The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-03-17
From the Rlnomfield Union Guard.

From the Bloomfield Onion Guard.
| Mr.. EDITOR Reliable information has
reached as that the State Of Missouri has
through the action Of the late General As.
semblys appropriated one million dollars Il
aid the North, Missouri r R. Co., in extend.
ing. their road to, the Iowa State line at q
psint south. or southwest Of Bloomfield
wthaview to it's further extension through
Iowa. Allow mo to call the attention Of the
public generally, AMI the. North Mp. Estea,
sion Co. particularly, to the necessity Of ia
king immediate steps to secure the location
of the road on route favorable to its exten.
sion to O.tumws ria Bloomfield.
Rhis route offers many advantages and in
ducements offered by no other route, and
doubtless will be adop,ediby the N. Mo. R,
R. Co., if they are properly advised; but the
Board Of Directors reside at considerable
distance from Iowa-a majority of them,
believe, in st. Louis,-And must rely to a
great extent on the people Of iowa for in
formation with reference to. the different
routes proposed, and their relative merits =
The claims of. other routes will be urged,
and five d. nothing we edexpcct nothing
Let US, then. move in, the matter. at once. -
We have company already organized for
the purpose Of extending SAID road north.
ward, BY Bloomfield, to { .tun,wa. at which
point it will tap the Des Moines Valley, Just.
ly esteemed one of the richest valleys in the
world. There it will intersect two. other
rairoads-the K Fl. D. & NJ. r R., alrea-
.dy completed to Eidyville, (2A miles above
0ttumwas and destined soon to reach Des
Moinas, the beautiful Capital of onr gallant
young State; also the B & Mo. r R. R.,
already completed to Ot'umwa. with certain
prospects of being pushed rapidly on to al
hia, and thence westward to tho Missouri
River.
Ottumwa, itself, is young bSt rapidly
growing city. with very large trade that
is daily increasing. Its mercantile, manu-.
featuring and banking business for the wear
commencing January fst, 1863, and ending
Jan. list, 1864, amounted, in the aggregate,
to So, SO4,Oo0. During the same year,
there was shipped from Ostumwa on the
railroads named: .
To Burlington and Chicago. hog. 100000
no no :. cattle 100000
To Chicago keokuk, horses AMI
mules, NORTHUMBERLAND. :. 40, 900
Hogs pacsed in ottumwa. -. .. .......... 7p,oo0
Fhis partial tabular rexieSv shows the irnr
.portance Of Ottunwa as q shipping point
In addition to this fact there is shipped to
and through Ottumwa, for western trade,
goods to supply the demand Of 80 counties
ranging in population from 5000 to 10, 900
inhabitants.
Ottumwa is the nearssa point at which
the North Mo. road can tap the Des Moines
Valley. 1t is also the most profitable point
for the road and for St. Louis in CONNER.
cial point of'view. IL is to their interas It to
reach the Valley at point as far east as
practicable, SD as not to come too directly
in competition with the local carsying trade
Of the Mississippi River. The surplus pro.
duce of Iowa and the West tends to How
eastward or southwark. 1t cannot be
drawn westward, even by ths prospect of
reaching saothera channel at short dis
ance. Tae direction of this flow coming
from the west, eastward, can e,sily be
cha nged towards the south by coming iA
contact with available south channels of
trade; hence the further east the line Of the
North Mo. road is laid the greater will be
its chances for Iowa trade.
The idea, once prevalent, that tn, 'k7-na1
diUide" between the waters Of the Missis-
sippi and Missouri rivers was the only eli
gibe route for the North NJ, R r., h. now
exploded. A glance at the map will show
that very soon after reaching Iowa this d.
videh commences rapid course westward,
going to no place on a very curcuitious
route, such as no rail road Co. would select
if they wanted to get thers. In faos there
is no person now claiming that as an eligi-
BILE route The "divide" must be abandoned,
and insist there il M route that can pre-.
sent az many Inducements to the N NJ r.
r. Co. and to St. Louis as the Bloomfield
and Ottumwa route. 1t is eminentIy mer
itorious. We Gun secure the location of
this road upon 1t, If we will immediately
and earnestly press its claims. Let US then
90 to work. We have no time to lose.
While we are sleeping some route far less
meritorious may step in and take the prize.
The North Mo. 90. are are now moving.
The first important step to be taken is to
locate their road. and the inquiry is now
being made, -'Where shall. we locate it,"
Let us wake up and tell them.
Very Respectfully, H.H.r,
Presentation Of Gen. Grants
Commission as Lieut.. General.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9-The President of
the United States this afternoon formally
presented o Gen. Grant his commission as
It. General The ceremony took place in
the Cabinet Chamber in the presence of the
entire Cabinet. Gen. Halleek, Represents.
tive Lovejoy, Gan. Rawlirs and Col. Com
stock of Gen. Grants staff, the son Of Con.
Grant and Mr. Nicolay.