The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1851-10-29
Every Thing for Self and Nothing foc ths
Public Good.


such charactcr as to elicit but little respect for
their l:berality and public spirit. The call for
the Railroad Convention, which convened on
the 18th inss, ,'at Iowa City, although deemed by
By the exigency of the times, bat which could
DO no harm, and might do much good, met an
carly, bitter and constant opposition from the
Hawk Eye, the Telegraph and Enquirer And
it may be as well to state in this place, that it
this feeling Of opposition to railroads
and our railroad Convention, which warmed inso
life the present agitation for the improvement
of the Mississippi rapids. Had there been no.
thing said about interior railroads, Gen. Morgan
wo,s!d never thought Of spending two or three
weeks in st. Louis, manufacturing capital for
Burlington and Musca.inc, by representing to
the people Of St. Louis, thu. their doom as a
commercial city was irrctrievabiy sealed, unless
they put forth every effort for the improvement
of the rapids. This considered master
stroke for the defeat Of our railroad enterprises,
and although the object of its getters up, has
been too apparent to mislcad the most unsusprc-
ting, The friends of the Dubuque and Kcokuh,
and Davenport and Council Bluff Railroads,
have too deep an interest in the general welfare,
prosperity and improvement of the State, to
allow the mercinary object which first warmed
this Convention into life, to engender an oppo-
sition to a Just, practicable and necessary public
improvement. The settlement and growth of the
West, and the immense and rapidly increasing
business of the Upper Mississippi, demand the
immediate aid of Congress in removing the OBJ
structons to its navigation, and therefore it be-
comes the duty of every man, of enlarged and
liberal views, to hestaw his Efforts in the ac-
coniplishment of the work y 1t ifi is the de-
sign of the getters up of this Convention, to
speedily force this measure upon the attention of
Congress, for the cypress purpose Of forcing cur
railroad projects out of Congress, and finally de-
fcatng them, which seems to be apparent in the
contracted views entertained ana expressed by
our Burlington friends, it dsplaysa narrow, sell
fish and sordid economy, ana forcshadows an
early political grave for those who mage in it.
we have gone in, heart and soul, for the rapids
Convention, and we go in with the same
warmth for the Improvement But is this the
policy pursued by our Burlington ncighbors in
relation to railroads. Ne, far from it. From the
earliest agitation of our railroad projects they
have uniformly opposed them. And the time
has now come for the people to know who and
where they are. They opposed the recent rail-
road Convention at Iowa City, while at the
same time, the friends of railroad improve
ments, North and South, and East and West,
were vigorously exerting themselves in public
and private, through the journals, and in town
meetings, to conccstrate public attention to their
faYorite scheme, and aid them IN the attainment
of their object. And, notwithstanding this
glaring fact staring them full in the face, scarce
ly day passes but they are heralding forth con-
d.mnatory articles, that their neighboring CO.
tcmporarics are selfshly and penurouSly local
crowning themselves with plaudts of fulsomc
praise, that their towering genius and over
whelming public libcrality and virtue, are 50
far elevated above their obscure ne;ghbors, that
they can cncircle the State, the nation and the
world. Magnificent vanity, and thunders of ap-
plause from Burlington Not satisfied with hav-
ing opposed the Convention at Iowa City, and
contributed every effort for its defeat the Hawk
Eye has even resortcd to misrepresentation in
noticing the result of that Convention.
The last number of that sheet contains the
following:
"THE LATE CONVENTION At Iowa Cry -
The delegates from keokuk passed down on
the Sparhawk this morning, on their return from
Iowa City. We learn that the Convention was
very slimly attended One delegate was present
from Dubuque, and one from Pella, the scat of
the Hollandcrs. There was very little harmony
or concert of action among those who did
attend. No intermediate point was agreed upon
for the road to pass through from Dubuque to
keokuk; and Fort Des Moines is the only point
named in the route from Davenport to Council
Bluffs. On the whole, the Convention, that
was to accomplish so much, may be locked upon
as dead future. -
Let US inform the editor of that sheet, that the
Convention was not the meagrc affair he at
temps to make out-that Dubuque would have
been well represented there, had not majority
Of the delegates been detained at home to a.
tend on the District Court, which was in session
that in place of there being rcry little harmony
and concert Of action among those acho dill at
tend, it was all harmony and concert-and in
place of being s'dcad failure,' it was very
respectable asscmblage of men, convened for
carrying forward an object of more public im-
portance, utility and necessity, than any other
which has ever absorbed the attention of our
people. We glory in all public improvements,
and would rejoice gladly if the means were
placed in our hands to make all now contempla
ted in this State, but we abhor the narrow and
selfish mind, which, in its bcggarly and abortive
efforts to bring within the scope of its eye the
whole State, never beyond the narrow
"uaiks" of Burlington, and lends its energies to
the pulling down of one public mrr,vemcnt,
in order to build up another. This is the char
acter of at least two of cur Burlington cotem-
porar;cs, and the time has arrived for the people
to know them and pass Judgment upoa them
"CGSrRAL IOWA late number of tha.
incaluaJle chronicter of passing events, the Da-
vcnport Gazette, contains long article COM
planning bitterly because cur Senators do not
visit Davenport. Our neighbor says Senotyr
Dodgc risits the North and Senator Jones the
South, but neither condcsccnd to visit the +" CEN
trail portion of Iowa. (mcaung of cours. that
little bIrough Davenport and thereupon "pic-
ayune" rcclincs into an saurfuL' fit of de-
spondency of nearly columns length, implor-
ing the good people to correct the evil. Well,
now, SAYING nothing about Davenports being
the 6 centre OF Iowa" our Senators have 10
business to pass by it without calling, and we
can tell them our neghbor has done, tha.
they must do it no more, we shall be induced
TO rapor. them to the people, for their grave, Sc
rious, deliberate and conscientious debcration
a beautiful set of Senators surely, to pass by
the sCcntrc Of Iowa and not stop 10 say hotr
are you, to the old man, smile at the old woman,
and kiss the babies, in order that such sly evcs-
dropping creatures as the edit.r Of the Gazette,
mirht raise hue and cry through the newspa-