The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-01-21
THE CONTEMPLATED sTEAM boat ORGAN

i We were unable to remain but a very sho
c time, at the meeting held by our citizens, O
: the evening of Tuesday, at the Globe Hall, i
relation to this projected enterprise, bu. durin
> the time tia, therc it afforded Us greo
: pleasure, TO sec manifested SO lively Z feeling
as was exhibited by those present, as 10 the in
: portance Of the undertaking. The freedom an
Hbcrali.y with which many subsc ribed, evincc
: spirited determination that is worthy Of al
praise, and augurcs well for the success OF Il.
4 movement.
But without any commercial pretcnsion,, 0
such statistical business information as woul;
give lis data, from which to enforce our view,
VIC shall simply assume, for the tiinebcinr, III,
position of a mere locker OF, and ask the qucs
'lon what is Dubuque and what are its natura
Tendencies? 1t is 4 beautiful town situated or
the west bank Of the Mississippi, about midway
between ST. Lous and ST. Paul, in the northcs,
part of the young and thriving State Of Iowa
and It's natural tendencies are onward and w.
ward. And why? Because i. is on the VIC S.
bank Of The Mississippi, with vast r,c,on ci
country stretching far to the west and north
and aEounding in equally vast agricultural r..
! sources and mineral wealth. All these rescur-
ces are becoming rapidly developed, through,
the instruncnsality Of the migrative power,
which has, and which still continues to build up
the whole West Explorations fer the rich min
eral deposits Which lie buried beneath our sur
face, are being multiplied and extended upon
the more sold basis Of cap;tal heretofore un-
known All these gradually developing resour-
ces, must produce and abundant and gradually
| increasing harvest, for which an outlet must be
sought by which to gain our eastern and south
ern marke's To gain these markets, everything
must seek the west bank of,he Mississippi first,
aud there it must stop. This is what makes
our towns, because the inclination of the whole
west is eastward. All the productions Of the
whole State, are, at the proper season, carried
and emp'ed down upon the west bank of our
river, their, either to find an immediate market,
or to be shipped clswhere, and hence town is
begun, and the foundation of city laid LooI,
at the east and west banks of this river from
here to st. Louis, and on what bank will you
find our flourshing cities and towns' All on
tie west. II is fact well known 10 the OBJ
serving, that the most beautiful and c:stcino
cites for towns, on the east side ofthe river
Why then is the west chosen, at an apoarcn,
disadvantage: For none other, than the rca-
sons already set forth, viz. that the whole pro
ducc Of the west looks eastward, seeks the east
~rr,
come to the Mississippi, and there stop, and
await tran.shipment. Dubuque, then, to begin
with, possesses the advantage Of being on the
west bank Of the Mississippi. What other ad-
vantayes does it posscss:' 1t possesses that of
arich, fertile, and rapidly populatng country
west and north, the whole of which must be
drained, as it were, through Dubuque This is
an item of immense Importance in considering
our future. Beside this, is the fact that, our
real mineral wealth has not yet been reached, |
because OF the absence of competent capital
In addition to both these, we are the midway
point between ST. Paul and st. Louis The |
upper country IS the seat OF an immense and
growing trade, which is supplied from ST Louis
and even from Galena
Trade invariably seeks economy and convent
ence, in which two PARTICULARS, Dubuque poss
esses many Advantages over either of the uther !
points. In going to St Louis, there is time
and expense TO be considered and the rap;ds to |
be encountered. To come to either Of these
places, the upper country merchant must stun
he upon Dubuque he can't avoid it, Bat
why don he stop Because he cannot be SUP
Piled rs well as at either Of the other places
But that is rapidly wearing away, and we find
that there area number Of them, who have alrea-
opened large accounts with cur merchants
They say TO them, we will havc,to begin and
deal at pabuque altog, ther. Your stock, ike
your city IS On the improve il quantity, quality
and variety.
1--we can suit ourselves here, it will be much
less expense and more convenient fer US than
TO 70 tic whole way to st. Louis, or round TO
an on. Of The way place like GaIena. Give
US your haibor, and the pick and choice Of mcr-
chandisc, and our own interest will make us
yoGr customers. All this is as clear as the noon
day sun, ana.ail result, from the natural advan
tagcs of our location. With no competitor ei-
thcr above or below us, possessing equal advan-
tages, as VIC grow, { and this we are rapidly
dong we must inevitably absorb all the bus-
ness Of the upper country, cur whole system, in
The mean time, gathering ru,r.ment from the
bcundless ana fertile praisies west, f-on1 which
the rich and abundan. proceeds of the farmer;
viii p1uE in upon US, as towards their ce:re, c-
the7 20 seek market at cur own doors, or IN
outlet 70 Tie great commercial metropolis OF the
Elat through Ike medium Of the great central
railroad (of which we compose the western
as interest or fancy may direct.
Thus we have, both present and perspective
view Of Dubuque, on a limited scale, it is trur,
but with 4 sufficient portrayal to satisfy all rea.
sonab!c minds, that we are the focal point of
business, which is, and which is 10 be, that mus;
make us tic northcrn emporium of a commerce,
10 be cquallctl only, by the almost unexampled
rapidly Of Of western growth.
These then. are few of the reasons which
we wish to assign in favor, and in encourage
nv" cf which We noticed in our paper Of yes
tarday, thai meeting had been held in thc
Globe HAIL. en- the previous evening This
company is designed as joint stock company,
to secure and place in tho trade between St
Louis aud St. Paul, line of steamers to con-
meet at this place. We deem this organization
TO be an enterprise Of necessity. If work Of
necessity be cammendablc, this we regard as
being pIe.eminent.y so. Fer if our commerce
is ana will continue on the increase, as we have
shown that il must in the very nature ct things.
then thare must be corresponding facilities for
lis uninterrupted advance. These facilities will.
be p-oyidcd-they are seiEcreat:vc, as it were !;
or rather the demands OF busines Will call them
into hc:nr, whether it be in the shape of Rail-
roads PLANK Roads, or Steamboats,. The only
question is, who shall furnish these facilities -
3