The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-12-15
TUESDAY MORNING, DrcEMBER II, 1866.


RailrDad from St. Louis to St. Paul.
Minnesota has done more to connect her
self by Railroad with Missouri and her grea
city, St. Louis, than Missouri and ST. Loui
have themselves, although the enterprise i
of vital Importance to them and not so mucl
SO to us. eWe predict, that if the M. & n
W. Railroad Company succeed in their sui
before the Supreme Court this week, theil
road will be finished from st. Paul to the
Iowa line in three years from this date, and
perhaps in two. 1t will then remain fol
IoEa and Missouri to connect it at that point
with North and South, road, leadiag to st
Louis. By the following communication Il.
the St. Louis Republican, we are glad to see
that our neighbors are moving:
Keokuk, MT. Pleasant and Muscaiine Railroad
---Liberality' Of st. Louis - Iowa and Sain,
Louis intimately Connected in Interest.
Mr.. PAsCHALL - Having returned from
your city somewhat more hurriedly than
originally intended, had not the opportuni-
ty of communicating to many warm friends
of Railroad connection with Iowa, who
gave us liberal greeting, the amount of
.'material aid' secured through their influ
ence and liberality during our brief stay in
St. Louis. /, therefore, ask the privilege of
a space in your columns for this purpose.
In an interview with few of the leading
business men of st. Louis, at the Chamber
of Commerce, the construction of a Railroad
from Keokuk, Iowa, to Muscatine, as link
of the Mississippi Valley Railroad, leading
from your city, north, through Missouri and
Iowa, to St. Paul in Minnesota, was heartily
approved, and proposition was made, to
start subscription to raise means to pro-
cure locomotives and rolling stock for the
first section of the road, leading from Keo-
kuk, around the Des Moines Rapids in the
Mississippi river, to Montrose- on
condition that fifty thousand dollars should
be subscribed in St. Louis, for that purpose,
within thirty days. And although these
in consequence of the de-
pressed condition of Railroad stocks in that
market, were regarded in the light of dona-
tions, and notwithstanding the gloom in
which the city was envcloped by the late
terrible accident on the Pacific Railroad,
something over this sum was readily sub
scribed leaving no room to doubt but that
all the means necessary for this purpose, will
be willingly furnished by the business men
of St. Louis, very many of whom, of the
highest standing for enterprise and public
spirit, have not yet been seen, who doubtless
will cheerfully subscribe their full proportion
of the amount required. .r
This enlighted policy of the commercial
of the Upper Mississippi, is cheer
ing to the friends of this enterprise in our
own youthful State. Itgives them increased
energy in the prosecution of the work, and
cheers them onward to it's final completion.
The mutual advantage of such a road to
that city, and to the people of this State, can
scarcely be over-estimated. Iowa contains
an area of 40, 900 square miles, or 80, 1000, 900
acres of as productive land as can be found
in the world. Her highest hills are buried
beneath deep soil of almost exhaust'ess
fertility. Scarcely an acre is barren, or need
remain under the hand of the husbandman,
Probably three-fourths of
this, or 24,O00,O00 acres, will be reduced to
culture, in some form, during the next
twenty five years. This would yield in
wheat or equivalent, at the low estimate of
fifteen bushels to the acre, three hundred and
sixty millions of bushels per annum worth
at one dollar per bushel, an equal number of
dollars. But growing grain is not the most
profitable business for the farmer. Other
agricultural pursuits would yield much
greater increase.
But in addition to her agricultural resour-
ces, her coal fields are said to surpass in ex-
tent, and to equal in richness those of Penn
sylvania. The rivers and smaller streams
that irrigate the country, afford water power
sufficient to drive all the machinery that the
most densely populated country could ever
require. With these natural resources, no
one will be likely to over-estimate the sur
plus products of her fields and her future
factories, that must soon seek Southern or
an Eastern market.
Although the population of Iowa may not
now exceed half million, it is believed to
be increasing at the rate of 100000 per an
mum, and will soon equal that of the great
States of Ohio OF New York. With such
population and such a country, her CONNER
cial wants must become enormous. And the
advantage to be derived from legitimate
commerce with the future millions that must
inhabit this State, is now fully comprehen-
ded by Eastern and Northern cities. They
have already tapped Iowa with Railroads at
three important points, Burlington, Daven-
port, and Dubuque, and are stimulating the
construction of roads from these and other
points, across the State from east to west,
and are rapidly perfecting the means of COM
mercial intercourse with its Inhabitants.
1t is true that the Mississippi River flows
along the eastern border of Iowa, and the
Missouri bounds it on the west, forming
natural avenues to Southern market. But
the latter is far from being safe stream for
navigation, and the former is crossed by
chains of solid rock for eleven or twelve
miles in extent, near the city of Keokuk,
which becomes impossible barriers to steam
boat navigation during a considerable por-
ton of the year. Similar Instructions occur
near the city of Davenport, thus forcing our
commerce into artificial channels, and COM
pelling our business men to purchase South
ern staples in an Eastern market, enhanced
in price by Atlantic freights to New England,
thence to traverse the Northern Lakes and
Railroads to market in Iowa, for want of
reliable means of transit across Iowa to the
unobstructed waters of the Mississippi
The Keokuk, Mount Pleasant and Musca-
tine Railroad Company propose, in the first
place, to complete section of their road ex-
tending from the foot of the Des Moines
Rapids, at Keokuk, to their head, at Mon
trose-a distance of eleven miles only-and
to put on it sufficient rolling stock to trans
port passengers and freight around these Oh
structions. And secondly, to extend il
through the interior of Iowa, so as to tar
the Mississippi above the Rock Island Rap
ids thus connecting the permanently navi
gable waters of this river, above and below
these rapids, with first class Railroad. Ant
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