The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1859-02-04


But the prominent leading nsn Of that towI
are speculasrs-~shey own lands along thu
Zine Of the proposed Washington road. The,
| re therefor for u all the time and opposes
I t0sAll competing routes. 1t WAS Therefore
the policy to keep the people out--exclud
them froawparticipsting 10 ito proceedings
And before kers WAS any indication whatev
err of what - to be done, before the art
full movers sh6Wsa their hands, the persons
really most interested were excluded. 0ska
loosa men, presumed . be in the secret, told
the people present thaleit would not be righ
Tor Mshaska county, WSkR her hundreds Of
citizens present, to vets dossa the twelve OF
fifteen counties represented, hnd then tolt
the Convention that Mahaska bounty did mol
wish BY her large popular req esan.ation or
the floor TO control and dictat they were
there to hear. Suspecting nothi1 the PEG.
pie Of Mahaska county were quissl led out
Of the meeting by persons who had q ir con-
fdencc, and the Convention converted Spto q
means Of advancing the schemes Of New
York stock gamblers.
Now, a brief glance at the history OF tag
Convention, 80 far - the points alluded u
are concerned, will put . very difFsrent
phase upon those matters.
The call for the Convention was issued
withon, consultation with the people Of the
Valley, by one of the papers 1t Des Moinss,
and was so enthusiastically endorsed by
Burlington - to lead us to suppose at ones
that they felt deep interest in the objects Of
the Convention. Weinfsrred then, and every
thing since has gone to show that inference
correct, that Burlington intended to be at
the Convention in full force, to control the
action OF the Convention and to organise .
company in the Valley with a controlling in-
fuence in Burlington, for the eventual con-
ssruction Of road from Agency City, or
some other point on the ridge up the 'sdi-
vide;'' end thereby to force the Keokuk and
Port Des Moines rosd to turn up to Agency
City and stop, and depend upon the new or
ganisation to construct . connection for
them, in the good time coming, to Fort Des
Moines, intending that when that road should
be constructed, Burlington should have CON-
troll Of it, and SO discriminate on freight and
travel against the Keokuk road that both
would have to 90 over the Burlington road.
The Burlington delegation we're at Oska-
loosa rs strong, composed Of their most able
and influential citizens. They found the
Keokuk delegation there before them, with
less than half their number, but In the en-
joyment Of the favor and sympathy Of the
people. Burlington was set back. She sent
for the keokuk delegation and wanted =
conference, in which she talked nice to IN,
telling US they had no hostility to the Keo-
kuk company, but had attended the Conven-
ton to fight the Muscatine and Davenport
road and that they were perfectly willing
that the Kcokuk company should bull q
road up the Valley; oil they wantsd was to
have the road built, and thought il not neces-
sary to specify just when or " whom it
should be built. And 80 the delegates sepa-
rated with the understandiseah some men,
Der Of each delegation should draft resolu-
tons for the approval of all. Gen. Reid,
in our presence, - without suggestion from
Sanford J. Snith, wrote the resolutions,
which ussc submitted to the Burlington del
egation, disapproved by them, and subse-
qaently passed by the Convention by unani-
nous vote, Burlington and Fairfield no,
voting on the resolution specially complained
/ of.
This disposes of the charge of treachery
/ IA 80 tka fa4 "a tl~t ali a. Ia
tor drafted the resolutions. Sanford j. Smith
has contract on the Keokuk and Des Moline,
road, in Van Buren, county, and has received
sons thirty bonds from the Company-al
that he and Clark, Dodge Il Co. hold. An.
this disposes Of the New York Wall-stree
speculator humbug % industriously ventila
ted BY Burlington and the Havksys, Will
their own road is owned By Boston specula
tors, and Burlington has NO control whateve
in it's management.
Before the Convention met, Darlington
delegates sought to have one Of their Mum
Der nominated for President, and W object
cd because We preferred . Des Moines Val
ley man. After Judge Hendsrshott NJ
made President Of the Convention, Burline
IA ton delegates sought to have commists
appointed to Dust him by the election OF ne
officers. Failing in that, they sought TO tur
the Convention OF fourteen counties into 4
oskaloosa town meeting, and the people (
Oskaloosa voted down the proposition
/ And now the Ha0keye abuses the promine
men Of Oskaloosa for humbugging the poop
/ through corrupt motives to pursue this cou
I teous and honorable coarse. Had it bee
/ turned into mass meeting, the Hopke
would have charged that 1t was Of no .
. count, and that the proceedings were entire
!. controlled by the people Of Oskaloosa und
i the lead Of their land spectators interest,
i on the line OF the Muscatine road. II
d Convention could not have escaped the abn