USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. II > Part 9
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
The results for the year in detail are as follows:
Average Mileage Operated, 5,070.78 Miles.
From Passengers . $ 7,256,299.23
Freight. 27,035,105.39
Express, Mail and Miscellaneous 1,759,156.43
Total Gross Earnings $36,050,561.05
OPERATING EXPENSES AND TAXES.
Operating Expenses (62.81 per cent
of Gross Earnings) . $22,643,879.31
Taxes (3.06 per cent of Gross Earnings 1,102,605.75
Total $23,746,485.06
Net Earnings. 12,304,075.99
Less Interest on Bonds, etc. etc., Net ... 7,005,211.65 Net Receipts. $5,298,211.34
Compared in detail with the previous year they were as follows:
1896-7. 1897-8. Average Miles. Average Miles. Increase. 5,030,78 100 5,070,78 100
Passenger Earnings $ 6,963,578.31 $ 7,256,299.23 $ 292,720.92
Freight
Earnings 22,236,612.19 27,035,105.39
$4,798,493.20
Express, Mail and
Miscel. 1,777,052.98 1,759,156.43
Dec. 17,896.55
Totals $30,977,243.48 $36,050,561.05 $5,073,317.57
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The Chicago & North- Western Railway.
This financial statement is of the Chicago & North- Western Railway proper, and does not have any ref- erence to the roads that it owns, and that forms the North-Western System. The yearly earnings of the roads omitted, equal about twelve or thirteen mil- lion dollars for the year 1898.
PRESIDENTS OF THE GALENA & CHICAGO UNION RAILROAD CO.
Theophelus W. Smith, Elected July 3, 1836
William B. Ogden, Elected Feb. 17, 1846
John B. Turner, Elected June 5, 1851
Walter L. Newberry, Elected June 1, 1859
William H. Brown, Elected June 4,1862
John B. Turner, Elected June 1,1864
PRESIDENTS OF THE
CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.
W. B. Ogden, ... From June 7, 1859 to June 4, 1868 Henry Keep,. . From June 4, 1868 to Aug., 1869 A. Mitchell, . . From Sept. 1, 1869 to June 3, 1870 John F. Tracy, .. From June 3, 1870 to June 19 1873 Albert Keep, ..... From June 191873 to *June 2, 1887 Marvin Hughitt, From June 2, 1887-still in office
* On this date Mr. Keep was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors and still holds that position.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
Perry H. Smith, From June 7, 1859 to April 7, 1869 Henry R. Pierson From April 7, 1869 to June 30, 1870 M. L. Sykes, ..... From June 301870-still in office
Being the first railroad starting out of Chicago it had the advantage of the most direct entrance into the heart of the city from the west, which may with no impropriety, be called an endowment of nature.
In making up this historical sketch many of the earliest persons associated with the construction of the road have been interviewed, some of whom are not now living, and the writer acknowledges obliga_ tions to the company, for furnishing maps, drawings, and views, also a detailed history of the road just published, portions of it have been copied verbatim.
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THE FIRST PASSENGER STATION IN CHICAGO
OF THE G. & C. U., NOW C. & N .- W. R'Y CO., 1848, KINZIE AND WELLS STS.
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ADAIAN NO 1.
THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN IN MICHIGAN. ERIE & KALAMAZOO R. R., 1835.
THE SECOND PASSENGER STATION IN CHICAGO OF THE G. & C. U., NOW C. & N .- W. R'Y, KINZIE AND WELLS STS. DESTROYED IN THE FIRE OF 1871.
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CHI
-
CONVENTION OF 1860.
(COPIED FROM HISTORY PUBLISHED IN 1879.)
Two opposing forces grew into antagonism in the United States within the memory of middle aged men now living.
This antagonism that had been gathering force dur- ing a generation in its progress, had gradually obliter- ated party lines, and substituted an issue on a real principle in political economy for the old one which had existed between the whigs and the democrats.
The old issue grew out of an honest difference of opinion on financial questions, such as tariff, banking and public improvements ; the whigs being the ambi- tious and progressive element, and the democrats claim- ing to be the cautious regulators to apply the brakes upon hasty and ill digested legislation. But at the time when the new issue came into existence the old one had lost its national character, and become effete. The new issue was on the subject of slavery, and despite all efforts on the part of statesmen, as well as di- vines, to bury it beneath some plastic subterfuge, it came up in 1856 in its naked proportions, at the Phila- delphia convention which nominated Fremont as can- didate for president of the United States, to represent the principles of the new party. The issue that now divided the country practically involved the existence of slavery. Financial questions were lost sight of, and had little or no part in it.
It was the first time in the history of the country that an issue had grown up in the popular heart exempt
(113)
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Convention of 1860.
from any other but conscientious principles as to what policy should best promote justice, as well as national honor. The situation in the United States at that time resembled that of England when the commonwealth displaced the reigning dynasty on a religious question. It was the higher law in both cases that the new party was contending for, and in both it was the first time that either country, by the force of public opinion only, succeeded in establishing a moral tribunal by which to overturn the majesty of legal forms.
No one will deny that this was the case in England in the days of Cromwell, and the proof that such was the case in the United States in the political campaign of 1860 is found in the fact that after the war which followed it, the constitution had to be changed to com- ply with the changes it had wrought. The attempt to compass the desired end, brought to light in 1856 at the Philadelphia republican convention, the first of its kind, proved a failure.
The moral sense of its advocates was deeply wounded, but they bore the humiliation in silence, with no letting down of their purposes; on the contrary, they gathered strength as the time drew near for an- other trial in 1860. And now no prestige, no favorit- ism, no conventional forms or local rights must stand in the way of the fulfillment of the great popular voice that transcended everything. In vain may history be searched for such a sublime episode when so complete a submission was made to a principle as the Chicago convention of 1860 personified. It is doubtful if Chi- cago is ever again destined to such honors as fell upon her when she was selected as the most appropriate place for this convention. It was a compliment paid to the moral sense of her rising mind, to the magnanimity of her national policy, to her immunity from local prejudice, to her bold and original conceptions, and to her youthful and impulsive force, so essential to the success of the work which the convention were about
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Convention of 1860.
to undertake. More than all this, it was a proof that her interests were locally interwoven with every part of the United States, not only by the physical forces of nature, but by the fraternizing influences that grow out of them through the channels of commerce.
As soon as the selection was made prompt action was taken by Chicago's leading citizens to make prep- aration for the occasion commensurate with its impor- tance. The first thing to be done was to provide a place for its sessions, and to this end a new and origi- nal plan was proposed. It was to erect a building on purpose. The proposal was received with favor so universal, that by voluntary subscriptions, the bulk of which was not over ten dollars from each giver, the building was erected. It consisted of an immense au- dience room arranged like an amphitheatre, whose roof was supported by numerous upright posts. It was christened the Wigwam.
The convention was unlike any that had ever pre- ceded it. Beneath the noisy demonstrations that always accompany such gatherings, like the froth that floats upon the surface of deep waters, was a silent force, the offspring of that kind of philosophy which might be called evolutionary in its character ; a philo- sophy that accepts things for what they are worth, and not for what they appear to be ; a philosophy that sees the sublimest truths in simple formula, and beholds a di- rect road to national grandeur, unobstructed by the vagaries of partisans ; a philosophy that could be chari- table without complicity, discreet without being ex- clusive, prudent without being intolerant, conservative without a letting down of principle, and more tenacious for substance than for theory. Who could fill such a measure? Who could step into the arena impervious to the shots of envy, hatred and malice destined to be hurled against him from an old party whose long lease of power had confirmed it in its defensive measures of extreme constitutional rights?
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Convention of 1860.
Horace Greeley was then a potent force in the new party. All eyes were turned to him, and no doubt ex- ists that, had he given Mr. Seward his hearty support from the first, he would have been elected as the nomi- nee at the first balloting of the convention. Every in- fluence that the ingenuity of Mr. Seward's friends could suggest was early brought to bear upon Mr. Greeley, in his behalf, but the venerable printer was impervious to any pressure that could be brought upon him. He did not oppose Mr. Seward, but the fact that he had not advocated his cause, added to the fact that the Press and Tribune, the Journal and the Democrat, of Chi- cago, had from the first been earnest supporters of Abra- ham Lincoln as the nominee, prevented hasty action in the convention, and held back the party leaders in abeyance to public sentiment. In the hands of the latter, Mr. Lincoln's nomination was assured, for the convention dared not disobey its mandates. Besides this, the very atmosphere of Chicago was charged in his favor by a subtle and irresistible force, before which all other pretensions vanished, and when the day set for the opening of the convention arrived, an impres- sive circumspection reigned throughout the hall, and even extended its influence into the broad open air of the streets outside; for among the many thousands gathered there, were a goodly number whose maturity of intellect rose above the average mind, and leavened the whole lump with a full measure of gravity appro- priate to the occasion. The convention commenced its sittings on the 16th of May, 1860, and continued till the 19th. It was composed of 466 delegates, 234 of whom were necessary for a choice. On the third ballot Lin- coln received 354 votes, which result was announced to the audience, and loud and long continued cheers from them sufficiently vouched the action of the delegates by unmistakable signs of enthusiasm. Hannibal Ham- lin, of Maine, was nominated on the next ballot for vice-president by 367 votes. The news flew to every
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Convention of 1860.
part of the country, and the presidential campaign opened with an enthusiasm on the part of the new party, and firmness on the part of the old, never before witnessed.
The results of the republican victory which fol- lowed are sublime beyond description, and sad beyond measure, and will never be forgotten in the history of the world.
A careful study of them, while it reveals the frail- ties of over-reaching ambition on the part of those who raised their arm against the government, also reveals the unwelcome truth that posterity's teeth will be set on edge by the public debt, incurred in the inevitable war which followed. Mr. Lincoln's untarnished record in it has turned all his political enemies into friends of his measures and his memory, and convinced the world that greatness is less the result of notoriety than nat- ural good sense. The creatures of vain ambition stood appalled before his unpretentious power, that with a simple helm overturned the work of the forum, and de- molished whatever stood in the way of the sense of the nation, of which he was the faithful representative.
His life and his death were an ever living proof that justice is the only thing that can save a nation in times of peril, and his exemplary administration of public affairs has made it possible for historians to write his eulogy without being accused of partisanship.
No president of the United States should come short of this high standard of statesmanship which, if universally practiced, would be a safeguard against the disgraces of partisan strategy and the dangers of dis- union, as well as the moody discontents of anarchy. Simple justice is all the people want, in default of which revolution, sooner or later, will bring it with fearful retribution for future contentions.
That Mr. Lincoln's administration was statesman- like and not partisan, is demonstrated by the fact that at his untimely death, one of the best representatives
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Convention of 1860.
of the southern confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens, said: "That is the heaviest blow the south has yet received."
Had his life been spared, it is fair to assume that the problem of reconstruction would have received a magnanimous solution more consistent with political economy than was possible without his counsels. He who knew how to improvise useful material to build up his own cause out of those opposed to him, might have turned the popular tide of the south after the war in favor of the Union by those modifying arts that melted away opposition to the forms of law and order which he had reduced to simple elements. As an example of his easy way of overcoming opposition, the following circumstance, which has never before been made pub- lic, is here related. When Mr. Lincoln was in a quan- dary as to whom he should give the chief command of the Union forces, he consulted an old friend on the im- portant matter, and while conferring together, Mr. Lincoln proposed to give the chief command of the Union forces to Douglas, on the ground that his indom- itable energy and superior capacity would insure suc- cess against the foe, and convert enemies in the north into friends. This measure was opposed by the adviser of Mr. Lincoln, on the ground that if successful, Mr. Douglas might use his prestige in a spirit of rivalry against the administration. This consideration had no weight with Mr. Lincoln, who still favored the promo- tion of Mr. Douglas to the position.
Seeing he could not turn his purposes, his adviser admonished him of the fact that, inasmuch as Mr. Douglas was then dangerously sick at Chicago, it would be prudent to wait till he had recovered before appoint- ing him to the position, lest in the event of his death, the friends of Mr. Douglas would say that an empty honor had been conferred upon him, which it was cer- tain he never could live to enjoy. This consideration had its desired effect, and Mr. Lincoln concluded to let
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Convention of 1860.
the appointment rest, to await the result of Mr. Doug- las' sickness. Within two weeks from that time he died .*
There may be some at this time who honestly dep- recate the war, and aver that the national debt will entail more evils upon the white race than can be com- pensated by the liberation of the colored race ; but even these do not censure Mr. Lincoln, or hold him responsible for any national griefs, for by his own record he is shown to have been willing to save the Union, either with or without slavery, and his tardy issue of the emancipation proclamation till it became a sine qua non, as to public confidence in the ability of the north to conquer the rebellion, sufficiently demon- strated his broad national conservatism, as well as his fidelity to the Union. Such a happy combination of all the statesmanlike qualities so necessary to guide the tangled mazes of our civil war, could not have grown into being under New England culture ; not but what she had men superior to Mr. Lincoln in any one gift, but in vain may we look there for those matchless virtues, which western pioneer training, western broad gauge statesmanship and universal good fellow- ship has added to their already munificent inheritances from the east, and for which an everlasting debt of obligation is due her.
The west is the child of the east, and as the parent in the maturity of age takes pride in the transcendent genius of a son, so the east beholds the zenith of im- perial power graduating westward as new fields for national grandeur are unfolded in that direction, quickening into activity generous purposes, in propor- tion to her accumulating resources.
*The authority for this is a statesman living, whose advanced years are his apology for not allowing his name to appear, lest it might subject him to inquisitive interviewing. He says, however, that if necessary to sustain the veracity of the writer he will waive the objections and give his name to the public as voucher for the statement. [The Hon. Ebenezer Peck was the gentleman to whom the author was indebted for this information. His death having removed the injunction, his personality may now be disclosed .- RU- FUS BLANCHARD, Chicago, June, 1900.]
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Convention of 1860.
Mr. Lincoln was the incarnate type and model of the combined virtues of the western citizen ; and where on the face of the great world of progress can his equal be found, in his full rounded up character, defi- cient in nothing which could bring strength to the nation by securing the services of the working bees, and not the drones, in its great hive of industry?
Both of the Napoleons have made their mistakes, plain to be seen by all, for which they have paid the penalty. Cromwell's rule with all its grandeur, if blended with Lincoln's charity, would have secured the full indorsement of the Massachusetts colony (which it never received), and would have warded off the recoil, which, at his death, replaced the old dynasty. Bismarck, for want of Lincoln's charity, has of late entangled Germany in a threatening religious issue, besides having challenged a hostile antagonism in France, that cost the nation millions annually to de- fend themselves against.
The policy by which even wise England conquered Napoleon at the expense of their national debt,* has long since been acknowledged by her best statesmen to have been a mistake, and it is not too much to say, would never have had place, if the conservatism of Abraham Lincoln had prevailed in the English parlia- ment at the time. By comparing notes with the world, while we as frontierers can make but a pitiful show in
*As a proof of this the following extract from a letter from Rt. Hon. John Bright, member of parliament from Birmingham, to the author, is quoted. It is dated One Ash, Rockdale, April 8, 1880.
" As to the wisdom of parliament at the end of the last and the beginning of the present century, I suspect there was no such thing as wisdom in those times in the British parliament, or in the councils of the king. And now the time is past, and little good can come from the discussion of the good or bad of what parliament then did."
The author agrees with the distinguished British statesman that no good can come from discussing the above question. But an allu- sion is here made to it by way of comparing notes between the pol- icy of England and America in the contracting of their respective national debts, and the author takes this occasion to thank his honor- able correspondent for the frank expression of his opinion as above, though it censures the past policy of his government. Not every American statesman would be equally ingenuous.
121
Convention of 1860.
science or art, yet in that kind of natural good sense which our conditions have introduced into political economy, we have claims worthy of consideration ; and it is not too much to say that the genius of Lin- coln, as the representative of them, has crowned the west with imperishable laurels. It has also proven the elastic tenacity of the west, a bond essential to the preservation of the Union in times of peril, and Chicago to be the pivot on which the hinge turns. Under this responsibility the City of the Lakes rests in her majesty of power, not to be challenged, but utilized in the great fraternity of states, to which Chicago extends her right hand in that broad gauge spirit of good fel- lowship, for which she has a high reputation.
Reckless partisan leaders have no hand in this fel- lowship. The general interests of the country are the last things they care for, for they live on the offal of venality, and in proportion as political vices accumu- late, their services are in demand to carry them, like millstones about their necks, till corruption has reached the limit which the good sense of the nation will bear. Then comes the recoil. New men and new measures are brought to the front in the more forcible but less noisy strength of justice. Strong vices stimu- late into life equally strong virtues, to repair spolia- tion, and in no place in the country can these virtues find an equally available field for action, as in the great center whose relations and associations are divided and shared from every direction, and whose charities are broadened into a national conservatism too flexible to be severed, and too tenacious to be conquered. Such is now the proud position of the great northwest in years that have passed. And let it never be forgotten that she is the cradle of the new national policy, which every American citizen now indorses, and that this policy was the fruitage of the broad fields for agricult- ure that nature so invitingly spread for free labor in the west, outrivaling the time serving policy of slave
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Convention of 1860.
labor, and changing petty partisan disputes in our national councils into grander issues, more worthy the minds of American citizens.
With truth it may be said that the issues that di- vided the country into two nearly equal parts before this convention divide it no longer. What at least one political party then considered only a side issue, every political party now looks upon as a national issue, involving vital principles of public policy, now settled on the only permanent basis which "manifest
ALincoln
destiny" pointed out. Viewed as such, it becomes a legitimate theme for the historian, and if left out of history, the treatment of all or any other points on political history would be in vain.
Next to the question of slavery the question whether we are a solid nation, or a confederacy of states whose integrity is subject to the caprices of any single one, has been settled.
The political history of the United States would be incomplete without a record of those events which
123
The Anti-Slavery Agitation in Illinois.
gave birth to a new party whose power transcended the two parties who had ruled the policy of the coun- try, in a conservative spirit, ever since the downfall of the old federal party.
Mr. Washburne drove the entering wedge of disin- tegration into the most dominant of these parties, and made a chasm into which the republican party entered, and evolutionized the policy of the nation. Mr. East- man has made a record of it, true to the facts, and it will enhance the value of this record to give a brief
sketch of the lives of both. Elihu Benjamin Wash- burne was born in Livermore, Me., September 25, 1816. His grandfather, Israel, descended from Francis Cook, one of the "Mayflower" colonists of 1620, was an officer in the American revolution. He may be called a self- made man, his education having been begun on the broad face of nature on his father's farm. His first introduction before the public was through the columns of the Kennebec Journal as an editor. Soon afterward he entered a law school at Harvard, and began the practice of law in 1840.
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