Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1860-02-14
Mississjppi 4 Missouri Railroad.

u ml1y on lcth street. -
hiu
Mississippi 4 Missouri Railroad.
Tho following We take from pam
phet just published by Thos. NJ. lset',
ESD. of Muscatine. That gentleman
was formerly ono of the Directors OF the
n. Il NJ. Railroad, and publishes his
pamphlet for the benefit Of the public.
We may have something to say con-
corning it hereafter, but for the present
let our readers look over what Mr.. Isc,t
says, and see whether or not it cores
ponds with their experience Of the road
III question and its management. The
article will be concluded in tomorrow q
clifton
A SYNOPSIS
OF the Doings Of the Mississirpi d
Missouri Railroad Company, from
it, Organization to the present time.
The Mississippi d Missouri Railroad
Company was organized under and by
virtue OF the forty-third chapter Of the
Code Of Iowa, entitled "Corporat ons
tor pccuniary benefit" approved Febru-
airy 5th, 1851, and adopted their articles
OF association. The above organization
was formed on the twenty-second day
OF December, 1852, at the City of Chi
cage, by meeting Of the following
named gentlemen, 3 portion Of whom
were prc,ent at that meeting, to wit !:
John 4. Jervs, Of New York, Joseph Z.
Sheffield and Henry Farnam, OF Con-
nccticut, John NJ. Wilson and N. H..
Judd, Of Chicago, Ebenezer Cook,
James Grant, John p. Cook and Hiram
Price, Of Davenport, Iowa; Ebenezer
Cook being the only man present from
Iowa. The object of this association
purported to be the construction or use
Of Railroad, with double or single
track, with the necessary bridges, for a
continuous line Ct Railroad from the
eastern line Of the State of Iowa, at or
near Davenport, in the county Of Scott,
on the most eligible routc to the west
line of SAID State, at or near Council
Bluffs, in the county Of Pottawattamie,
and tho transportation of persons or
property upon such road, for hire, &c.
Some time after the adoption OF the
articles of association, and the necessary
amount of stock having been subscribed,
the Stockholders elected the following
Board Of Directors, seven in number,
to wit: John \. Dix, VIM. Walcott and
Thomas c. Durant, Of New York, Jo-
seph K. Sheffield and Henry Farnam, of
Connecticut, VIM. &. Ogden of Chicago,
and f. Cook, Of Davenport.
Sometime after the foregoing arrange
ments were consummated, it became
evident to at least portion of those
eastern gentlemen, that in order to carry
out their magnanimous scheme in the
State Of Iowa, it would be necessary for
them to enlist in their behalf larger
portion of the citizens OF the State than
tho.e already identified with them. Con
portion OF them came to
Iowa, in the Spring of 1858, paid fly
ing visit to Muscatine and Iowa CITY,
and after representing their plans in
very glowing colors, and promising and
pledging themselves to everything that
was asked in the way of Railroads, and
before they left the State, at the City Of
Davenport, on the 9th day of June,
1853, the following amendments among
others were made to the articles Of in
corporation, to wit:
The Board of Directors Of this
company shall have power to construct,
maintain and use branches from the
main line OF said road, south-westward.
ly, by way Of Muscatne, to the south
ern or westward boundary OF Iowa, or
both, and ENTHUSIASTICALLY, by way Of
Cedar Rapids, aud in that direction up
the Cedar River valley, to the north line
of the State Of Iowa; but it shall never
be competent, by amendment or other
wise, for this Company to bu;Id, or aid in
building, or operate, or assist in oper-
ating, any branch in westerly or south
westerly direction from Cedar Rapids"
Having come into Iowa for the Dur
pose of completing arrangements for the
building of one Railroad across the
State, and now, for the purpose of recon
cling all conflicting interests, have
agreed to build three roads, it was
thought advisable that each of the new
projects should be represented in the
board by one resident director; conse-
qnently the number Of directors was in
creased to nine, and the Hon. George
Green elected to represent tho Cedar
Valley interest, .'and Thomas NJ. I.ctt
to represent the Mnscatinc interest.
Tho financial plan, represented by
tarnam and his eastern associates to the
people OF Iowa, to accomplish this great
work, was something like this: The
people of Iowa, by their county. city
ana private subscriptions were to raise.
in bonds aud money, one third Of the
amount necessary to accomplish the
work; farnam and his wealthy assoc-
ates IN the cast wcro to raise. by sub
scriPtions to the stock OF tbs Company.
the remaining two-thirds. This the
people OF Iowa thought they could afford
TO do, it being represented to them that
the whole of this amount of money
would be expended in their own State
and among their own people, excepting
the necessary cost Of TIC iron and roll,
ing stock.
Shortly after the contamination of the
foregoing arrangement the people Of
Iowa went to work in good earnest to pro-
cure private subscriptions and tooL +h -