Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1847-04-29
Rail Road rIeeting.

-.sir eass Rail Road Meeting. srea
Pursuant to notice, a meeting of the citizens of
Marion county was held at the Court House on Saiur
day the 9Th inst.n -. III ,es ,sa i.ls is..t
The meeting was organized by electing the Hon.
SETON w. Norris as President. and by the appoint
ment of Geo. A. Chapman and Maj A. H. Davidson
as Secretaries. 80. -s....t. ~
The object Of the meeting being stated. DIR. Chap
man made a verbal report relative to the action Of
former meetings. also of the labors of the several
committees, and concluded BY requesting the attention
OF the meeting to the report prepared for the occasion
By DIR. j. S. Bobbs, and adopted by the committee.
Whereupon DIR. BObbs presented the following
Report. n
The committee appointed by public meeting Of
the citizens of indianapolis to collect information up
on the project of constructing a railroad from ST.
Louis to Cincinnati through this city, in discharge
of that duty respectfully report the following facts
and differences, to which they reques. the deliberate
consideration of all those interested IN its success.
The refusal Of the right of way through illinois, by
her Legislature, has induced the committee confne
their remarks to that portion Of the road extending
| from Terre Hautc to Cincinnati, not doubling, how
ever, but that IT will finally be extended to St. Louis
II has been remarked, that srailroad companies
not TO be regarded monopolies, cnriching
themselves the cost Of the community great
philanthropes, mpoverishing themselves to benefit
the public; but public and the profits
OF the company are alike to be regarded" The ad-
vantages offered by this road will be presented in this
two-fold light.
! The benefits which the construction of this road
must confer upon those living in the vicinity of its
contemplated route, in affordng them a constant,
cheap and ready access to market, an abundant sup
ply of their ordinary articles of consumption at re-
duced cost, by increasing the productiveness and
HANGING the value of their property always found to
result from similar Improvements In other places by
opening market to their timber and stone, at pres
ent almost useless to them a source of profit; In
augmcntng the value and amount of all their present,
and developing resources of wealth and in short,
completely revOutIoniZlng the country, converting
its waste places into smiling villages, and making
the hitherto uncutivated districts swell with the la
bors of industry, and the harvest of the hsbaudman,
scarcely admit of being overrated. few facts
will he adduced to assist in forming an opinion of
the aggregate value of these. Capt. Knight, after
extensive reconnaissance through this State,
tain the best route for the National Road, says in his
report to the department in 1873 the select
Cd al have passed through greater extent of
uniformly rich land than OF the rvute through India
ma. 1t is well watered, may be inferred from The
maps (accom, ,anying the report) from the esti-
mates of the bridge work. 1t rs somewhat unhealthy,
especially along the wafer courses but is less than
it has been. The country is settling rapidly and is
| in very great want of good roads. The country is
heavily timbered the whole way, except two prai
ries at the Wabash, and except where improvements
have been made.' laa
! Speaking OF the country between Indianapolis and
Richmond he proceeds, "The quality of the soil is
good-mostly very rich; principally clay, of dark
color; frequently intermixed with sand in various
/ proportions, and occasionally with sand and gravel.
The larger proportion however is clay, rich with
geable decomposition and susceptible of supporting
dense population. The forest is thick and heavy the
prevailing timber, beech, sugar tree, hickory elm,
ash, walnut, buckeye poplar, white ash. sycamore,
&C." The St. Louis and Cincinnati railway will run
parallel with the National Road throughout the State,
nd n hird Of w Ich
years ago, when the above written, still belonged
to the general government Taking the twenty counties
(Table Al along the line of the road whose trade
whole IN part must centre upon il, and whose
about equals rip twenty five miles wide either
side of the road from the eastern to the western boun
dairy of the State, they embrace about 1900 square
miles, with population 1910 of 230 O00 and which
in 1913 will be 800 QUO souls. Their assessed value of
real and personal property in 1916, $40, S62 2S4
1t embraces about 4,S00000 of land, giving IF
teen to each nhabant, and fortytwo of these to
every square mile, being probably less than one-th
of the population which it has the capacity of pros
perously sustaining. This calculation takes in no
part of Ohio.
The Cincinnati Daily Chronicle speaking of the
Mississippi basin of which this constitutes part,
says very Justly, In this vast region there is very
little space occupied by mountains. marshes or lakes,
incapable of production. Almost the whole surface
arabic. These great facts taken III connection with
its locality in the midst of the temperate Zone DETER
mine the conclusion, that this great American basin
is capable of producing more grain, and consequent
/ ly, maintaining people than any other equal
space earth. So far our cultivation has extend
ed the practical result corresponds with this theory,
deduced from geographical facts" Not TO look be-
yond the limited scope of country here desgnate ted,
whose traffic must be attracted to this great thorough
fare when completed, how vast are the advantages 10
the people destined 10 occupy IT, by the proxi-
nifty which il will establish between them and ready
market The 4,S0J.0J0 acres of land within these
limits, assessed present at average of 50 Is per
acre, would under the stimulus which would be i'm
parted by this road in calling forth the industry and
enterprise ofthe country, enhance IN value 10 al least
double its present one, in ten years, augment its an
nual productions during the same time IN similar
ratio, and swell its population equal to that OF the
whole State in 1910. And yet enhanced value of
fifty cents an acre this amount of land would re-
mburse the outlay necessary construct the road at
$4,000 mile the whole distance through the State
Again suppose the road TO be finished in lS4S, and
assume the population to increase thereafter the ratio
of ten per cent. per 100000 the amount in
1S40 and that the road shall benefit each individual
included one dollar year. from the increased price at
which he might sell the products OF the country and
the reduced al which he would purchase his sup
plies, or in any other way, this would economic an
amount in years equal to the cost of the road
above.
The advantages Of railways so striking that the
whole country is destined to be traversed with them
and as Mr.. Merrill in his last report on the Madison
and Indianapolis railroad remarks: 'Were we to
shut eyes to the great changes which railroads
effect in this country, should not in the least
obsruct their progress. They will give the first news
and the advantage of favorable turns In the market,
to those in their vicinity, and the rapdy and GER
tainty with which wants be supplied from dis
off~ fcofh