The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1859-12-21
RaiirO9rs.

Railroads.
The Fayette Pioneer and the Garnavilo
Journal agree with us in thinking that the
| policy of McGregor is not to hurry the con-
struction of a Railroad west from this place
The Pioneer, in view of this, urges its own
readers in Fayette county and farther west,
to go to work themselves, and rouse the
country to action, in this matter. That is
right, exactly. Our articles will cause the
interior of Northern Iowa to rely upon it.
self, and they will probably hasten the con-
struction of the read but that result is one
which must ultimately come, and we are
not disposed to fight it. All we proposed
to say in the beginning was, that no argu-
ment can convince McGregor merchant or
capitalist that car deliveries of produce,
bear any relation to the advantages of trade
derived from team deliveries; and if the
West waits to have this city take large
load of stock in this proposed line, the
West will not see locomotive for several
years. This is a fact about the feeling here,
and those of our neighbors who really want
rail facilities, should know it. A road, five
or ten years hence, when we have grown up
to be city of twenty-five to fifty thousand
people, won't hurt us much but now, be-
fore we get out of the gristc, it would not
be bit ''pretty'' to stop the "dicker' by
which we live, twenty, fifty, and one hun
dred miles west of us. ...
The particular danger we may be in from
the completion of rival lines, north or south
OF us, is not very alarming, at present
Railroads are not built now with the spe ed
or the 'rantcf consideration which formerly
characterized their construction. All the
railroads in the United States have been
built on credit, and as credit just now is
scarcer than money, and money, for such
purposes, cannot be had; ergo, railways are
not much built. For this state of affairs it
does not matter whether we are clad or
sorry the facts are there, and we may as
well look at them with the real eye, instead
of the fancy one. The roads to be construct
ed, will be safer and sounder lines for the
Investment of capital than anything we now
have, there being no line to-day in the Uni
ted States that can show profit on capital,
or whose stock is par. A good many rea-
sons can be given for the extravaganza of
cost, and waste of money in running them,
but it is not important to speak of what we
all know First, Second and "Third Mort
gage Bonds,' ''Preferred Stock" "Hypoth-
ecations," and a good many other Wall street
fancy terms, to hide the weakness of rail-
road company, or cover up the roguery of
its managers, have had their day Low fig
ures, plain sailing and debtless lines must
be the order hereafter.
The editor of the Press, in conversation,
a day or two since, assured us that a re-
sponsble and energetic gentleman, now at
work on the Dubuque & Pacific Road, is
ready to take the road from McGregor to
the Missouri, grade it, run it and man il
with all the rolling stock which its business
will require, for ten thousand dollars pc,
mile! This is astonishingly low, and it will
not require great deal of outside capital
to put it through to the western boundary
of the State. Let those who need it take
the initiative and 60 ahead. Our folks arc
| such fogies that they decline the honor OF
being first in the fashion. McGREGoR, like
all other cities, will keep an eye on her in
terests; and if any other town in the w est
can head her in business way we will take
an early occasion to give credit
But we are writing more of this than We
designed to. In the Chicago Journal, of .
late date, we find the following powerfully
significant little paragraph. In referring t,
the fact that that splendid line of Road
known as the Fort Wayne & Chicago, ha
passed into the hands of Receiver, and i
now running for the benefit of its "pre
ferred'' creditors, the Jo,uaal says:
"One hundred million of dollars of rail
road bonds mature within the next fiv.
years. 1t is estimated that not five pc
cent. Of this amount will be returned from
the earnings of the roads. From table o
one hundred and twenty roads, not one
third of them declared last year a half yearl,
dividend"
This seems to argue that newspaper al
ticles, bond-voting, track-mortgagiug, ct al
will not sustain railways, and the inferenc
is that such appliances will not build man
more miles Of rail. Money is the desidera
tum, and money only moves from interest
) ed motives