St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-03-24
For the St. Charles City Intelligence
T'T wv 81 NTHII'N wy ITTVV'T7EV'TIVUI
Smeed and the c. F. Railroad Co.

MEssRs. EDITORS The Wavcrly Re.
publican, of March 18th, contains a
scurrilous article in reference to the
Cedar Falls & Minnesota Railroad
Company. The article is entitled
selling out at cost" but its syntaX
is such that it is almost impossible to
tell whether it is the Editor of the Wa.
verify Republican, or the Railroad Com.
pany that is to be sold at cost. If the
former, then there is chance for some
one to buy an able-bodied bipcd for
little or nothing. But we will assume
the other construction, and say that
the article hints that the Cedar Falls
Company are wishing TO sell out, and
have but little to sell The Editor
says, to sum up his article in few
words, that said Company was started
for humbug and still continues to
be one. We in turn will say that Mr..
Smccd, when he penncd the article,
wrote what was false and more than
that, he was conscious Of it.
In the fall Of 1856 the Chicago,
Iowa x Nebraska Railroad Company
sent an agent through the Northern
portion Of the Cedar Valley with the
ostcnsiblc purpose of inducing the
counties along the Cedar River to aid
in building branch Of said road up
the valley Of the Cedar. A PROPOSE
ton was submitted to the various coun-
ties to vote loan of their credit to
aid in the construction of such road
This county voted one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars, and Mitchell
county voted two hundred thousand
dollars for that purpose. All at once,
after the votes were obtained, the
agent of the Chicago, Iowa & Ncbras-
ka Company disappeared, having
mulcted sundry confiding persons
along the proposed route in sums from
$50 to $500, amounting in all to about
$4,000 We waited patiently until the
first part Of January, 1858, to hear
something of the Cedar Valley Branch
of the Chicago, Iowa a. Nebraska Rail-
road, but neither the company nor the
agents were to be seen or heard from.
About this time the Cedar Falls &
Minnesota Railroad Company was
formed and incorporated pursuant to
and in accordance with the laws of
this State. Their engineers proceeded
to make their preliminary surveys,
the company from the first informing
the people that they were expected to
assist in building the road. During
all this time, nearly two years, moth
ing had been done by or heard from
the Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Com
pany, but all at once call is made
for Railroad Convention at Waveriy.
The Convention met at Waverly on
the 18th day of July, 1858 Mr.. L. b.
Crocker, with accompanying delega-
tons from Linn and Benton counties,
and Waterloo in Blackhawk county,
together with the populacc of Waiver
~ controlled the Convention, and al-
ter assurances from Mr.. Croker and
others Of the Chicago, Iowa & Ne
braska Company that they were una
BILE to build the road, the Cedar Val
ley Railroad Company was formed,
with Mr. Crockcr as President, and
w. =. Harmon as Vice President.
Among the directors of this new com
pany was the very man who had for
merly procured the three thousand dol
lars from this and other counties for