USA > Kansas > Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Volume II > Part 64
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Through the efforts of the commission the freight rates on the nat- ural resources of the state have been reduced, and thus the mining and manufacturing interests have been stimulated. This applies especially to the salt and coal producing cities of Kansas, and in a marked degree to the cities of large milling industries. Another advantage of the com- mission which has greatly benefited the public, is the quick settlement of complaints made against the companies. Months and even years of delay occurred before the creation of the commission. In cases where claims of damages could not be properly brought before the commission they were adjusted through its members, as individuals, and were generally satisfactory to both parties concerned. As a result of the action taken from the start the commission has enjoyed the con- fidence of both the people and the railway companies. The greatest usefulness of the commission lies in its power to supervise the rates, which are flexible, and adjusted to the constantly changing conditions. Statutory regulation of rates would never prove satisfactory, for in many cases by the time the law became effective the conditions under which it was enacted would have changed or ceased to exist, and thus injury would result to road or patrons. Not only did the board regu- late rates within the boundaries of the state, but it could also control an undue multiplication of roads and the extension of those already in existence. From the first Kansas avoided ultra measures and the con- servative policy introduced by the commissioners has been adhered to and has led to increased confidence of the people, and a more friendly feeling between the railroads and their patrons. In 1911 the railroad commission was converted into the "Board of Public Utilities" by an act of the legislature. (See Stubbs' Administration.)
Railroads .- At the time Kansas was organized as a territory in 1854 the means of transportation west of the Mississippi river were extremely limited. Immigrants came by water from St. Louis to what is now Kansas City, from which point the trip westward toward the interior of the state had to be made with wagons, over a country where even wagon roads had not yet been established. Under these conditions the question of better transportation facilities was one which early engaged the attention of the Kansas pioneers.
In 1834, twenty years before the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Dr. Samuel K. Barlow of Massachusetts advocated the building of a railroad through the western country which he had just visited.
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Three years later Dr. Hartwell Carver, in a communication to the New York Courier and Inquirer, suggested a railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific coast, if possible, and at any rate to the head of naviga- tion on the Columbia river. But the public was not yet ready to accept the scheme as feasible and laughed at the idea of a railroad across the continent. In fact, many people looked upon steam rail- roads as impracticable and an innovation unworthy of adoption by any civilized community. In 1828, only nine years before Carver wrote the article mentioned, the school board of Lancaster, Ohio, replied as follows to some young men who asked for the use of the school house in which they desired to debate the railroad problem :
"You are welcome to the use of the school house to debate all proper questions in, but such things as railroads and telegraphs are impossi- bilities and rank infidelity. There is nothing in the Word of God about them. If God had designed that His intelligent creatures should travel at the frightful speed of 15 miles an hour, by steam, He would clearly have foretold it through His holy prophets. It is a device of Satan to lead immortal souls down to hell."
Notwithstanding the attitude of opposition, Dr. Carver went to Wash- ington to try to interest Congress in the subject of a trans-continental railway. There he met Asa Whitney, a New York merchant who had a large trade with China, and who was desirous of finding a shorter route to the Orient. But Congress was not yet ready to act on a proposition of such magnitude. Again in 1845 Whitney presented a memorial to Congress asking for a donation of a tract of land 60 miles wide from the west shore of Lake Michigan to the Pacific ocean, through the corner of which he and his associates would build a rail- road and remunerate themselves through the sale of the lands on either side. Whitney was regarded as a speculator, but he continued his efforts to awaken the people to the importance of his project, and even influenced the legislatures of twenty states to indorse his plans. From 1853 to 1861 exploring surveys were made under the direction of Gen. G. M. Dodge, who says in his report:
"The first private survey and exploration of the Pacific railroad was caused by the failure of the Mississippi & Missouri (now the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific) to complete its project. The men who put their money into that enterprise conceived the idea of working up a scheme west of Iowa that would be an inducement to capital to invest in carry- ing their project across Iowa to the Missouri river. They also wished to determine at what point on the Missouri the Pacific railroad would start, so as to terminate their road at that point. The explorers adopted Council Bluffs, Iowa, as that point."
On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the bill authorizing the construction of a Pacific railroad. One feature of the bill was that it empowered the president to designate the eastern terminus of the road, and after consultation with Gen. Dodge Mr. Lincoln named Council Bluffs. While this bill did not directly affect Kansas, it marked the
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beginning of a great railroad system that now operates over 1,000 miles within the state. The Union Pacific company was organized at Chicago on Sept. 2, 1862, and by the act of March 3, 1863, the government granted to the company alternate sections of land for 10 miles on each side of the road-about 3,000,000 acres in all-and authorized an issue of bonds payable in 30 years to the amount of $16,000 per mile to aid in the construction of the road.
As late as 1857 there was but one line of railroad west of the Mississippi river, extending from St. Louis to Jefferson City, Mo., a distance of 125 miles. In the meantime, however, the territorial author- ities of Kansas had not been idle in their efforts to secure the build- ing of railroad lines in the territory. The first legislature (1855) granted charters to five railroad companies, to-wit: The Kansas Cen- tral, the Southern Kansas, the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western, the Leavenworth & Lecompton, and the Kansas Valley. Among the incor- porators of the Kansas Central were John Calhoun, S. D. Lecompte, A. S. White and John Duff. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $1,000,000, and it was authorized to build a road "from any point on the Missouri to any point on the western boundary." The capital stock of the Southern Kansas was fixed at $3,000,000, and the company was given a franchise to build a road "from the Missouri state line due west of Springfield to the west line of Kansas Territory." A. J. Dorn, William J. Godfroy, James M. Linn, Joseph C. Anderson and others were named as the incorporators, and the act stipulated that work was to begin on the road within nine years. Some of the leading projectors of the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western were W. H. Russell, J. M. Alexander, S. D. Lecompte, E. H. Dennis and C. H. Grover. The authorized capital stock of the company was $5,000,000, and the road was to run "from the west bank of the Mis- souri river in 'Leavenworth to the town of Pawnee, or to some point feasible and next to the government reservation for Fort Riley, with the privilege of extending the same to the western boundary of the territory." H. D. McMeekin, John A. Halderman, R. R. Russell, Daniel Woodson, S. D. Lecompte and C. H. Grover were among the incor- porators of the Leavenworth & Lecompton road, which was to run between the points named. The capital stock was $3,000,000 and the company was authorized to take stock in the Lecompton Bridge com- pany in order to assure an entrance to the territorial capital. Work was to begin on the road within five years. The first board of direc- tors of the Kansas Valley company were Thomas Johnson, H. J. Strickler, A. J. Isaacs, Rush Elmore, John P. Wood, Johnston Lykins, Andrew McDonald, Thomas N. Stinson and Cyprian Chouteau. The capital stock was fixed at $5,000,000 and the charter provided for the construction of a line of railroad "from the western boundary line of the State of Missouri, on the south side of the Kansas or Kaw river, commencing at the western terminus of the Pacific railroad, near the mouth of the Kansas river, running up the valley of said river on the
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south bank thereof, by way of Lawrence, Benicia, Douglass, Lecomp- ton, Tecumseh, and terminating at or near the town of Pawnee."
Sixteen charters were granted to railroad companies by the legisla- ture of 1857-the second legislative session to be held in the territory. Gov. John W. Geary, Samuel J. Jones, John Calhoun, J. A. Halderman, P. T. Abell, and a number of others incorporated the Grand Central Gulf company, with a capital stock of $10,000,000 and authority to build a road from the northern to the southern boundary of the ter- ritory, to connect and cooperate with roads in Nebraska on the north and Texas on the south, thus forming a line from the interior to the coast.
The act incorporating the Marysville or Palmetto & Roseport rail- road named 13 directors, fixed the capital stock at $5,000,000, and granted the company a franchise to build a road from Marysville to Roseport in Kansas "so as to connect with the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad."
P. T. Abell and J. H. Stringfellow were the chief promoter, of the Atchison & Fort Riley company, which was granted a charter to build a road between the points named, work to begin within five years. The capital stock of this company was $1,000,000.
The Missouri River & Rocky Mountain company, with a capital stock of $1,000,000, was authorized to build a road from any point on the Missouri river between Leavenworth and Delaware City to any point on the western boundary of the territory. John Calhoun and D. A. N. Grover were at the head of this company.
The Delaware & Lecompton was incorporated by amending the act of the previous session relating to the Kansas Central, the powers, rights and privileges of the latter being transferred to the Delaware & Lecompton company, with the original incorporators and capital stock.
The Mine Hill Railroad and Mining company was incorporated with a capital stock of $5,000,000 and a franchise to begin mining or the construction of a railway within five years, but the terminals of the railroad were not definitely fixed by the act of incorporation.
A charter for the Atchison & Palmetto authorized the issue of $1,000,000 in capital stock for the purpose of building a railroad from Atchison to Palmetto "on the Big Blue river."
An amendment was made to the charter of the Leavenworth, Paw- nee & Western company, giving it the power to build a branch "be- ginning at some favorable point on the 'Leavenworth, Pawnee & West- ern and follow the most practicable route southwardly, to terminate on the southern boundary of Kansas at some point where easy connection may be had with a line of railroad extending through the Indian Ter- ritory and the State of Texas to the Gulf of Mexico."
Thomas Johnson, Johnston Lykins, John C. McCoy, David Lykins and A. M. Coffey secured a charter for a company to be known as the Eastern Kansas & Gulf Railroad company, with a capital stock of
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KANSAS HISTORY
$5,000,000 and the right to build a road from the western boundary of the State of Missouri, on the south side of the Kansas river, so as to connect at its western terminus with the Pacific railroad.
The Palermo & Lecompton, the Atchison & Lecompton, and the Prairie City & Missouri State Line companies were chartered to build lines between the points named in the respective acts of incorporation, and the last named company was also authorized to build "two branches to any point in the territory."
The Central Railroad company of Kansas received a charter at the session of 1857, to build a road from Roseport, opposite St. Joseph, Mo., southward via the Neosho valley to Galveston bay. The authorized capital stock of this company was $5,000,000, and among the incor- porators were Aristides Rodrique, Daniel Woodson, W. P. Richardson and John W. Forman.
Wilson Shannon, John Calhoun, R. R. Rees, L. J. Eastin and their associates secured a charter for the Missouri River & Nemaha Valley railroad, to run from the Missouri river in Doniphan county toward Fort Kearny, etc. The capital stock of this company was $5,000,000.
The St. Joseph & St. George company, composed mostly of citizens of Hannibal, Mo., was given a franchise to construct a road from St. Joseph to St. George on the Kansas river in Pottawatomie county, and the St. Joseph & Topeka, with a capital of $1,500,000, was authorized to construct a road "with one or more tracks," from a point on the Mis- souri river opposite St. Joseph to Topeka.
A writer in the Kansas Historical Collections (vol. ix, p. 468) says : "The volumes of territorial laws are full of charters granted to build railroads. Every town and village and scores of paper towns had rail- roads projected to run from them as initial points, while the other end of the line was located, in the imagination of the projector, at a point on the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific ocean."
A glance at the charters above mentioned shows that the principal promoters of proposed railroads during the first three years of the ter- ritorial existence of Kansas were prominent pro-slavery men-Calhoun, Woodson, Lecompte, etc .- but after the free-state party carried the elec- tion for members of the legislature in the fall of 1857 a new set of rail- road projectors came to the front. The legislature of 1858-the first one controlled by free-state men-granted charters to a number of rail- road companies, and in every instance the incorporators were members of that party.
In the act incorporating the Delaware & Lawrence company, S. B. Prentiss, C. K. Holliday, James Blood, O. E. Learnard, John Hutchin- son, E. B. Whitman, J. S. Emery, S. C. Harrington, J. W. Pennoyer, George Q. Twombly, J. A. Finley and William Hutchinson were named as the first board of directors. The capital stock of the company was placed at $1,500,000, work was to be commenced within six years and the road was to be completed within ten years from the date of the charter.
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Among the incorporators of the Kansas Central, which was also char- tered by the legislature of 1858, were Charles Robinson, J. P. Root, W. Y. Roberts and Henry J. Adams, all free-state leaders. This company. the capital stock of which was $3,000,000, was authorized to build a rail- road from the Missouri river "at or near the mouth of the Kansas to a point at or near Fort Riley."
The act incorporating the Elwood, Palermo & Fort Riley railroad named 40 incorporators, among whom were C. K. Holliday, Thomas Ewing, Jr., J. H. Lane, H. Miles Moore, J. P. Root and. A. L. Lee. The capital stock of this company was $3,000,000. Work was to be com- menced on a road between the terminals named within five years and the road was to be completed within twenty years.
The Leavenworth, Lawrence & Fort Gibson (also called the Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas) railroad received its charter on Feb. 12, 1858, authorizing the construction of a road from Leavenworth to the southern boundary, and from Lawrence to Emporia. Several years were spent in efforts to secure land grants and subsidies to aid in building the road. By the act of Congress, approved March 3, 1863, the state was given alternate sections for a distance of 10 miles on either side of a road from Leavenworth toward Galveston bay, and the legisla- ture of Kansas on Feb. 9, 1864, turned over this grant to the Leaven- worth, Lawrence & Fort Gibson company. In 1867 Douglas county voted bonds for $300,000 and Franklin county for $200,000 for the con- struction of the road. Work was commenced at Lawrence soon after these bonds were authorized, and on Jan. 1, 1868, the road was com- pleted to Ottawa. In 1871 it was finished to Coffeyville. The line is now a part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe system. The original stock of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Fort Gibson company was $2,000,000, and among the incorporators were H. J. Adams, R. B. Mitchell, G. W. Deitzler and John Speer.
Another company chartered by the legislature of 1858, and one with a high-sounding name, was the Leavenworth City, Delaware City & City of Lawrence Railroad company, with a capital stock of $1,500,000. The act named 25 incorporators, including Gaius Jenkins, M. J. Parrott, George W. Smith, George W. Deitzler and H. Miles Moore.
The charter of the Missouri River & Rocky Mountain road was amended at this session. In the list of names of the 27 incorporators of the Leavenworth, Hamlin & Nebraska railroad appear the names of H. M. Moore, J. H. Lane, Gaius Jenkins, W. Y. Roberts, J. P. Root and E. N. Morrill. The capital stock of this company was $2,000,000.
Charles Robinson, James H. Lane, M. J. Parrott, J. P. Root and their associates asked for and received a charter for a company to be known as the Missouri River Railroad company, which was authorized to build a road from the Missouri river near the mouth of the Kansas to the line between Kansas and Nebraska near Roy's ferry, via Leavenworth and Palermo. The capital stock authorized by the charter was $500,000.
The act of 1857 chartering the St. Joseph & Topeka company was
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KANSAS HISTORY
amended so that the company might increase its capital stock to $5,000,- 000 and extend its line from Topeka "to such point on the southern or western boundary of said territory, in the direction of Santa Fe, New Mex., as may be most suitable and convenient for the construction of said railroad." Authority was also granted by the supplemental act to construct a branch of said road to any point on the southern boundary of Kansas in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico.
Charles Robinson, M. J. Parrott and Robert Crozier were the incor- porators of the St. Joseph, Sumner & Lawrence Railroad company, with a capital of $2,000,000, and Parrott, Crozier and George S. Hillyer re- ceived a charter to build the Sumner, Manhattan & Fort Riley railroad, with the same rights and privileges as the St. Joseph, Sumner & Law- rence company.
C. K. Holliday, W. F. M. Arny, R. B. Mitchell, George W. Deitzler and W. A. Phillips obtained a charter to build the Topeka & Emporia railroad. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $3,000,000, and the right of way was designated as a strip of land 200 feet in width.
The Wyandotte, Minneola & Council Grove railroad was incorporated with a capital stock of $5,000,000, to build a road from Quindaro via Wyandotte, Olathe and Minneola to Council Grove, with the privilege of extending the line to the western boundary of the territory. The incorporators included Alfred Gray, George S. Park, J. P. Root and James M. Winchell.
Only four railroad companies were chartered by the legislature of 1859-the Atchison & Pike's Peak, the Lawrence & Fort Union, the Wyandotte & Osawatomie, and the Atchison & Topeka. The last named deserves more than passing mention, because it was the forerunner of the present great Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway system. Its incorporators were C. K. Holliday, S. C. Pomeroy, P. T. Abell, L. C. Challis, M. C. Dickey, Asaph Allen, Samuel Dickson, N. L. Gordon, George S. Hillyer, L. D. Bird, Jeremiah Murphy, George H. Fairchild and R. L. Crane. The original capital stock was $1,500,000, with the privilege of increasing the same from time to time, provided the increase should never exceed the amount already expended in the construction of a railroad from Atchison to Topeka, "and to the southern or western boundary in the direction of Santa Fe."
Ten railroad companies were incorporated by the territorial legis- lature of 1860. Some of the preceding legislatures had created a larger number of these corporations, but none had been quite as liberal in the matter of capital stock. Following is a list of the companies chartered by this session, with the capital stock of each: Fort Scott, Neosho & Santa Fe, $10,000,000; Iowa Point & Denver City, $2,000,000; Leaven- worth City & San Francisco, $100,000,000 ; Marysville & Denver, $5,000,- 000; Missouri River (from Wyandotte to White Cloud via Iowa Point), $2,000,000; Olathe & Southern Kansas, $3,000,000; Southern Kansas Pacific, $5,000,000; State Line, Osawatomie & Fort Union, $5,000,000; Troy & Iowa Point, $1,000,000; Topeka & Southern Kansas, amount of
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CYCLOPEDIA OF
stock not fixed by the act of incorporation. This legislature also passed acts amending the charters of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Fort Gib- son, and the Wyandotte & Osawatomie roads.
Some of the incorporators of railroad companies during the territorial era were earnest in their efforts and sincere in their desires to secure railroads for Kansas. Others, and probably the majority, were actuated by motives of speculation. Recognizing the future possibilities of rail- road building in the development of the West, they hurried to acquire charter rights through legislative enactments in the hope that, in the event they were unable to finance and construct the roads themselves, they could sell their franchises for handsome profits to companies financially able to carry out the original purposes of the charters. Nor was this condition peculiar to Kansas. During the quarter of a century prior to the Civil war, as civilization and settlement extended westward, practically every state west of New York was at some time afflicted with the craze for chartering railroad companies.
Cutler's History of Kansas (p. 241) says: "On March 20, 1860, the first iron rail on Kansas soil was laid at Elwood, Doniphan county, op- posite St. Joseph. This rail was laid on the Elwood & Marysville rail- road," etc. This was nearly five years after the first charters had been granted by the legislature, and the people were becoming anxious to see some tangible results of railroad legislation. Under these condi- tions Edmund G. Ross, editor of the Topeka Record, suggested in his paper the advisability of calling a railroad convention. The suggestion was seconded by John A. Martin of the Atchison Champion, with the result that a call for such a convention was prepared and circulated by Cyrus K. Holliday. In this movement, perhaps for the first time, the free-state and pro-slavery men acted in harmony. The call was signed by C. K. Holliday, E. G. and W. W. Ross, Wilson Shannon, P. T. Abell, B. F. Stringfellow, S. C. Pomeroy, F. G. Adams, R. M. Ruggles, C. B. Lines, Joseph A. Bartels, D. R. Anthony, C. F. de Vivaldi, J. W. Robin- son. Charles Robinson, M. F. Conway, J. H. Lane, J. M. Giffin, T. S. Huffaker, P. B. Plumb, John A. Martin, and a number of others.
The convention met at Topeka on Oct. 17, with about 125 delegates present, representing 20 counties of the territory. W. Y. Roberts was elected to preside. Among the vice-presidents were Charles Robinson, Samuel Medary, Thomas Ewing, Jr., P. T. Abell and W. F. M. Arny, and the secretaries were John A. Martin, J. F. Cummings and C. F. de Vivaldi. The principal work of the convention was the adoption of a resolution to the effect that a memorial be presented to Congress asking an appropriation of public lands to aid in the construction of railroads in Kansas as follows: I-A railroad from the western boundary of the State of Missouri, where the Osage Valley & Southern Kansas railroad terminates, westwardly via Emporia, Fremont and Council Grove, to the Fort Riley military reservation. 2-A railroad from the city of Wyandotte (connecting with the Pacific railroad) up the Kansas valley via Lawrence, Lecompton, Tecumseh, Topeka, Manhattan and the Fort Riley military reservation to the western boundary of the territory.
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3-A railroad from Lawrence to the southern boundary of Kansas, in the direction of Fort Gibson and Galveston bay. 4-A railroad from Atchison, via Topeka, through the territory in the direction of Santa Fe. 5-A railroad from Atchison to the western boundary of Kansas.
The memorial authorized by the resolution was prepared by B. F. Stringfellow and forwarded to Congress. It no doubt wielded some influence on the national legislation which followed during the next few years. In February succeeding the railroad convention, the Kansas state government was established, and the first state legislature passed an act giving to all railroad companies whose charters had not been de- clared forfeited the legal right "to hold by grant or otherwise any per- sonal or real estate," and the companies were also given two years in which to begin work upon the roads as defined in their respective char- ters. This legislation was intended to act as a stimulus to railroad con- struction, but soon after the law was passed the Civil war began and the preservation of the Union became the all-absorbing question. Even while the war was in progress, however, Congress passed the acts of July 1, 1862, March 3, 1863, and July 1 and 2, 1864, granting large tracts of lands in the West to railroad companies, and authorizing bond issues to aid in building the roads.
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