The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-02-04
RAILROADS IN IOWA.
Grnmtliag Of the UiHagcs-and Instructions
our Representatives. IN Congress-.

! Grumtliag Of Tie UHtagcs-and Instructions to
our Representatives. IN Congress-
! Our State has been in commotion for a veal
or two about Railroads; and various routes have
been concoc,cd ios private and speculative pur
poses.
| First was the project of a Railroad from Du
buque to Notwithstanding little interior anc
parallel with the Mississippi river-crossing 81
The streams IN Iowa which empty into the Mis-
sIssIppi, and costing by the estimate Of the en-
gIneer employed by the company about $25 ,00t
per mile. This road never had its origin in the
wants or necessities of the State. 1t was never
devised with view to the ultimate destiny o
our State. No broad and national view of gen
eral Improvement and progress ever entered in
| 10 this scheme. Then followed scheme of a
road from Dubuque TO Fort Desmoines-then q
road from Belleview to Fort Desmoines then q
road from Davenport by Iowa City to Fort Des
inoines-then road from Muscatine to Fort
! DeSmoines.
| All these routes are of general Importance to
the State, except the route from Dubuque tc
keokuk. For this there is no apology. 1t is
broad and paIpable humbug. 1t IS the off:
! spring of private speculation, and only tolerat
ed by our friends in the north, as a stool pigeon
to bring down the game. 1t appeals to selfish
interests-t concentrates votes, by running
!
out necessity object The humbug is
palpable to every thinking man.-Ha,ckeye o
| the 23rd.
We offer the above as a specimen Of the ar
guments used at Burlington, to defeat our rail
road grants, and sacrifice the best interests O
ouryoung and struggling State, to appease
the local ambition Of the sojourners in tha
town.
Special hostility seems to be aimed at the Du
buquc and Keokuk road and this proceeds from
the fact, we suppose, that Dubuque and Keok ul
are rivals of Burlington.-The;r ideas neve
rise above locality. But brother Ha,ok, with
all your prettnsions to statistical accuracy mpo1
general subjects, we find that you are as liabl,
to error in small matters, as other people, ant
trust you will pardon US for correcting you. Ii
the first place, the proposed Dubuque and Kf
okuk road, does not cross every stream in tn,
State, by a thousand or more Neither has tn,
Engineer estimated the cost of the road pc
mile, as stated by you, at $4,000. The esti
mate Of the first Engineer, was some $4,000
per mile and the estimate of the present one
exceeds this amount some little but it neither
amounts to 25, or to $40, 900 per mile.
As to the various roads which you claim
have been projected in the North, we know o
but two, which have received the general sane
ton of the people of the State. You Know a!
well as we do, that the dubuque and Fort Des
moines," and ssBellevue and Fort Desmoines'
and the sMuscatine and Fort Desmomes,' pro
jects, have never elected any general express
ION from the people and are not at this time az
tated. But we understand your object, sir
1t is to throw discredit upon and defeat if pos
sible, public improvement, which has repeat
edly received the sanction of the people ,and tn,
merits of which, you are unable and unwilling
fairly and honorably to discuss.