Quasqueton guardian. (Quasqueton, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1856-1858, 1857-07-18

the Railroad Company shall pay any dividends
which may be earned and declared on the stock
belonging to the county, in discharge of interest
actually collected unless the dividends declared
shall be insufficient. The form of the vote shall
be for the Railroad and against the Railroad"
Every vote for the Railroad shall be considered
as in favor of the foregoing proposition entire,
and every vote against the Railroad, shall be
considered as against the aforesaid proposition
entire.
Attest my hand this 18th day of April, A. d.
1856. O.HP. ROSZELt,
County Judge.
With the proclamation of the Judge in
reference to the Wapsipinicon Valley road
our readers are familiar. 1t will be found,
however, in another part of this article.
In the first proposition the county is ask
ed to take stock in the road, and to assume
the responsibility of the interest, six
months after the completion of the road
to Independence. In the other it is to
loan it's credit, the company paying the
interest from the date of issuance for the
full time the bonds have to run, giving
good and ample security therefor. In the
first there was question of tax, in the
latter there is nothing of the sort.
But first, let us look at the circumstan-
ces attendant upon these propositions.
On the 18th day of April, 1856, the first
proclamation was issued by Judge Ros-
zELL for an election to be held on the
Goth of May following, for the purpose
Of deciding whether the county would
subscribe $3.50, 900 to the Dubuque and
Pacific road. At this time there was
bill pending in Congress granting to the
State of Iowa alternate sections of lands,
to aid in the construction of railroads
within the State. On the 18th of May
this bill passed-eleven days before the
election. The stock proposition was de-
feated, and a new election called on the
Sd of July. In the meantime, a special
session of the Legislature was called, for
the purpose Of disposing of the grant of
land from Congress, which they did up
on the 18th day of July.
Here, then, the county was asked to
take stock in a projected road through
Buchanan county, over route which
some company, receiving the grant of
land, would be compelled to traverse
If, then, the Dubuque and Pacific COM
pany were not fortunate enough to re-
ceive the grant, we should have been, by
voting the stock, in the very unpleasant
position of trying to sustain road upon
individual and county enterprise, COM
peting and running parallel with a road
possessing rich land endowment But if
the Dubuque and Pacific company acere
fortunate enough to obtain the lands, they
would then, of course, require no aid
from the county. 1t would, therefore,
we conceive, have been the height of fol-
ly for the county to have subscribed to
the stock of that company under the cir
cumstances. Eitter she was sure Of the
ua-r,isa.--.-s-~r anu, sure
to have herself laid under an enormous
burden, without benefit therefrom. This,
it will be seen from the dates given, was
the position at the time of both votes !;
and it was urged upon the people here,
by the officers of the Dubuque company,
as we can prove by letter now in the
hands of a gentleman in this village, that
it was doubly important that Buchanan
county should take stock in the Dubuque
q Pacific road, because they did not be-
lieve they would get share of the lands.
Here, then, we apprehend, there is abun-
dant and valid reasons for opposing that
proposition. They are not, however, ap-
plicable in the present case, and consis-
tency does not require the same course in
both instances.
VIC udFC, III lllic CdSc, q lluh Ill
chain of roads to construct. That con-
struction involves the outlay of large
amount of money, and in country as
new as this, it were folly to expect to OBJ
tain it. The company has no land grant
upon which the money can be raised, and
has no land grant companies with which
to compete. She has rivals, however,
and those rivals expect to succeed in OBJ
tanning the benefits of this same connec-
ton through the fundamentally of coun-
ty subscription or loans of county credit.
These have been freely given, and it is
now matter of expedition as to which
company, and which tier of counties are
to receive the benefits of north and
south communieation-who is to have a
cheap and ready access to the lumber of
the north, and the iron and coal and fruits
and products of the South, as well as
the markets and manufactures of the
East, That we have the hest route and