Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1851-05-28
For the Reporter.
IS Thc Rail Road QuestiOn''-Mus.
c;stine.

Wessrs Editors In your paper of
Jan. 9th, ! notice an article headed
as above; and signed Locomotive"
which for its unfairness and bare
faced impudence requires passing
notice. The writer sits out with the
assertion that the "hostility'' of the
town of Muscatine, is confessed" in
reference to the projected railroads
in Iowa." Now the truth of the mat
ter is directly the reverse of This, as
the writer well knew. if he knew any
thing in relation to the matter, for
there has scarcely been a rail road
meeting, and rail road convention
held in the State where Muscatine
was not respectfully represented
But forsooth, because the views of
the Muscatine delegation, on the
subject of the location of one of the
projected railroads." did not coincide
with those who would assume to be
the exclusive advocates of rail roads
in Iowa, they must be denounced as
being hostile to the construction of
rail roads in Iowa. Locomotive
next pretends to review an article in
the Muscatine "Enguuer'' of Jan.
4th, in which the writer advocates the
location of the rail road from Daven-
port ria, Muscatine &c. to Oskaloosa
and adverts to the fact that Mr.. Nor
gan the Engineer on the Davenport
and Iowa City r. r. proposes for the
present to form connection with
the Rock Island r. r. by means OF
a ferry. and comes to the very sensi,
BILE conclusion that "for the present
a "ferry" would answer between
Muscatine and Rock Island. The
plain proposition has been misrepre.
sented tortured and twisted by 'Lo.
connective" till he would have his
readers believe that the rail road
can't be built without permission from
the "town Of Muscatine" if they hol(
any fellowship with them,--and a:
to the connection by means of "fer
ry" he treats it as being too much fo1
his pre-determination to gravity; for
getting that laughable as it may b,
it is no other than the proposed mode
of connection for his own darlin:
scheme, differing only in length ant
no more Objectionable in consequence,
of "double trans-shipment'' and n,
more likely to be "ice bound" thai
the connection by means of "ferry
between Davenport and Rock Island
He must presume that the Far
mers and Mechanics of Iowa are ex
\ tremely verdant if he supposes tina
they cannot penetrate such films,
sophistry as this. After having ex
pended his stock of ingenuity in per
verting the article above alluded t.
he breaks out in an apostrophe t
'moonshine' or some other lunacy' be
getting delusion; on this wise, "Wha
!, glorious combination of absurd
; ties, regular Muscatine-isms we hav
!, here with which to honey-fugle tn
discreet citizens of Washington, Keo
kuk and Mahaska counties" Veril
!, never knew a Locomotive whic
had run off the track, to get bac
again without help. Locomotive
next objects to the location of tn
rail road through Washington kee
t kuk and Mahaska counties, on tn
ground that it will be multiplying fa
; cilities "unwisely" in a "district {
!, country some sixty miles in diameter
"Sixty miles in diameter tits no.
/, our time to suppress our risibles.-
/, Wonder if he ever travelled west an
+ south of Iowa City? But he ado
. "by the east and west road dow
T there, then" (when? now? or aftt
whitley "the two roads are brougl
into rrinous competition with eac
other" Now in all seriousness,
: may be as "clear as mud" to the or
!, tics of Locomotive" that the eas
and west road will not injure til
: keokuk and Dubuque rail road if
;, is located at Iowa City but that
X will ruin it if it is located 25 or 8
miles south of that point; yet it
: evident that "no sane man Twin
r without the charmed circle OF" low
i City, can view it in that light eve
nv the helm Of a maunifvinp glass.