The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-12-28
From the Muscatine Journal.

---<O~---------
From the Muscatine Journal.
Railroad through Iowa from the Mis-
sissippi to the Missouri-Pr ogress OF
tho State.
The Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Rail.
road is now completed toe puipt ION the Mis-
souri, river. Trains viii be running
this week, to Council Bluffs, Che principal
city and commercial metropolis IN the west>
ern part Of the State. It is u graa. fact that
There is now a continuous line OF railway ex-
tending across our State from east to west;
| and what makarit more advantageous and
important is that this line is not very tar
| from the middle OF the State, north and south.
II is already tapped by one railwdy, terminus
ting at Dubuque, in the northern part Of the
STATE, and wiz soon be tapped by another,
terminating at Keokuk, in the southern part
of he State, and which connects with still
another, terminating at Burlington. We
trust the Mnseatine, Tiptoni and Anamosa
railway will also be in connection with this
through road in the course OF ali pther year.
At any rate, with fhe McGregdr Western
Railroad in operation some deyeuty,hye
miles, to Howard county; With the Dubuque
and Sioux City road to Iowa faisl in Hardin
county, connecting northward, with AVERY,
in Bremen county, aud westward with Cedar
Rapids IN Linn, and Council Bluffs on the
Missouri: with the road of which We have
| been speaking in full blast from prosperous
| Clinton 10 prosperous Council Bluffs: with
| the Iowa divisions OF the Chicago, Rock
Island, aud Pacific road, extending to Dav
| export and Muscatne on the Mississippi,
| westward To pes MONIES, the capital which
will soon be an accomplished fact) aud
| southwe stward, to Washington; with the
/ L
| in Monroe county, and going rapidly ahead,
with the Des MONIES Nally road entirely com
pleted from Keokuk, below the lower rapids,
connecting also with Fort Madison above, TO
Des Mones-with all these roads thus done
| or about done. the State of Iowa may be
| said TO have now got far enough along with
her railway enterprises to begin to pnter upon
the era of her greatest prosperity and adj
vancement. -.
The New York Daily Tribune Of ociaber
Is, 1862 in an elaborate article in review OF
Mr. Superintendent kennedy's Preliminary
Report on the Eighth Census, speaking OF
1.-THE growth of the national wealth, said
90 The wealth of Iowa has grown from S23,
ia, 63s TO S2i7, 1888, 265, turing the decenni-
um, showing an increase of neatly 943 per
cent Her actual increment of wealth dur
ing the rem years is greater than the entire
worth Of either Of the States of Arkansas,
California, Delaware, FLORIDA, Kansas, Name,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode
Island, or Nerinout" Speaking TO the same
fact afterwards, the Keokuk GATE CRY said
the rate OF increase in the wealth of Iowa
was higher by nearly 100 per cent. than
that exhibited by any other State in the ma
ton; more than 800 per cent. higher than
that of Massachusetts or Vermont. and about
400 per cent higher than that of the most
prosperous of the slave States-Texas.
1t should be borne in mind that this vast
increase OF the wealth of Iowa from 1850 to
lS5o--v hich was simply indicative of the
great increase of our people, their trade,
manufactures. agriculture and labors-was
for period during the most of which loco>
motive had never been seen in the State, and
which ended with our railways extending
westward only about 40 to 60 miles from the
Mississippi river. Since then, by means of
RAILWAYS excellent home markets have been
given 10 the counties of Clayton. Fayette,
Winneshieh, Chiekasaw aud Howard, ia the
north; Buchanan, Black Hawk, Bremen
Grundy, Butler, Hardin and Jones, west
wardly OF the city of Dubuque; Benton, la
ma, Marshall. Story, Boone, Greene, Carroll,
Crawford, Shelby, Harrison and Pottawatta
mic, on the line OF the Cedar Rapids road;
Iowa. Peweshiek and Jasper, on the line OF
the old Mississippi and Missouri River road,
now called the Chicago, Rock Island, and
Pacific; Monroe and Lucas, west of Bur
| hngton, Rapello. Mahaska, Marion, Jasper
| and polk 80 the line of the Des Mones Val
| ley road Mills and Fremont counties are
connected aiii railroad, nearly done, from
| ST. jos pil Mo-, 10 Council Bulls. and
which v Il .iAe those counties the choice Of
the Chicago aud st. Louis markets. All the
counties bordering these named. have had the
advan,a si.s al II near market, whereby the
value OF thelr citizens products and labor
has been greatly enhanced. But the terrific
ry M iowa directly opened up 10 commerce
with the wide world. by the building vi rail
roads itllin her limits of late, is not less
than donble the area of the whole State of
| Massachusetts.
Underlying large proportion OF this ter
rtorv is thick bed of bituminous coal;
many mines of camel coal; immense de-
posits Of stone unsurpassed for building pur-
poses Counties AS far in the interior as
'Proud Mahaska' no. supply steBmers ply
| ing between ST. Louis and st. Paul with their
Goals wneremieh to fire up In many of
the counties named there are great beds of
peat of great value for mechanical and man
ufacturing purposes. In all the counties
there is as fine a soil as Heaven ever gave
men to cultivate. There is scarcely single
county, perhaps. among those named which,
| if cultivated al the expense OF labor. money,
and manure Characterised of much New
England farming, would not produce more
crops thaa any OF the New England States,
except Maine, after the settlement OF her
pine forests.
| Notwithstanding, therefore, the unequalled
growth OF iowa during the decade from 1850
| to 1860 ii seems not only probable but GER
| tain that her growth will be shown to have
been no less rapid irom~ 1860 to 1870 when
the census for the latter year shall have been
published, Heretofore, speaking generally,
two-thirds of the population and wealth have
been in the eastern fourth or fifth part of the
State. That paft Of the State has continued
to grow with great rapidity. but large sections
Of country which only SO lately as 1860 we're
| primeval forest or prairie, are now cultivated
| farms, or prosperous villages and towns.
There have not been less than 500 new farms
Iopened up in. poweshiek county alone, dor.
ing the year lS66. as we learn from private
correspondence from tha. growing county.
We have about the same intelligence from
Story, from Boone, and from Greene coun-
ties, and learn that Carroll has been much
| improved this year, and will be much more
the next We have similar good news from
all the other counties which have lately re-
ceived the benefits OF direct commerce With
the world, through the onward progress Of
cur lines of railway.
/ Moreover, the cities and towns of Iowa,
which, from 1857 up to 1852, and later - to
some of them, we're dull and stationary, even