Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1860-04-06

TOWNS across ire szss ske advantage Of 4.
railroad, and she would find rivals plenty.
ma I have made carefui-somputation of the
6stancesdkom Chicago a4ASt, Louis to the
Southwestern portion Of 1lR, and find by
,compafi16 that TN 2Dnstr ion of your road
sEill bFipg thirty -sdveh coJ6kes nearer to st.
louis than they are or ever, can be to Chicago
have footed up the population of these
counties, and find it amounts to los, 600; or,
in round numbers, 100000, There are sew
efAl 6tflef counties where tho claims of YOUR.
road Would be at least equal to those of any
other, and you could reasonably expect
a large local business, Now is the time to
secure this trade while there are no roads
built into this section. Dora ~ tHfiH9s g
p This trade would be valuable now, but II
is only attraction ofwhat time viii make it. q
10 A few years hence and tehie section Of our
State, now representing zoe, 600 souls, will
represent milton. And wherever the
tide ofbusiness is then found flowing, it will
be likely to continue to flow.i For All Who are
at all acquainted with the practical operation
of these things, know how difficult It Is to
change trade from an old channel to new
onc.I issda yiGEaa gn8 ta @11s ,gsiS & 4
= A very important item Of local business
Will be the coal trade Your road passes over
inexhaustible beds Of 1t, which are now open
ed and worked with great facility @ q
At Eddy vile, on the Des Moines river can
nelicoal has been found, and should further
developments show that there is an abundance
Of it will be mine Of wealth. 80
p The northern portion of the State is not
nearly SO well timbefed as the southern por-
ton, and tlheInorthwest quarter is, compare
tively3 speaking, almost timberless. II twill
be the province Of your road to take the coal
from Mahaska to the north line Of the State,
and some may even find its way into the big
prairies OF Minnesota. 11Hed ptss b /
!, Your road will cross the four landlgrant
roads, and by them will be able to distribute
this much needed article to nearly every coun-
ty lin the State. btgs gpgE igq7{19o 93sl9a
al Yonr road leaves the Mississippi river an
average distance of 100 miles on the east,
which will prevent them from coming into
competition for the local trade that properly
belongs to- each. Forty miles is frequently
estimated as the limit Of profitable trade on
zach side Of D. railroad, which leaves sixty
miles to gofto the river These remarks ap-'
ply withseq equal force to the entire route from
st. Louis to st. Paul, except, .prchaps, the
southern portion of North Missouri Railroad
iia jnssa3 THROUGH BUSINESS. 31 5.iai
In speaking Of through business, speak
of the whole line from st Louis to st Paul
b The river will undoubtedly come in com.
petition with this great trunk, for the through
business; and the question arises as to the
amount Of traffic that will probably be divert
ed. es 80 R A1At5
There are several serious difficulties in nav
'igating the river, to-wit: frost, shadows and
bridges. The first keeps it closed from four to
six months of the year; say, on an average,
five months out of twelve .,~7 .rs-T
Ofthe other seven months it is frequtntly
the case that the water on the rapids is SO
shallow that navigation becomes both expen-
sive and dangerous, and the time required to
make a trip altogether problematical
Another obstruction is the construction of
bridges, which has been SO much complained
of for years past but the bridges still stand,
and the probability is that few years will
see still others to keep them company.
From St Louis to 81 Paul. y 1sead is s go mikes m:
This shows difference of $50 miles in "a
yor of the railroad, so that passengers can prob
ably be carried by rail as cheap as by water,
and in one-fourth of the time.
In looking this matter over, we do not see
that the railroad need to fear the competition
of the river for through business, for as has
been shown, we should do all the business
for five months in the year, and at other times
when thewater is low. sas /
Our route being so much shorter, we should
carry all the passengers and all kinds of freight
-tov Sc sl<,c l. a.
all express business, carry all express freight,
and all the United States nails }as19 -s'i 4
The items Of themselves would make good
business gaEsrg4 al ar & 7fd3 4
The people of Iowa look to st. Louis as the
best market they can 60 to to buy groceries.
And she should furnish five hundred miles of
country and will do so when the proper FL
cilities are furnished. Let trains loaded with
groceries leave st. Louis for the interior Of
Iowa, distribute their wares, and return load
ed with the products, of the soil. Then each
party receive their benefits one in the redu-
ced cost Of sugar, coffee, &C., and the other
by securing the trade that makes the wealth
Of cities. ~ II l.reg e.tE
/. This route, taken as awhole, is very
direct, and as q sequence, is the shortest that
can be built; and there is no danger of a
shorter rival route being built at some time in
the future, as has often happened where the
first roads We're not the shortest ones that the
country admitted of. 49,, $500 .4I. 800
2. This is a reasonably cheap road to build,
and as sequence viii make good paying
stock. q, $500 49,. s.. ~ $3.50 -,
8. 1t has two excellent cnds-one in st.
Louis, the metropolis of the West, and the
other in the pine regions of the North, at st