The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1856-05-30

| induce man TO live there, except the toler-
ably safe expectation Of making money
fast. Az every body knows, heavy bust
ness i transacted hsre. Seven Or eight
boats were = the wharf whsn l va there,
and the railroad seened busy. The 6rst
street from the ievee contains III the BUSH
ness houses, but it was full and every thing
was moving briskly. In some places mo-
ticed people going from the first street to the
streets and heights above BY means Of long
flights Of stairs, extending, | should think,
from two hundred to three hundred feet in
length. They look rather appalling FOR =
warm day. Rocks, "blaok, jagged and pre-
cipitous" as ever Coleridge discovered at
Mont Blanc, pll bet shilling, hang around
this town and over its streets, and the sides
Of the hills show numberless piles of fresh
whore the bowels Of our good mother
have been dug into for mineral. Mining IL
pursued to some extent right in the town.
Among the churches are two very fair ones,
Episcopalian and Presbyterian, and there are
many fine residences. The De Soto House
is . large, six-story, very fine house, and
elegantly fitted up. There are none but quite
common business houses, at least saw none
others, and believe saw them oil.
We shall stay here till towards night, and
then start for Dubuque. don't wonder
that steamboat men scold about this vexa-
tious little creek, and get out Of it and 80
Lutte the broad Mississippi with great de-
light.
For the Gate City.
The New Hotel..R emarkahle in.
stance 81 iberalisy..DFones,k &c.
Krokuk, May %, 1856.
Messrs. EDITORS: notice in your paper Of
yesterday morning letter from our fellow
citizen, Hawkins Taylor, ESQ.,, upon the
subject of q "New Hotel" in which he
takes occasion to contrast the iberality "a
Of Judge Mason With the course Of some Of
our citizens, in relation to loan of money
towards its erection. Had this letter been
penned by paid agent or feed attorney of
Judge NJ, whose vocation leads him to
"Crook the pregnant hinges Of the knee,
That thrift may follow fAwning'
it would have elected no notice from me !;
but coming from Mr.. Taylor, to whom all
will accord the credit Of being energetic and
enterprising in his efforts to advance the
material interests Of Keokuk-in doing which
doubt not he has occasionally of Saturday
evening, with others Of US, been thrown on
the Barbary Coast" and compelled to pay
an exorbitant interest to raise money to
satisfy the demands Of hundred gentlemen
from Ireland and Germany confess my
surprise, unless, rs half suspect, his letter
is intended to be ironical.
That the interests and good name Of our
city, and the comfort Of the travelling pub
lie would be greatly promoted BY the ercc-
ton Of Hotel, snch rs is contemplated BY
Mr.. Taylor and the gentlemen associated
with him, is obvious to ali; but that any
person should be held up to public odium
for decliningto loan money to its projectors,
deem to be exceedingly unjust.
Now what are the facts? Judge Mason,
without the outlay of single dollar, came
into the possession, four years since, Of
princely estate, small portion only of which
almost leircumyallates the city Of Keokuk--
ninety acres adjoining the city on the north,
one hundred and sixty acres on the west,
and, if am correctly informed, he has q
large interest in tho tract Of two hun
dred acres adjoining the city on the south
west, known as ssReid's addition" On. the
FIRST mentioned tract tsco building lots have
been sold by Mason's agent (but against his
orders); and the l6O acre tract on the west il
q waste, from his refusing to sell or improve.
The 80 acres on the north Of the city lie on
the river, and on this tract the Keokuk and
Mount Pleasant Railroad terminates, which
will add immensely to its value; yet Mason
refused to subscribe dollar to the stock Of
this road, unless the Company would alter
the location, 80 as to run to Burlington in
stead Of Mount Pleasant project which
might have answered very we'll for Burling-
ton, but would have defeated one Of the
principal objects which the friends Of Keokuk
have in building tho road, viz: to divert
trade from Burlington to Keokak. Our citi-
zens have taken considerable amount OF
stock in this road, and consequently some Of
them areunable to contribute to the proposed
loan.
The tract Of land upon tho river below
town, on which tho Depot Of the Keokuk,
TT. NDes Moines and Minnesota r. r. 10 To-
Gated, which cost the Judge about $50 per
acre, is now selling at the moderate price
Of one thousand to eight thousand dollars
per acre. may add that upon tho severnl