The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1856-05-06

W
i ''commendable sagacity,'') after he had
been informed by the officers of the Company
of the exhaustion of all the grant, &c.,
&C., and of the imperative necessity of n
modification of the contract, TO fully COM
prehend and realize the critical condition of
the improvement and 'sthe exhaustion of all
the grant, &c.
BY referring TO the original contract of
the 9th day Of June, 1854, section "A, it
will be found in the schedule Of prices 1'for the
different items of work mentioned, upon
which the engineer is to make his estimates,
and by which the parties are TO be governed
in the conveyance of land,'' that the price
named for "masonry in lock wallis is So 90
per perch, and by the modified contract of
the 9th December, 1855, the price for s'ma-
sorry IN lock wallis laid in quick lime NOR
tar is S4 10 per perch, making the differ
ence between the two prices by which the
parties are TO be governed in the conveyance
of land for work done only FIVE per cent. in
stead of the enormous difference of fifty per
cent, as WAS endeayored TO lie conveyed by
the letter Of Mr.. johnson.
by following the tenor of Mr.. Johnson's
letter, 1t will be discovered that Mr.. Mckay's
'commendable sagacity'' did not lead him
to the conclusion that the State would loose
the probable benefits of the completion of
the work, from the exhaustion of the Com
pany's means, but from the exhaustion Of
all the lands Of the grant, which by
| fair Interpretation means, If | mistake not
that Mr.. Mckay thought that it was not oniy
possible but probable that, as soon as the
Des Moines Navigation 4 Railroad Co. had
got possession of all the lands, they would
then stop the progress of the work and
expend no more money in the Improvement
OF the river. Now supposng Mr.. Mckay's
| implied view of the case to be correct viz /.
that the Company will not do any thing fur
ther after they have obtained the lands, (Mr.
slohnson's letter will not admit of any other
interpretations let us see how much Mr. Nc
Kay with his "commendable sagacity,'' has
acquired for the State of Iowa BY his modl-
he'd contract. Only this that supposing
the lands would have completed, under the
former contract, - per cent. of the Improve
nent, they will complete under the present,
% per cent, and that in very inferior
manner.
By reference to Commissioner MeKay's
modification of the 9th day of September.
1855, it will be found that the price for ma
sorry In lock walls, upon which the engineer
Is TO make his estimates, &C., shall be at the
rate of So 20 per perch, instead of s., as
before provided. If the true object of Mr..
| Mckay was the completion of the longest
line of the said Improvement, why did he
not adhere TO the above price Of SO 20 in his
modified contract, for which Mr. johnson in
a very modest manner gives him credit for
"commendable sagacity - This would have
given to the State IS per cent of the I'm
proyement before the lands Of the grant
should have become exhausted, and the
/ probable loss to the State of its beneftsn
by the suspension of the Improvement in
the abandonment of the work by the Des
Moines Navigation & r. X. Co.
What right had Commissioner Mckay TO
adopt this implied views The articles Of
agreement of the original contract Of the 9Th
June, 1904, section first, reads thus 'sThe
SAID party OF the first part (the ID. Nj. \. K
Il. X. Co., doth hereby covenant and agree.
TO and with the party Of the second part, for
considerations hereinafter named, 10 make
and finish the Des Moines River Improve
ment from the Mississippi river to the
kaceoon Forks on said river'' Section sec
ond reiterates this obligation in terms that
no man of "commendable sagacity'' can
mistake. 1t states that ssThe said party Of
the first part further agrees to and with the
party of the second part, TO complete all said
, work from the river Mississippi to said Rae
coon Forks, on or before the lst dav of ,Ju
IL, 1852
Again, We ask, in all sincerity and candor.
what right had Mr.. Commissioner Mckay 10
assume that the Des Moines Navigation &
7 Railroad Co. would permanently suspend or
) even temporarily delay the progress of the
work which 1t had contracted with the State
OF Iowa 10 perform, unless he in the name
ana as the agent OF the State would submit
TO and ratify all the notifications of said
contract desired and directed by the said
Wall Street stock. jobbing Company? Did
he not know that the lands enurlnp TO this
company on the completion Of the work
, were worth two or three times the money ex-
D pended? Did he not know that the other
privileges and franchises secured to the Com.
pany greatly enhanced this enormo Gus prof;
upon comparatively insignificant outlay
Ii he did not know these things Of his own
knowledge, (and | presume he did not
more's the pty,) he might have learned them
t from the Company's published statements,
5 wherein II has been shown, proved and dem
; onstrated, beyond the possibility of cues
ton, that the ID. NJ. n. d r. X. Co. would
realize profits from their former contract.
: unknown and undreamed of by any other
! similar Company in the country Why, then.
1t may well be asked, did Mr.. Commissioner
Mckay, with his 'scommendable sagacity,o
sacrifice the interest Of the State which had
honorcd HIM with its confidence, for the ben
, elt of foreign company of stock lobbers,
who, not content with munifcent and un-
, paralleled grants, and privileges literally,
generously and layishly conferred on them by
the State of Iowa, have still continued, like
the daughters of the horse leech, to cry
'give give!''
As corollary to the above, some may be
disposed to ask whether Mr.. Mckay is the
Commissioner Of Iowa, or the employee and
agent of the Des Moines Navigation 4 Rail
road Co.
shall venture no further comment to-day.
as ] lind that the subject will occupy too
much of your valuable space If an attempt