Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-12-23
road extend to Mobile, through those three

road extend to Mobile, through those three
States. :
You knew well that neither YOU nor your
colleague, Gen Shields, ever had such consul
tation, either between yourselves or your col.
leagues Of the House, before I offered nv
amendment to make the road terminate at this
place, instead OF at Galena. You moreover
knew equally we'll, that when approached
you towards the close of the debate in tho
Senate on the bill with my amendment, and
asked you whether you had any objections to
my Offering 1t, stating as did that it was
merely to extend your road to Dubuque, IL or
10 miles further West, that you not only freely
assented thereto, but thanked me for the sug-
gestion, and that Immediately thereafter, In
your presence and hearing, obtained the as
sented also of your colleagues to the same ef-
feet That then offered it and it was passed
without dissenting vote or objection from
any quarter whatever, as the records show.
L on must also recOllect that within twenty
four hours a fter the passage of the bill through
the Senate, informed you that had had a
conversation with Col. Baker, the then Rep.
resentatiye from Galena in Congress and that
he declared to me that he would not allow the
bill to pass the House without having nv
amendment stricken from it, and that YOU
then said you did not care what Baker wished;
that 1t was right the road should terminate on
the Mississippi, and so connect with our pro.
posed railroad, and that you would so state to
your colleagues, Col. Richardson, Maj Harris,
and others OF the House, who would take
charge of the bill, and would prevent Baker
from making any such amendment in that
body.
The assertion on your part that or my col
league, or any one of our friends had deter.
mined to deteat your bill upon the ground
stated by you, or for any other reason what
ever is false, and its publication being deferred
until the day Of the late Illirois election. too
late to be contradicted by myself or others
shows that you and he (your Galena orgapi
who acted for you, designed to mislead the
9alena people, and thus accomplish your sell
hsh purpose. The journals and the debates of
the Senate show that Gen. Dodge aud I hear.
tily co-Operated with you and your colleague
in every effort and every vote which was given
on that question. For many considerations we
could not but be deeply interested in the pas.
sage Of that bill
At the celebration of the completion of the
Illinois Central railroad to DunIeith, held at
this place IN July, 1855, you compIimepted me
in exalted terms in your speech on that occo.
sion as the person who procured the amend
ment, making Dubuque the terminus of the
road; and although you knew that hundreds of
your own constituents were there present. Won
did not intimate that the same had been done
contrary TO your wishes. You were then adj
dressing an Iowa audience whom you wished
to propitiate.
again, sir, when you last visited Dubuoue
lAugust 26, 1851 you had an interview with
j. u. Dorr, the editor Of the Express and Her.
aid, Of this city, who had, ever since Won in
troduced the Kansas and Nebraska bill in the
Senate, been your bitter opponent, and the op-
ponent that measure. The next morning an
editorial article appeared in that paper, of
which the following is an extract:
Rnt "a . L. L. g. q
been benefited by the policy and by the Ia
bors of Stephen A. Douglas. All the western
States arc indebted to him for the material
prosperity which is observable within their
borders. We believe, however, that our own
State (lowa) stands next to Illinois in her OH
legations to Mr.. Douglas. To him more than
to any living man is owing the magnificent
railroad system planned out Of her-the sys-
tenn which is destined TO make her one of the
wealthiest and most important States of the
west. Even our own good city of DUBUQUE
owes, In great measure, her present import
ance to the labors Of Mr.. Douglas. She knows
that the extension Of the northwestern branch
Of the Illinois Central to the opposite bank of
the Mississippi has greatly added to her pros
perlty, and the land grant roads running from
here to the interior will still add more towards
making her the commercial metropolis of the
region north and west Of Chicago"
Two numbers Of the paper containing the
above extract were sent to you the next day.
one to Galena and the other to Chicago. with
the expectation that you would have the hon.
esty to spurn the offer thus made you by your
Helr!y acquired advocate here, to the detri-
ment of myself, for whom you then professed
friendship. Instead of doing so, however, the
same article was re-published In the Times,
your organ at Chicago, and that too, within
a very few days after it came out here, and
whilst you were still OF Chicago, necessarily
within your knowledge, if not at your request
Thus, sir, at one time you extoled me in un-
mea slrsd terms for causing Dubuque to be made
the terminus Of the Illinois Central Railroad
when addressing an Iora audience; at another.
you allow Dorr, your ally and my unscrupulous
opponent here, to flch that which Justly be.
longs TO me and appropriate it to your tempo.
rary benefit. And now, when arraigned by
your constituents for allowing me to make an
amendment TO your bill, to the disadyanta0e
of Galena, las the people there believe,j You
resort to the dishonest ami HnWortHy prefszt
OF saying you were compelled either to allow
fle amendment to be made, or to lose the bill
entirely, because "Mey myself and colleapuel
1reye inlDlordLle and insisted on defsot1,,g me
bill, &c. Neither Gen. Dodge, his father,
nor myself, ever voted against you or Gen.
Shields on any amendment OF proposition Of
tered to the bill and 1t finally passed by yeas
and nays 26 TO Ia; so We had not, as you allepe,
the power to defeat the bill, as still it would
have passed.
My amendment was offered without consul
tatlon with any one, not excepting my own
colleague, or any one of my own constituents
/ am proud OF having procured such benefit
Tor the state which has trusted and honored
me, but would spurn it had it been obtained
" by COLLISION" with yourself or any one else
q charge never within my knowledge mado at
Galena or elsewhere, until now meanly insip.
uated by yourself.
This, sir, is the third time that you have
made "infamousiy false" accusations against
me, and that have been compelled to fasten
the lie upon you. Though you may, at tho
sacrifice OF Democratic organization, have eff.
fected triumph in your State, as You say,
cover Executive and Congressional dictation,b'
can but look with contempt upon any fame
or position you may have acquired by union
with "white spirits and black, blue spirits and
gray" Black Republicans, South Americans,
disappointed Ofice-seekers, &c, as do upon
the miserable resort to opprobious epithets con-
nected with my name, but covered with a con-
tingency which gave a sure escape.
GEO. WALLACE JoNHs.
p s This WAS prepared At Tho tims and