The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-03-24
Ottawa's Opportunity.


column, calling attention to matter OF IL |
tai Importance TO Ottawa, and in reference to |
which Ottawa must act soon, or she may lose
her opportunity forever A company o.
heavy capitalists, among whom are men like
Gen Schenk and:Ge Garfield, of Ohio, have
purchased the bulk of the Vermilion Goa
lands u or II miles south of this city, at
cost OF over Sl50,O00, and propose to COM
mencc operations Immediately in mining coal
on large scale in that vicinity. But to
make the investment. profitable, this cons
panv must have an outlet to market Vars
GUS projects are before them to accomplish
this The St. Louis, Jacksonville d Chicago
r. r., which crosses the Illinois Central at
Wenuna, and would naturally, in its route
eastward, go some miles south of these coal
fields. offer on certain terms to defect suifici
ently northward to ACCOMMODATE the com.
pany. The American Central r. r. Co.:
whose road crosses the Chicago L Alton road
at Dwight and the III. Central near Tonica.
propose also to run through the company
coal fields, on certain terms. Both the pro-
positions, Of course. leave Ottawa out in the
cold.
Now, the obvious, common sense outlet for
the Company is by II or IL mile railroad
to the canal at Ottawa. The company car
never hope to compete in The sale of It's coal
in the Chicago Market, or any market east Of
that, with the coal mines at La Sale and
right on the banks of the canal up TO Morris,
unless they can also carry their coal TO mar
ket By water. But for the canal, although
there are rival railroads from La Sale to
Chicago, the LIE Sale coal mines would have
ceased operations long ago. Coal can be
brought by schooners from Pennsylvania to
Chicago cheaper than it can be carried By
rail from La Sale to Chicago. This COM
pany is blind if it thinks it can carry coal
100 miles by rail and hope 10 compete for the
Chicago coal trade. r
An extract from letter of a member of
the company, given in the communication IN
another column, objects to the railroad to
Ottawa on the scere Of expense; yet the
same company entertain favorably the pro-
ject to build the Am. Central r. r. to Dwight.
The distance to Dwightis % miles, to Ottawa
II. Now the apprehended difficulty Of de-
scending the bluff at Ottawa, and the ex
pense of bridging the river, is delusion
There is an easy and natural descent to the
river bank, and right where the road would
strike the river Is one of the finest places for
4 brlIge on Its whole length with natural,
solid rock abutment on each side. The out
side figures for good railroad bridge there
would be under SD, 900 Thence northward,
the railroad would strike the canal below the
lock, so that the canal could be crossed on a
dead level and Junction formed with the
Ch. Il Rock Island r. T.. on the same level,
While the right Of way, from river to r K. on
this route, would actually cost nothing
From tie Vernilion to the head of Covil
Creek, the route Is as easy as to Dwight
Why, then, should e road % miles 10 Dwight
cost less than road IA miles to Ottawa?
But, as the communication alluded to sug-
gests, the company do not want to send the
bulk Of their coal east, west, or south, but to
the north. There is nc coal north Of the
Illinois river, yet the whole country up the
Fox River Valley, and for miles east and
west of it, is teeming with population, man
ufactures, ard machinery, whose great want
is coal. 1t is now carried from II to 40
miles north of Ottawa By teams What this
coal company want, then, and what Ottawa
wants, is to get the Chicago Il Burlington
Road interested in this matter, and to induce
them 10 extend branch of their road down
the, Valley Of Fox River to Ottawa, anG
thence across to the Vermilion coal fields.
The road now touches within 90 miles of
Ottawa. The people on the route, we have
no doubt, would readily subscribe stock
enough to grade this branch road, Ottawa
can help to bridge the river, and the Vermil-
lion coal interests can help to buy the IRON
Surely, the Burlington Road, which is a
wealthy and flourishing concern, can easily
stock it. The finest coal market in the
world would be opened to the Vermillion
coal fields by accomplishing this scheme.
We hope the meeting at TIE Court House
this evening will give this subject the CON
sideration its Obvious importance demands