The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1854-11-25

The following letter has been handed to
US by two Of the directors ofthe Central ILL
nois Railroad, with request 70 have ii pub.
lished. We understand it to have been
written by proninrnt officer oftbe compa-
ny: f1yffrl
The directors Of He Illinois Central Rail
road Company apprise the stockholders that
the construction Of the main line of the road
is upon thepoint Of completion.
One of the membess of the Direction, just
returned from Illinois has personally passed
over the lne6f tie road from Cairo to Gale
ma, and reports that the line is uninterrupted
from Cairo 107 miles north, or within miles
of Ccntralia. From Sandoval south, one and
half miles Of track are laid, leaving only
eight miles n tsNck 10 be laid to complete the
connection with the o. and Mississippi road
at Ssndoval. This will be accomplished on
the 18th instant, and prior to the lst proximo
arrangements will be made for regular trains
connecting Cairo with st. Louis.
North Of Sandoval the track has extended
few miles, and strong force Of operatives
were rapidly laying north to meet the party
laying south, forty miles distant This fo,ty
miles includes n section ofcountry extremely
which circumstances have presented great
obstacles to the prosecution Of the work, aud
have caused the serious delay upon this, the
third division. During the summer it was
found impossible to continue the work and
even until recently the prevalence of malg-
nant fever and cholera in the vicinity OF
low, marshy tract, Of several miles in extent,
almost suspended operations. At this pres
ent moment there is large force, upwards
Of 500 men, employed on this section. The
contractor is paying 81 70 per day for com
mon laborcrs, and the chief engineer is in
person on the spot, using the most active cX-
ertions, which the directors do not doubt
will ensure the completion of the compare
lively short space required prior to lst Janu-
ary, and thus open Il continuous line from
Cairo 70 La Sale.
From La Sale north, trains are running
daily 10 Mendoza, connecting by the Aurora
extension II. X. with Chicago. From Mcndo-
ia northwest the track is laid seven miles,
and will reach Amboy on the 10th inst.
From Mendoza to Frecport G3 miles, the
track is entirely graded. The party laying
south from Freeport will reach Dixon by st
Of January, while the party from Amboy
will hayc arrived there early in December.
At this point the road passes 4 bridge, placed
upon stone piers, work Of considerable
magnitude, Of five spans of 100 feet each.
The mason work is completed and the frame
Of thS>bfidge is in readiness for erection.
Six weeks Of uninterrupted good weather
will suffice to complete it, so that in all prob
ability the trains will pass oye7 it carly
in January, completing the line from CAIRO
TO Galcna, i3s miles,
Relative to the expenditure upon the con
s.ruc,;on Of this road, the original estimate
OF Col r. b. Mason was :lG,j00,0oo, as
advised in the report Of the President OF the
18th September, 1852. He had, prior TO
that Date, closed his agreements with con-
tractors for nearly all the divisions Of the
road, at rates which left margin considered
fully adequate for contingencies. The rate
Of wages throughout the state were at or be-
low one dollar per day, wit abundance OLA
Dor. Last autumn, owing to the immense
ssieinand !or railroad laborcrs, general ad'
,ar,v, Ia tiir rutrs vf iahv. ons,.cd and 81
q, q, to ~ per day was rniti for commUria
bor and 81 80 TO - 90 per day for masons
and carpenters. The direct consequence
Of this was the failure Of several Of the con
tractors TO fulfil their Obligations and the
demand by others for increased rates upon
their estimates.
Two very important and difficult divisions
were finished by the company. None of the
contractors did or could receive the bonds
originally agreed upon in part payment, and
the company were obliged to pay advance OF
2j-lCO on nearly all the labor upon the
road, which has increased its cost upwards
of two millions of dollars.
Early this summer the cholera, in its yiru.
lent form, appeared in Illinois. The labor
ers left the road en- mdsSe it was feared that
the work would be suspended for months,
and the lives Of our valued chief engineer
and other gentlemen engaged IN the supcrin-
tcndcncc of the construction were in great
hazard At this critical momcnta crisis in
railroad affairs occurred, which rendered the
negotiation of the best railroad securities al
most impossible This companys pay
ments, maturing in July and August, eX-
ceedcd two millions of dollars. The abso-
lutte necessity to avail Of this autumn to
complete the main line, has nvolycda large
monthly expenditure, and our payments
since the lst July exceed four million three
hundred thousand dollars This has been
accomplished by the unremitting attention
and personal cXcrtion of at least half the
members of this board for four months.
There is no new feature to change the char
actcr or dcprcss the value Of this project
Illinois is rapidly increasing in population,
and the 49j, 600 acres OF lands still owned by
the company, without incumbrancc, with
two millions of acres, pledged with the
road, to the holders Of seventeen millions of
bonds, comprise an estate warranting this
expenditure.
We feel assured that this road will within
a few years superscde the use of steamboats,
on the Mississippi, from Cairo to Dubuque;
that the local receipts next autumn will be
rcmuncrativc; in short, that this great en-
terprise possesses intrinsic merit which will
again obtain the public confidence when the
present financial crisis is past.
The directors hoped to have sold aportion
of their free lands this autumn, thereby OBJ
Waiting the necessity Of assessing the stock
The failure of the crops and scarcity of mo-
ney in Illinois has rendered it inadvisable to
offer the lands at auction, and the sales at
private sale have been limited Therefore
the interests of the company require an i'm
mediate assessment upon the stock.
NEW YORK, November Z, 1854.