The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1855-07-26
0lreuiar - - Voters Of Henry
County.

The Committee appointed at the Mt.
Pleasant Railroad Convention to draw up
an address to the people Of Heary Coun
ty, urging them to vote County sub
script,on Ct 100000 10 the Keokuk,
Mt. Pleasant and Muscatine Railroad,
have issued handsome circular, in
which the importsn-e Of the matter is
very clearly and convincngly stated.
From it we take the following extracts.
bearing upon the subject at large, which
are interesting to our readers as well as
to the people of Henry County:
~ We all feel the importance of gain
ing cheaper access to tkis market, but
shrink instinc'ively from involving our.
selves in the debt proposed. Our taxes
are now sufficiently onerous, and how
shall we meet the additional taxation
which the construction of this road will
infici This is fair question and
should be fairly answered. If you hire
machine to thrash your grain, it is a tax
upon the production. Yet i, is better to
pay that tax than to thrash it by hand.
provided by SO doing you can otherwise
more proftably employ the time nece sary
to accomplish this object. 1t were better
also to vote this tax, provided that il will
incrsise the value of your products to
an extent exceeding the tax itself
-" Tins is a matter involving your inter
tsts and ours and its examination will
not prove improbable. The average
cost OF transportation from Keokuk to 81.
Louis does not exceed eleven cents per
hundred, while from Burling' on to st.
Louis the average exceeds thirty-seven
cents. AS the chief expense OF transpor
taiion by rail road for short routes is The
costs OF handling. We may safely estimate
the charges on freight from Mt. Pleasant
10 keokuk at not more than one cent pr
hundred exceeding that Burlington. B,
the construction OF this road you will sAve
twenty five cents on every hundrsc
weight of surplus produce. and like
amount on every hundred pounds of mer-
chandlze purchased in the southern mar
ket for home consumption Add to this
SIX months interest on all your surplu,
ARTICLES, SIX cents per bushel for storage
on all your grain, and reasonable a.
mount TO cover the risk of depreciation
and loss, and you will have an amount
which will not only cover the interest
upon this $1,000 stock, biz, 90 far to
llquidate the stock itself
Zone house alone in Mt. Pleasant pur.
chased during the past season 600, 900
pounds OF pork for the Southern market
This was not probably one fifth OF the
whole surplus f tied in this county But
taking Il is as The basis Of calculation, we
had 5000, 900 lbs. surplus, costing At an
average of three cents per pound. $780,
600. The interest on this sum for six
months amounted to $500
The storage while detained at
Burling on. 500
Add to this IS cent. per 100
extra, costs Of transporta-
ton over direct road to
Keokuk, $500
Amounting, in the who'e, to
the sum of $le, 500
Annual loss on pork alone.
add to this an equal amount for loss
es on onr surplus grain, and extra charges
on articles of home consumption, pur-
chased in the Southern market, land we
believe this far below the rtaliiv, and
we have an amount more than equal 10
hit per cent. interest on 100000
stock
If these calculations are correct, we
can vote this stock and make money by
the operation and that too, although
there were no other benefit to be derived
from the road and although it never
paid. in dividends. one cent on the capital
stock"
After speaking particularly Of some
specific benefits to be derived, the ad
dress continues:
. But these will not be the only benefits.
The construction of this road will mere
than bring the Mississippi to our doors.
1t will secure to our county the advan-
tage and profit resulting from it's close
proximity to the great northern chain ex-
tending from the Gulf of Mexico TO the
Falls Of st. Anthony. Connecting here
with the road extending westward this
will be point where produce from the
West will change routes, adding profits to
this enterprise. employment to our ci'i
zens, and wealth to our county. Rival
routes for the Eastern and Southern mar
kets coming in competition at this point,
will secure the transportation Of our pro
duca nt tha lewaSt poeo;hl. Gu,.o IA