History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 36

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 36

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" Resolved, That the whole people of the United States be and they are hereby invited to send delegates to the contem- plated convention, and that the hospitalities of this city are hereby cordially proffered to all such as may honor us by their attendance."

The preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted.

On the 11th of June the chairman announced the following as the committee of twenty-five under the resolution :

Mcssrs. L. M. Kennett, Thomas Allen, Thomas B. Hudson, M. Tarver, Henry Kayser, A. B. Chambers, R. Phillips, John O'Fallon, Edward Walsh, John F. Darby, J. M. Field, L. V. Bogy, G. K. Budd, N. R.

Cormany, John Loughborough, Charles G. Ramsey, Joseph C. Meyer, John Withnell, George L. Lack- land, J. B. Brant, Thomas D. Ycats, Samuel Gaty, O. D. Filley, A. Olshausen, and V. Staley.

At a meeting of the committee held on June 14th the following sub-committees werc appointed :

Committee on address to the people of the United States, Thomas Allen, Thomas B. Hudson, M. Tarver, Henry Kayser, V. Staley ; committee on invitation and correspondence, A. B. Chambers, R. Phillips, John O'Fallon, Edward Walsh, John F. Darby ; committee on publication, M. Tarver, J. M. Ficld, L. V. Bogy, George K. Budd, N. R. Cormany ; committee on statis- tics of convention, John Loughborough, Charles G. Ramsey, J. C. Meyer, John Withnell, George L. Lack- land ; committee on finance, J. B. Brant, Thomas D. Yates, Samuel Gaty, O. D. Filley, A. Olshausen.

The prevalence of the cholera as an epidemic for a time interrupted the action of the committee, but at an adjourned meeting of the citizens, held in Sep- tember, 1849, it was reported by the chairman of the committee that two thousand copies of the address from the pen of Thomas Allen had been printed and freely circulated, and all proper steps taken for calling together a convention to be held on the 15th of Octo- ber, 1849.

The address was an able presentation of the argu- ments in favor of the enterprise, and one of the strik- ing theories advanced was that which advocated the national character of the work.

"But, on the other hand," wrote Mr. Allen, " if we fail to make this road, and California and Oregon remain without any practicable or convenient connection with the old States of the Union, who can doubt that a new republic will grow up on the shores of the Pacific which would perhaps become independent of the Union, and obtain a supremacy of their own upon an occan favorable to steam navigation, and the very homc of the trade with Asia ? The whale fishery, the present American trade with China, the Pacific Islands, and the northwest coast, would be shared, if not monopolized, by the new republic. The central authority would find their power over a people so remote to be feeble and insufficient. With great mineral wealth in their pos- session, with a trade before them which has been the cynosure of commercial nations during the whole Christian era, and the experience and energy of the racc whence they derive their origin, who can doubt their future power and progress in com- plete independence of all other nations ?

"The true policy of our government and country, therefore, in reference to this subject is apparent. The great importance and absolute necessity of this communication across the conti- nent, by railway and telegraph, must be appreciated. We confidently trust that it will be carried out, by national means and authority, as one of the most powerful auxiliarics to the integrity and perpetuity of the Union, and to the mission of our country in promoting and extending the influence of the noble cause of eivil and religious liberty, civilization and humanity.

"What we want is a central highway that shall be most uscful and most acceptable to all parts of our country. Nor

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can we anticipate any dispute as to power, inasmuch as the route will lie entirely through the territory of the United States, concerning which Congress have power to make all needful rules and regulations ; and if it be expedient or neces- sary to enter the limits of a State, the right of way is already granted. To the eastern frontier of that territory, we have as- surance that the electric telegraph will be constructed during the present year, and to the same frontier, railroad lines are already projected, or in operation, within the limits of the States."

The address concluded as follows :

"We therefore respectfully invite delegates from every State and Territory of the nation. Laying aside for the moment party and private engagements, we bespeak from all parties a day in union for the general good. We ask every district to send its representatives, that we may have them from the mountains and from the plains, from the cities and from the country, from the hills of New England and from the savannas of Georgia ; that they will come to us from the north and the south, from the east, and even from the west, pouring in upon us by all the numerous avenues of conveyance which converge at this point, so that the hospitality of St. Louis shall rejoice in the fullest exercise and enjoyment of its means, and that a quickening voice may go forthı from the assembled mass that shall give to the great measure of American progress assurance of its triumph."

At the adjourned meeting of the citizens, held on the first Monday in September, 1849, Mayor Barry called the meeting to order, and requested the same officers selected at the mass-meeting to serve with him, viz. : vice-presidents, Col. John O'Fallon, David Chambers, and A. R. McNair; Richard Phillips and A. B. Chambers, secretaries.

The mayor then explaincd the objects for which the adjourned meeting was held.

On the suggestion of Judge Krum, A. A. King, Governor of the State, being present, was invited and took a seat with the chairman and vice-presidents.

The proceedings of the mass-meeting held on the 4th of June were then rcad.

L. M. Kennett, from the committee of twenty-five, reported an abstract of the meetings and proceedings of the committee, and the following resolutions, which were accepted :

" Resolved, That a committee of arrangements consisting of twenty be selected by the chairman of this meeting, to provide a suitable place for holding the convention of the 15th of Octo- ber, and to take all necessary measures for its comfort and accommodation whilst in session.

" Resolved, That the chairman appoint a committee of recep- tion, also to consist of twenty, to procure the names of delegates as they arrive, and see that they are suitably provided for.

" Resolved, That a finance committee, consisting of three members from each ward of the city, be appointed to collect sub- scriptions to defray the expenses of the convention, as the ap- propriations made by the City Council and county court are insufficient for that purpose.

" Resolved, That fifty delegates to attend the convention, twenty from the county and thirty from the city (five from each ward), be now selected, the names to be proposed by the chair- man and passed upon by the meeting."

The resolutions were adopted unanimously.

On motion of Judge Bowlin it was resolved that the committee of twenty-five appointed by the mass-meeting on the 4th of June be added to the delegation from the city and county, and requested to take seats as delegates from the city and county.

The chairman then announced the following names of the committees and delegates, which were adopted :

Committee of Arrangements .- Thornton Grimsley, Charles Keemle, J. B. Sarpy, A. S. Smyth, James Magehan, J. H. Alexander, Wait Barton, John M. Wimer, John Leach, C. Pullis, C. L. Hunt, P. A. Berthold, Louis Beach, George K. McGunnegle, Samuel Hawken, Patrick Gorman, John McNeil, Ed- ward Brooks, Hiram Shaw, Oliver D. Filley.

Committee of Reception .- James E. Yeatman, J. B. Crockett, D. D. Page, C. M. Valleau, George Ma- guire, Matthias Steitz, R. M. Reuick, T. T. Gantt, Luther C. Clark, Thomas O'Flaherty, William G. Clark, James M. Hughes, William Bennett, R. C. McAllister, J. A. Brownlee, L. A. Labcaume, Mann Butler, Sr., Bryan Mullanphy, J. A. Durkan.

Committee of Finance .- First Ward, John Dunn, John C. Dagenhart, Ezra O. English ; Second Ward, Michael S. Cerré, J. P. Thomas, Patrick Walsh ; Third Ward, William H. Pococke, Michael Kelley, H. D. Bacon ; Fourth Ward, H. L. Patterson, J. B. Carson, Theron Barnum ; Fifth Ward, J. T. Swear- ingen, George Plant, Isaac T. Grecn ; Sixth Ward, Isaac L. Sturgeon, Nathaniel Childs, Jr., Reuben B. Austin.

Delegates. - First Ward, R. S. Blennerhassett, David B. Hill, Edward Haren, William R. Price, D. D. Mitchell; Second Ward, George R. Taylor, Archibald Gamble, Wilson Primm, John G. Shelton, Mann Butler, Jr. ; Third Ward, Edward Bates, Henry S. Geyer, A. L. Mills, Bernard Pratte, Samuel Treat ; Fourth Ward, James H. Lucas, William Robb, John M. Krum, G. B. Allen, John Howe; Fifth Ward, Alexander Hamilton, Trusten Polk, John B. Gibson, Robert Cathcart, Archibald Carr ; Sixth Ward, Henry Holmes, T. M. Post, J. T. Swearingen, Isaac H. Sturgeon, Calvin Case; County, John K. Walker, James H. Castello, Gcerge M. Moore, Frederick Hyatt, William F. Berry, Henry Walton, James Sut- ton, James McDonald, Hamilton R. Gamble, Alton Long, Judge Higgins, Henry Mccullough, John B. Bogert, Peregrine Tippett, Zeno Mackey, John Sap- ington, Peter D. Barada, William Milburn, H. M. Shreve, G. W. Goode.

At the call of the meeting, Governor King briefly responded, expressing his entire approbation of the ob- jects and purposes of the meeting. He regarded them

1146

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

as feasible, practicable, and within the powers and energics of the nation. The object was one not partial to the State or nation, but interested the civilized world. All the energics and assistance which he could bring to the furtherance of the proposed work he cheerfully promised to give.

At subsequent periods several meetings of the citi- zens were held, and suitable arrangements made for holding the convention, and for the aeeommodation of the delegates attending from a distance.

The convention, which consisted of delegates from the several States, assembled in St. Louis on Monday, the 15th of October, 1849.

At twelve o'clock the delegates assembled in the rotunda of the court-house, and on motion of Col. Thornton Grimsley, of St. Louis, Hon. A. T. Ellis, of Indiana, was called to the chair as president of the convention pro tempore.

Mr. Ellis thanked the convention for the honor conferred upon him. Before proceeding to business, he requested that the Rev. Bishop Hawks offer a prayer.

Bishop Hawks thereupon rose, and made a brief and eloquent address, in which he adverted to the rapid growth, prosperity, and influence of the nation among the people of the earth, and the grand project contemplated by the assembling of the convention, and prayed that in their consultations harmony of action and unity of purpose might prevail, and that their proceedings might redound in much good to the country, and to the glory of the Most High.

Upon a call of the several States it appcared that delegates were present from the States of Missouri,1 Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, and Tennessce.

On Tuesday the committec appointed to select offi- cers for the permanent organization of the convention, and to recommend rules for the government of its de- libcrations, reported that they had agreed to recom- mend for president, Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, of

Illinois ; for vice-presidents, W. L. Totten, of Penn- sylvania ; Samuel Forrer, of Ohio; Samuel Emison, of Indiana; Henry J. Eastin, of Kentucky ; Hon. Joseph Williams, of Iowa ; Charles Bracken, of Wis. consin ; Henry S. Geyer, of Missouri ; John Biddle, of Michigan; Amherst K. Williams, of New York ; Hon. W. B. Scates, of Illinois ; for secretaries, A. B. Chambers, of Missouri; W. H. Wallace, of Iowa; A. S. Mitchell, of Kentucky; W. G. Minor, of Mis- souri ; T. A. Stuart, of Illinois.

The report of the committee was approved, and the president, Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, was conducted to the ehair.

A committee of three from each State represented was appointed by the chair to report resolutions for the consideration of the convention, as follows :

Iowa .- V. P. Van Antwerp, G. H. Walworth, William Thompson.

Tennessee .- Le Roy Pope, Jr., E. J. Carroll, George W. Smith.

Kentucky .- H. J. Eastin, A. S. Mitchell, James Harper.

Pennsylvania .- George Darsie, Charles Naylor, J. H. Reed.

Wisconsin .- Charles Bracken, J. R. Murray, Ed- ward Vaughers.

Illinois .- Richard Bond, William B. Warren, Thomas Hayne.

Indiana .- Albert S. White, R. W. Thompson, A. T. Ellis.

Michigan .- John Biddle.

Louisiana .- Charles C. Lathrop.

New York .- Amherst R. Williams.

Missouri .- A. A. King, J. Loughborough, T. B. English.

Ohio .- D. W. Deshler, J. H. Sullivan, Henry Stoddard.

On Wednesday the chair announced the following gentlemen as having been appointed, in aeeordance with the aetion of the convention, to constitute the committee to memorialize Congress : W. F. Bowden, of Wisconsin ; A. K. Williams, of New York; Charles Naylor, of Pennsylvania ; J. F. Maury, of Virginia ; John G. Low, of Ohio; G. W. Lincoln, of Tennessee ; O. H. Smith, of Indiana; W. S. Wait, of Illinois ; John Biddle, of Michigan ; James Clark, of Iowa; Thomas Allen, of Missouri; Basil Duke, of Ken- tueky ; C. C. Lathrop, of Louisiana; Robert Cham- bers, of New Jersey.

Henry Stoddard, of Ohio, from the committee ap- pointed to draft resolutions for the consideration of the convention, submitted the following, which were read :

1 St. Louis Delegation .- Same as above stated, with the addi- tion of the following :

Dr. Prout, Hugh Garland, William M. McPherson, Miron Leslie, John Barnes, L. A. Labeaume, R. S. Elliott, Dr. Penn, F. M. Haight, M. Blair, L. M. Kennett, Thomas Allen, Thomas B. Hudson, M. Tarver, Henry Kayser, A. B. Chambers, R. Phillips, John O'Fallon, Edward Walsh, John F. Darby, J. M. Field, G. K. Budd, N. R. Cormany, John Loughborough, Charles G. Ramsey, John B. Meyer, John Withnell, George L. Lackland, T. T. Gantt, Thomas D. Yeats, Samuel Gaty, O. D. Filley, A. Olshausen, V. Staley, James G. Barry.

Ste. Genevieve .- Lewis V. Bogy, August St. Gemme, Felix St. Gemme, F. Vallé, Gustave St. James.

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"1. Resolved, That this convention is, in its spirit and object, strictly national, having no party, no sectional, no local inter- ests to serve or promote, but having at heart the interests of the whole country.

"2. Resolved, That it is the duty of the Congress of the United States to make immediate provision for the construction of a great trunk railroad to the Pacific Ocean, in California, with a branch road to Oregon, from such point in the Missis- sippi valley or on the frontier of the States as may be found from examination and surveys to be most eligible and conve- nient, with reference to the existing and prospective state of the country and the population and convenience of the whole Union, and that it should be diligently prosecuted by the Fed- eral government.

"3. Resolved, That the various lines of railway now either com- plete or under process of construction from Savannah, Charles- ton, Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, tending to and connecting with the Mississippi valley, are only parts of the great whole which the general government is asked to consummate by the Mississippi and Pacific Railway, and that these Eastern connections now being prepared for it, by uniting all interests, guarantee the perfect nationality of this work.

"4. Resolved, That, as an important means necessary and preliminary to the construction of such railroad, it is the first duty of the American Congress, immediately upon its assem- bling together, to make provision for the establishment of mili- tary posts from the western confines of our Western States to the Pacific Ocean, and these posts should be established numer- ously in all proper places, not far distant from each other, and that civilized and productive settlements should be encouraged around them by liberal sales or grants of the public lands, by extending ample protection to the settlers and to the transport of their stores and merchandise, etc., so that by these means full opportunities may be afforded to our topographical engi- neers for the immediate reconnoissance and survey of our vast possessions reaching to the Pacific, and one or more practical roads, with facilities of travel, be immediately formed for our citizens across our own Territories from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific shores.

" 5. Resolved, That the Congress of the United States be me- morialized to construct, or authorize the construction of, a national line of telegraph along the route which may be deter- mined upon by national authority for the great railway to the Pacific.

"6. Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the president of this convention to prepare and publish an address to the people of the United States urging their co-operation in procuring such action on the part of Congress as may be neces- sary to carry out the views of this convention."

Hon. R. W. Thompson, of Indiana, then addressed the convention at length, and concluded by submit- ting the following resolutions in lieu of those reported by the committee :

" Resolved, That in the opinion of this convention it is the duty of the general government to provide at an early period for the construction of a central national railroad from the valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean.

" Resolved, That in the opinion of this convention a grand trunk railroad, with branches to St. Louis, Memphis, and Chi- cago, would be such a central and national one.

" Resolved, That a committee be appointed to communicate to the convention to be held at Memphis the foregoing reso- lutions, and to request the concurrence of said convention therein."

The resolutions offered by Mr. Thompson were carried by almost an unanimous vote.

Hon. Charles Naylor, of Pennsylvania, then ad- dressed the convention.

A communication was received from the delegates from Memphis, Tenn., tendering to the convention an invitation to be present at and participate in the de- liberations of the National Pacific Railroad Conven- tion, which was to meet in Memphis, October 23d.

The invitation was signed by George W. Smith, Edward J. Carroll, L. Pope, Jr., W. T. Avery, E. Hickman, A. S. Caldwell, Samuel Vance, Miles Owen.

It was moved by Hon. J. H. Burch that the com- mittee to communicate the resolutions of the St. Louis convention to the convention to meet on the 23d instant at Memphis be composed of fifty persons, and that Hon. R. W. Thompson, of Indiana, be chair- man of that committee, which motion was adopted.

The following is a copy of the memorial prepared by the committee appointed for that purpose and forwarded to Congress :

" To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled :

" The memorial of the subscribers, members of a committee appointed at a meeting of numerous delegates assembled from fifteen States of the Union, held at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, on the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth days of October last, respectfully represents

" That your memorialists were instructed by said assembly 'to draft a memorial to Congress, presenting the objects and desires of the convention.'

"Your memorialists, therefore, respectfully beg leave to in- vite the attention of your honorable bodies to the published call of said convention, to its proceedings, and to the address to the people of the United States issued under its authority, as furnishing the best evidence in the possession of your me- morialists of the 'objects and desires of the convention,' all of which are hereto annexed, marked respectively A, B, and C.

" Your honorable bodies will readily perceive, by reference to these papers, that the objects and desires of the convention embrace the construction of a national railroad, electric telegraph, and a line of military posts across the central parts of the continent, from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

"That these objects are held to be of national importance and of high necessity, and that they ought to be accomplished by the means and authority of the government of the United States at an early day.

"Your memorialists, in behalf of said convention, therefore, respectfully pray that immediate measures may be taken by your honorable bodies for the location and construction of this national railroad and telegraphı; and in thus praying, your memorialists believe they are but asking your honorable bodies to promote and perpetuate social, commercial, and political inter- course with our regions in the interior and upon the Pacific Ocean, to render them readily and easily accessible to the whole people of the Union, and to the government itself, and to con- firm and strengthen the Union of these States.

" And your memorialists beg leave to call the earnest atten- tion of your honorable bodies to the actual present and proba- ble future condition of affairs in the West. By the treaty of peace with Mexico the territorial property and domain of the

1148

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

nation have been immensely extended, as well in tho interior of the continent as upon the shores of tho Pacific. The flag of the United States now waves among remote tribes and people who havo hitherto been accustomed to feeble masters and to compar- ative freedom from the restraints of civilized government. These people and trihes are to fecl the power of a new govern- ment; peace is to be maintained among them; the emigrants from the older States are to be protected; a largely-extended soa-coast is to be fortified against the dangers of foreign enemies, and we would respectfully submit whether a cheaper or more efficient provision for national defense and internal peace and union, in respect to the Territories and embryo States of the West, can be executed or devised than this railroad and tele- graph, extending from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. And in this connection, and as a preliminary step in the process of constructing this great work, and as an impor- tant means of repressing Indian depredations, murders, and wars, your memorialists pray that your honorable bodies may, without unnecessary delay, cstablish the line of military posts recommended by the convention, and more particularly alluded to in this address.

" Nor is the general subject, in the opinion of your memorial- ists, unworthy of your serious consideration, viewed as a means of increasing the national wealth. Compare the Pacific Rail- road as a medium of trade with the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers, and the branches which will ultimately project from it, with the tributaries of those noble streams, and no true estimate can be made of its value. Experienco has demonstrated that in all parts of the United States the enhanced value of land, through districts comparatively sterile or unproductive, far ex- ceeds the cost of the railroads which have rendered them ac- cessible to market. With the unequaled advantages to be afforded hy the Pacific Railroad, would not the territory to be traversed hy it immediately become nearly as valuable as the most eligible agricultural districts of the United States, whilst as it now lies it must remain comparatively useless? In this, therefore, would be a creation of value far exceeding the cost of the work at the highest estimation. And as a commercial link, bringing Europe and Asia into contact through the heart of our North American continent, and becoming the greatest common carrier of the world,-our own country, the half-way house upon the highway of nations,-your memorialists respectfully ask your honorable bodies to consider the immense consequences which will result from it beneficially to our country.

" And your memorialists, in conclusion, pray that the national bearing and importance of the subject may secure for it the favorable consideration of enlightened statesmanship and pa- triotism, and that it may be viewed and always held above the prejudices of party and aloof from the machinations of sec- tional interest.

" And your memorialists will ever pray, etc.

" THOMAS ALLEN, of Missouri.

"W. S. WAIT, of Illinois.

"W. F. BOWDEN, of Wisconsin.

" A. K. WILLIAMS, of New York.

" CHARLES NAYLOR, of Pennsylvania.

" M. F. MAURY, of Virginia. "JOHN G. Low, of Ohio.

"G. W. LINCOLN, of Tennessee.

"O. H. SMITH, of Indiana.

"JOHN BIDDLE, of Michigan.

" JAMES CLARK, of Iowa. " BASIL DUKE, of Kentucky.

"C. C. LATHROP, of Louisiana.

"ROBERT CHAMBERS, of New Jersey.

"J. C. ELDER, of Maryland."

Letters approving and encouraging the scheme of a national railroad to the Pacific were received and read from Levi Woodbury, Roger Huntington, Z. Pratt, Richard M. Johnson, James G. King, John H. McHenry, Lewis Cass, J. C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, William H. Seward, Levi Hubbell, A. D. Crossmore, P. P. F. Degrand, Thomas H. Benton, Jr., Samuel Beardsley, Giles Spring, Robert M. McLane, D. S. Dickinson, J. W. Cris- field, G. W. Peter, W. L. Goggin, J. G. Chapman, John Glenn, O. G. Cates, H. B. Huntershott, James Gadsden, James Grant, Samuel R. Curtis, William Duer, J. Davis, George S. Fisher, Maunsel White, William T. Lawrence, D. Field, John M. Botts, John H. Clarke, Edwin Crosswell, Albert S. White, J. L. Martin, W. Preston, John F. Gray, A. W. Buel, John N. Niles, John G. Palfrey, Preston B. Reed, Wash- ington Hunt, W. L. Foote, J. Van Buren, W. B. Maclay, Henry O'Reilly, Benjamin F. Porter, C. F. Keener, Chauncey P. Holcomb, William Woodbridge, and F. Tiernan.

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 36

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358