnished the music for the evening, and choice refresh- ments were served at both the Montour and the Revere houses. The committee of arrangements were restricted in their invitations by the unusual rush of persons from abroad, which, for several weeks previous to the celebra- tion, had filled the hotels to their utmost capacity; and it was only through the most unwearied exertions of both the hotels and committee that the guests were suit- ably entertained.

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History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 24

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 574

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574