Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-03-02

THE WEST.
IN Present oonidisson aud Prospects
BY HON. GEO. b. SARGENT.

J. N Beebe 4 Co.. and other leading hrms
and men Of this city, lecture on the pres
eut condition and prospects Of the West
was delivered last evening at the fremont
Temple, by Hon. Geo. b. Sargent, Of Daven-
port, Iowa.
At quarter past ! o'clock the Meionaon,
where the audience first assembled, was
densely filled, and even the steps of the plat
form, the orchestral balcony. and the isles
near the door were occupied. Shortly al
ter it was announced that the upper Hall
would be lighted This announcement was
reeeiv ed with applause, and the audience al
journed TO the main Temple. The floor of
the fremont Temple was completely occu'
pied, the side galleries and the platform
were full, and the rear gallery very nearly
80
His Honor, Mayor Lincoln. on calling the
assembly to order. at the outset, referred
to the objects Of the meeting. The lecture
was to present to the audience particularly
that portion of the West in which we as
business men were most interested. lie
had lived there many years. but was form
erly from Boston, and received his educa-
ton in her public schools In conclusion
His Honor Mayor Lincoln, said that to him
self had been delegated the honor Of intro
ducing the lecturer, the Hon. Geo b. Sar-
No.. ~ H. y.oDorf
Mr.. Sargent was warmly welcomed, and
at once proceeded to deliver most inter,
esting and eloquent address
In commencing his lecture, Mr.. Sargent
stated it to be his intention to give. in ia
miliar way the results of some OF his obs@r
vations and reflections during q life of twenty
wears on the western bank Of the Mississip-
pi. And in 30 doing it would be in his pow
er to CRAFTY several classes Of persons
those who have friends in the west. those
who have made investments IN western
property, and those who think of settling In
t .e west. 1t was now nearly twenty years
since his eyes first rested on that beautiful
SPOT on the Western bank Of the Mississippi
near davenport, which was now his home.
1t then presented quiet and lovely scene,
and quite in contrast with that exhibited
only seventeen years afterwards, when the
two cities on opposite banks Of the river
united in celebrating the completion OF the
iron road uniting Rock Island and Chicago
Speai ing of the growth of the surrounding
country and of the west generally, the lectur-
er expressed his thankfulness that there has
been opened to men seeking homes, re-
zion so full of all the elements of rich
healthful, prosperous State.
Lying midway between two oceans
washed on her Eastern and Western limits
by two mighty rivers, her Northern border
running along the parallel OF 43 de. 80 min
and Southern boundary on the parallel of 4C
deg. 30 minutes, the State Of Iowa is situated
in the most favorable climate of the CONT
nent, with winters comparatively mild and
pleasant, and summers free almost entirely
from the epidemics which prevail in warn
and newly opened countries BY medical
| writers it is ranked as second only in health
| of all theo Estates of the Union North Car
DINA being the first.
| In its general character, Iowa may b,
called rolling country, prairie diversi
| fed with moderate undulations, and it
streams run over beds of sand and gravel
while It's soil, as high as ~ deg 80 min.
which includes the whole tier of COUNTIES
west of Dubuque, is described by DIR. Owens
as presenting a body of land which, taker
as whole, for richness and organic ele-
ments, for amount Of saline matter and du,
admixture of earthly sillcates, affords a com
bination which belongs only to the mos
fertile upland plains while the general lev
elness of its surface admits the introduction
OF all the labor saving machinery which S,
much diminishes the cost and difficulties O
harvesting the abundant crops. This region
is one Of the most fertile in the world
With the exception Of the mining of lead il
the vicinity of Dubuque, but little has beer
done towards developing cur minera
wealth but it is known that copper an,
iron ore are found in various parts of tn,
State, that its coal fields embrace an err
of $4,000 square miles, and that hydrauli,
limestone, marble, quartzite clays and gyp
sum abound in narrow localities, and will
prove an ultimate source of great wealth t,
the Sta'e. But it is perhaps fortunate TO
Iowa that the handspring of her prosperit,
and increase has been found in her agricu.-
tural resources. Hence it is that while II,
overgrown accumulations of wealth hav,
been made in particular hands. there ha
been a general enrichment of the popula-
ton. They are all comfortable and pros
porous, with the certainty of good homes
good livelihoods, and of leaving good es
tates to their children And the last mel
to be effected by panics and revulsions
was this rural population the sub
stantial strength and support of the State
All who have embarked in mercantile en-
terprises have exposed themselves but tn,
hundred thousand homes that have beer
made in tie State have not been disturbed
But Notwithstanding all this Iowa has suf-
fered in good repute, from the fact tina
when the recent panic commenced there wa
general out cry against the West ant
Western spectators, as it the irregular alb
sorbtion of money in Western enterprise
had been the main cause of the existing
troubles. This cutlery, the lecturer pro
ceeded to show was entirely unfounded.-
He also showed at length that investment
in new lands were always profitable m tn,
end, and quoted from DIR. Franklins writing
in proof of his position. Franklin knew
companies of large tracts to buy Tor flO pc
100 acres, and after 90 years to sell agai
when settlements had extended beyond then
for thirty times as much, As long ago II
1894 the emigration from the settled to tn,
unsettled parts Of America was computed a
from forty to fifty thousand persons annual
~. Good loan soil was selling at from s
to - per acre, eighty miles from q marke,
and where labor was worth So to 80
month and few miles from Reading, WOO,
land was held at $25 to $50 an acre, an,
cleared at $40 to $3.50. The cheapes
land in Pennsylvania sixty years ago cos
the settler from $3.50 to 500 an acre be
fore it was ready for cultivation. In 1871
land in Kentucky near populous towns wa
worth from $50 to 40 an acre, and choic
tracts in Illinois were purchaser from tn
government at 80 an acre.
In the State Of Iowa there are government
lands outside of the six miles on either sid
Of the contemplated railroads. tracts tina
may be taken up by preemptors at govern
ment prices, but these tracts are very limit
ed in extent and not the most desirable pei