USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 44
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BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS.
lots two and three, block twenty-seven; and to erect thereon a union passenger depot on the corner of Fifteenth and Chicago Streets, to cost, including the other railway improve- ments on said grounds, not less than four hundred thousand dollars,
" Provided, the City of Omaha, in Doug- las County, Nebraska, will donate to the said Nebraska Central Railway Company two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of its four per cent. bonds, one hundred thous- and dollars thereof to be dated January 2, 1893, and one hundred and fifty thousand dollars thereof to be dated January 1, 1894, to become due and payable twenty years from their respective dates, with interest payable semi-annually, all payable at the fiscal agency of the State of Nebraska in the City of New York.
" Said bonds to be of the denomination of one thousand dollars each, and cach thereof to récite :
" ' This bond is one of a series of two hun- dred and fifty bonds of like amount and tenor, which are issued by the City of Omaha, in Douglas County, Nebraska, to the Nebraska Central Railway Company, to aid it in acquiring land in the City of Omah- for union depot and terminal purposes, and in the construction of a union railway pas- senger depot upon said ground, and its rail- way tracks, side-tracks, turnouts, switches and approaches leading thereto, and other railway improvements therewith connected.'
" Said bonds to be executed and registered at, or immediately after, the dates thereof, and immediately thereafter delivered to the First National Bank of Omaha, Nebraska, trustee, to be held in trust for delivery to the Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors or assigns, by said trustee, in in- atallments as hereinafter provided.
" The said Nebraska Central Railway Com- pany plans to construct, or cause to be con- structed, a line of railway in the State of Iowa, not less than one hundred miles in ex- tent, from the east approach of a bridge. which the said Nebraska Central Railway Company has also planned to construct over the Missouri River, intersecting or connect- ing with, or reaching, the lines of two or more of the following railway corporations. viz .:
The Illinois Central Railway Company, the Winona & Southwestern Railway Com-
pany, the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Company, the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway Company, the Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railway - Company. the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company, the Ohio & Mississippi Railway Company, the Keokuk & Western Railway Company, the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Railway Company and the lowa Central Railway Company.
One hundred thousand dollars of said bonds shall be delivered by said trustee to said Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors or assigns, when it or they shall have acquired and taken possession of that certain tract of land located within the district bounded by Fifteenth Street, Chicago Street, Eleventh Street, California Street and the right of way of the Omaha Belt Railway Company (except the south half of block thirty-eight, lots three and four, block twenty-eight, lot one, and the north half of lots two and three, block twenty-seven).
"Provided, that the said one hundred thous- and dollars of said bonds shall not be deliv- cred until after the said Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors or assigns, shall have constructed the said line of rail- way in the State of lowa.
" One hundred and fifty thousand dollars of said bonds shall be delivered by said trustee to said Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors or assigns, when it or they shall have completed the erection of a union passenger depot upon said tract of land above described, to cost, including the other railway improvements on said grounds, not less than four hundred thousand dollars. proof of such cost to be made by the sworn statement of the president and treasurer of said railway company, filed with the city clerk of Omaha, accompanied by certificate signed by the city attorney and city engi- neer that in their opinion such amount has actually been expended.
"Provided, that, if the said Nebraska Cen- tral Railway Company, its successors or as- signs, shall fail to acquire and take possess- ion of said land, it shall not be entitled to receive any part of said one hundred thous- and dollars installment of bonds; and, fur- ther provided, that none of said one hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars installment of bonds shall be delivered until at least one railway company in addition the Nebraska
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
Central Railway Company shall be actually using said union depot, and
"Provided, further, that the mayor and the city council shall, by resolution, upon the full performance of the undertakings on the part of said railway company herein contained, order the delivery of said bonds at the times aforesaid; and
" Provided further, that all matured cou- pons shall be removed and canceled by said trustee before the delivery of the bonds to which they are attached; and,
"Provided, further, that the mayor and city council of the city of Omaha shall cause to be levied on the taxable property of said city an annual tax sufficient for the payment of the interest on said coupon bonds as it becomes due, and after the expiration of ten years from the date of said bonds the mayor and city council of said city shall cause to be levied in addition to all other taxes on the taxable property of said city an amount of tax sufficient to create a sinking fund for the payment at maturity of said bonds (the amount of tax to be levied for such sinking fund not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars in any one year) ; said tax to be con- tinued from year to year until the said bonds are fully paid.
" The acquirement of the said lands and improvements herein contemplated, includ- ing the said railroad in Iowa, shall be begun within one year from May 1, 1892, and be pushed to completion without unnecessary delay, and shall be completed within three years from the first day of July, 1892.
" In case any of the terms, limitations, con- ditions or provisions proposed herein, relat- ing to the beginning, progress and comple- tion of said improvements are not complied with (unless delay is directly and necessa- rily cansed by injunction or other judicial proccedings, or by unavoidable accident or act of Providence), the said company shall not be entitled to receive said bonds, or any thereof, even though the electors of said City of Omaha shall have by their vote au- thorized the issuance of said bonds; but all right to said bonds shall by such default and without any judicial determination become forfeited.
" Provided, however, that if the begin- ning, progress or completion of said im- provements shall be delayed or obstructed by any of the aforesaid causes, the times herein allowed for the progress and completion of
said improvements shall be extended to the extent of such delay or obstruction; and. should a dispute arise between the said City of Omaha and the said Nebraska Central Railway Company with respect to the cause or extent of any such delay, the same, at the election of said Nebraska Central Railway Company, shall be referred for determination to a board of arbitrators, to be appointed as hereinafter provided.
" In consideration of receiving the pro- posed subsidy, the Nebraska Central Railway Company agrees to allow all railway com- panies the following rights: The right to run their locomotives, passenger and freight trains over its main and passing tracks within the City of Omaha; and over its pro- posed bridge and approaches, the right to use such portion of its terminal grounds, depots and facilities as may be necessary and proper for the conduct of the business of such roads, including any enlargement of its depot and depot grounds; the right to have their cars switched and delivered by the Ne- braska Central Railway Company upon all of its switch tracks; the right to connect their roads at any point within one hundred miles of said City of Omaha with any line of railway which the Nebraska Central Railway Company, or its successors or as- signs, may construct or cause to be con- structed east of the Missouri River, and to run their locomotives, passenger and freight trains over the main and passing tracks of said railroad; it being hereby agreed that in case the Nebraska Central Railway Com- pany shall construct its proposed line east of the Missouri River, through the agency of any other corporation or party, it will canse such corporation or party to execute and de- liver to the City of Omaha a good and sutli- cient instrument, binding it or him to abide by the terms, conditions and provisions of this proposition, the same as the said Ne- braska Central Railway Company would have been bound if it had built the same. before delivery of the aforesaid one hundred thousand dollar installment of bonds.
" Provided, that the use and enjoyment by such railway companies of each and every of said rights shall be upon just and equal terms and the payment of just and fair compensation to the Nebraska Central Rail- way Company, its successors or assigns, and subject to such operating rules and regula- tions of the Nebraska Central Railway Com-
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BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS.
pany, its successors or assigns, as shall be necessary and proper, just and reasonable.
" And the said Nebraska Central Railway Company will submit any dispute arising between it and such other company or com- panies, as to the use and enjoyment of any rights under this proposition, or as to the terms, compensation, operating rules and regulations relating thereto, to a board of arbitrators, to be made up of three persons who are judges of the State district court, or its successor, of the district embracing the County of Douglas, to be selected by a two- thirds vote of all the persons who are district judges of said court.
" Provided that any such railway com- pany, other than said Nebraska Central Rail- way Company, its successors or assigns, shall have the election to submit any such dispute to arbitration or to pursue any other remedy.
" Wherever arbitration is provided for by this proposition, the party desiring to sub- mit any matter to arbitration shall cause to be served upon the other party a written notice which shall set out the matter in dis- pute to be submitted, and the time proposed for the hearing, which shall not be less than thirty days after the time of service; and thereupon the adverse party shall, within twenty days after such service upon it, serve its answer, if any it have, upon the party demanding the arbitration.
" The board of arbitrators, when organ- ized, shall have power to fix the time of hearing and to adjourn the same from time to time, and to make all necessary rules and regulations for the production of testimony in the possession of either party, and otber- wise to compel a fair and speedy trial; the decision of a majority of the board shall control, and the final determination of the board shall be final and conclusive upon the parties, of all matters submitted and decided.
" Wherever arbitration shall be resorted to, such arbitration shall be the exclusive remedy of the parties (except as herein else- where provided), as to the matters and things involved and decided therein.
" Said Nebraska Central Railway Com- pany, its successors and assigns, shall trans- port freighit (including transfer of freight and all charges incidental to said transpor- tation) over any bridge and approaches, as well as over any railway it shall construct, within one hundred miles of the Missouri River within the State of Nebraska, for just 19
or reasonable rates or charges; and, in case of difference as to what constitutes just and reasonable rates or charges under this para- graph, the mayor and city council, or said railway company, may submit the same to arbitration in the manner and to the arbitra- tors above provided for; but this paragraph respecting freight charges shall not become operative or in force until five years from the date of the delivery of the last install- ment of the bonds hereinbefore referred to.
" It is further proposed that said bonds shall be delivered to the Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors or assigns, only upon the execution, by the said Ne- braska Central Railway Company,or its suc- cessors, and delivery to the city of Omalia, of an undertaking in writing to the effect that the principal depot of said railway com- pany, its general offices and principal ma- chine shops when built, shall be located and maintained within the corporate limits of the City of Omaha, and that a violation of the terms of said undertaking by the said Nebraska Central Railway Company, or its successors or assigns, shall render the said Nebraska Central Railway Company, or its successors, indebted to the said City of Omaha in the full amount of said bonds, and interest thereon.
" This proposition shall, after being duly acknowledged by the Nebraska Central Rail- way Company, be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of Douglas County, Nebraska, and, for a period of twenty years from and after this date, shall be referred to by giving the book and page wherein the same is recorded, in any mortgage, deed of trust, deed of conveyance, or lease, of said depot or depot grounds, with the statement that the said Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors and assigns, are bound by the terms. limitations, provisions and conditions of this proposition which are hereby made its covenants, that attach to, and run with, the said property into whoso- ever hands it may come.
" Provided, that the city council of the City of Omaha, the mayor approving in due form, shall enact a certain ordinance, which, at the date hereof, is pending consideration before said council, entitled, ' An ordinance granting permission and authority to the Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors and assigns, to construct railroad tracks along, across, over and under certain
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAILA.
streets and alleys in the City of Omaha, sub- ject to certain conditions, and to vacate parts of certain streets and alleys in the City of Omaha upon compliance withi cer- tain other conditions.'
" And it is also provided, that if said Ne- braska C'entral Railway Company shall not, within forty-five days of being notified by the city clerk of the adoption of this prop- osition at the election held to vote upon the same, file with the said city clerk its written ratification of this proposition, under its corporate seal, none of said bonds shall be issued, and all the terms and provisions of this proposition shall be held for naught.
" The Nebraska Central Railway Company agrees, before an election's being called, to submit to the voters of the City of Omaha this proposition : that it will execute and deliver to said city a bond, with good and sufficient sureties, in the sum of five thousand dollars, and five thousand dollars cash, conditioned upon the payment of the expenses of said election.
" This proposition and acceptance thereof by the City of Omaha, and the ratification of this proposition by said Nebraska Central Railway Company, or its successors or as- signs, as herein provided, shall be construed and understood to constitute a contract be- tween the said Nebraska Central Railway Company, its successors or assigns, and the said City of Omaha, and all the terms, con- ditions, agreements, and provisions made on the part of the Nebraska Central Railway Company in this proposition contained, are hereby made the covenants of the said Ne- braska Central Railway Company, its suc- cessors and assigns, which shall attach to and run with all of its said property, and be binding upon any party into whose hands it, or any of it, may come.
"In witness whereof the said Nebraska Central Railway Company has caused these presents to be executed, this 16th day of May, A. D. 1892.
" NEBRASKA CENTRAL RAILWAY COMPANY." Signed by J. II. Dumont, vice-president, and attested by John L. McCague, secretary,
In the proposition to the county the Ne- braska Central Railway Company " pro- poses to build a double track steel railway bridge across the Missouri River, at the loca- tion shown upon the plans for said bridge,
which has been approved by the honorable, the secretary of war of the United States, and also a double track railroad from the west approach of said bridge through the City of Omaha, to a connection with the tracks of the Union Stock Yards and Railway Company at South Omaha, and also to pro- ject a line of railway from the west ap- proach of the aforesaid bridge into the interior of the State of Nebraska, and to construct that portion thereof extending (as nearly as practicable) in a westerly direc- tion from a point on the main line of said railroad north of Mount Pleasant or Pacific Street, in the City of Omaha, Nebraska, to a point on the Little Papillion Creek in sec- tion twenty-five, township fifteen, north of range twelve, east of the sixth principal meridian, and also to construct a line of railway from a junction with the main line of said railroad near the intersection of Fourteenth Street and Izard Street, north- erly to Grace Street in said city, both of said lines or portions of railroad to be con- structed and completed simultaneously with the construction and completion of the afore- said bridge and tracks to the track of the Union Stock Yards and Railway Company at South Omaha; provided the County of Douglas will donate to the Nebraska C'en- tral Railway Company $500,000 of its four and one-half per cent. coupon bonds, dated July 1, 1892, due and payable twenty years from January 1, 1894, with interest payable semi-annually, from January 1, 1894, on the first day of January and the first day of July in each year, principal and interest payable at the fiscal agency of the State of Nebraska in the City of New York; said bonds to be of the denomination of one thousand dollars each, and each thereof to recite as follows: ' This bond is' one of a series of five hundred bonds of like amount and tenor which are issued by the County of Douglas, in the State of Nebraska, to the Nebraska Central Railway Company, to aid it in the construction of a railway bridge
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BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS.
across the Missouri River at Omaha, Ne- braska, and a double track railway from the west approach of said bridge through the City of Omaha to a connection with the tracks of the Union Stock Yards and Railway Company at South Omaha, and its side tracks, turnouts, switches and other railway improvements therewith connected;' all of said bonds, in case the issuance of said bonds be authorized by vote of the electors of Douglas County, to be executed and reg- istered on the first day of July, A. D. 1892, and to be immediately after registration de- livered to the First National Bank of Omaha, Nebraska, to be held in trust for delivery to the said Nebraska Central Railway Com- pany, its successors or assigns, in install- ments as follows:
" One-half when said bridge and its ap- proaches are completed, and the remaining one-half on the completion of said railway lines; all matured coupons to be removed from said bonds before delivery by the said trustee, who shall deliver the said bonds to the Nebraska C'entral Railway Company or its order, after the board of county commis- sioners, or its successors, shall by resolution order said trustees to make delivery thereof, which resolution shall be adopted when said bonds have been earned by said railway company as herein contemplated, but not before. The improvements herein contem- plated shall be begun within one year from the first day of May, A. D., 1892, and be pushed to completion without unnecessary delay; and not less than $500,000 shall be expended in actual construction of said bridge and railroad within a period of nine months from the commencement of said
work (said sum to include the cost of ma- terials paid for and delivered upon the ground, but not to include the cost of right- of-way or real estate), proof of said expend- itures to be filed with the board of county commissioners in the form of a sworn state- ment by the president and treasurer of said Nebraska Central Railway Company; work on said proposed improvements not to cease for a period exceeding ninety consecutive days before the expenditure of a sum not less than two million dollars has been made thereon, and all of said work shall be com- pleted and in operation within three years from and after the first day of July, 1892."
It also provides for arbitration in case of disputes, similar to that contained in the proposition to the city; for the use of its tracks and bridge at a reasonable charge by all other railroads; that the Nebraska Cen- tral Railway Company shall relinquish all claims to the $250,000 in bonds voted on the third day of December, 1889, upon the vot- ing of this subsidy.
Before the expiration of the forty-five days provided for in the proposition, the Nebraska Central Railway Company notified the city and county authorities of its accept- ance. Surveys are being made, and it now appears as though not only Omaha's eastern connections were provided for, but her ter- minal facilities settled for many years to come.
The following are the officers of the Ne- braska Central Railway Company: J. H. Dumont, president; O. M. Carter, vice- president; F. A. Nash, second vice-presi- dent and general manager; John L. Mc- Cagne, secretary; A. U. Wyman, treasurer.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE " INITIAL POINT" -THE LEGAL BATTLE - BRIDGING THE MISSOURI.
It is difficult at this time to appreciate the intense interest which was taken for many years by the people of this section, with re- spect to the " initial point" of the Union Pacific Railway. As to whether the road should be built from the west bank of the Missouri River, or from the Iowa side, was a question over which the citizens of Coun- cil Bluffs and of Omaha waged bitter war- fare for many years, the Council Bluffs people believing that if that question were decided in their favor material advantage to their city would result. In the spring of 1875 the matter finally reached a legal hearing in the United States Circuit Court, at Des Moines, Iowa, before Judge John F. Dillon, two cit- izens of Council Bluffs-Samuel E. Hall and John W. Morse-having applied to that court for a writ of mandamus to compel the railway company to operate the Missouri River bridge as a part of its line, and to make up its freight and passenger trains on that side of the river. They were repre- sented by Hon. Jolm N. Rogers, of Daven- port, Iowa, the I'nion Pacific Railway being represented by Hon. A. J. Poppleton, the citizens of Omaha taking part in the conflict and being represented by Ilon. James M. Woolworth. There were other lawyers tak- ing minor parts in the trial, but the gentle- men named bore the brunt of the fight. The case was decided by Judge Dillon in favor of the Council Bluffs interest, and was ap- pealed to the L'nited States Supreme Court by Mr. Poppleton, and was heard at the October term, 1875. A clear idea of the points involved may best be gained by quot- ing these proceedings.
Mr. Poppleton urged in the Supreme Court
hearing that the lower court had erred in hold- ing that Hall and Morse could lawfully be- come relators on behalf of the public in this suit, without the assent or direction of the attorney-general of the United States, or of the United States district attorney, for the district of Nebraska; that the court erred in holding that the lawful eastern ter- minus of the Union Pacific was on the lowa side of the Missouri River; that the court erred in holding it to be a duty obligatory upon the Union Pacific Railway to run its through freight and passenger trains to and from the lowa side of the river; that the court erred in holding that to operate said railroad and its branches as a continu- ous line is to operate said company's main trunk and each branch as a continuous line; that the court erred in holding that the fourth section of the act of Congress of March 3, 1873, is applicable to the facts appearing from the alternative writ and return thereto, and authorized and justifies the granting of the relief prayed for; that the court erred in holding the bridge, erected and maintained by the railroad company at Omaha, a part of the rail- road of said company, and that it should erect, maintain and operate the same; that tlie court erred in holding that the act of Con- gress of July 1, 1862, and the acts amenda- tory thereof, empowered the said railroad companies to build, maintain and operate a railroad within the boundaries and jurisdic- tion of the State of Iowa; and that the court erred in awarding the peremptory writ and ordering the issue of the same.
He quoted the orders of President Lincoln with respect to locating the initial point of
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