Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-10-19
TIE CITY RAILWAY.
e,l,ound Broken and the
w ol'k Commenced.
.Ali Aboard for East Daven-
port.''

horse railroad. Il has been talked Of for
years and years. and nov the work las
been actually commenced, and with j. the
marking up Of vacant lots and the increase
in valuc OF improved property all along the
| line.
/ La lS57-only eleven years ago this sun-
mer-Geo. H. Parker ard one or two 9th
ers pettioned the City Council for the
grant Of a horss rsirosd charter. We be-
lisve tina, no rails were laid do~n. Tie
matter wen. t. smash or something Of thas
kind, along with several thousand other
worthy enterprises in thai memorable crash
OF 81, which some Of our citizens have not
yet entirely forgotten. Nothing more was
said or done about street railroads until
1865, when Capt. Andreas and several other
en.erprisDg gentlemen made desperate
eff ert 10 crganzs enc up Brady street to
l. 3cust, but it was not . success. But out
OF that effort fresh spirit Of street railway
enterprizs seized upon the people, and from
time to time it has been matter of public
and private solicitu1e, and the grand
scheme Of railroading third street from NJ
Manus' TO East Davsnport-a distance Of
nearly four milss-was formed. A charter
| was obtained several months ago from the
G,ty Council, a company duly organized
aud stock books opened. Subscriptions
came forward very slowly, and for while
it seemed AS though the project had taken
the same course that it did in 1867. But
Messrs. Fulton, Woodward, Swi,s, Scot. and
Others determined not to give it up So
consequently by hard labor succeeded in
raising . sufficient amount Of stock to in
sure the building of tho East Division
from Perry street to East Davenport-and
having accomplished that lot the contract to
Mr. Hathaway, to be fulfilled by Jan. ls',
1869
Accordingly, this morning, duly appeared
| on the ground at the intersection Of Third
| and Perry streets, President Fulton with .
wheel barrow load OF shor. oak stakes, En- |
ginesr Murray with his scientific impls |
ments, and few workmen, and tho labor
was commenced. The engineer struck the
centre OF Third street ust east Of the Per-
ry-street cross-walk, 4 puncture was made |
with q pick, whereupon Chas. II. Kent, |
( a, appeared with shovel in hand, and |
removed the first dirt, and our able bodied |
senior had the undying honor Of fsettinG and |
Il X la, ~ &re taLa Int n.
he performed with more or less ability in
the presence Of large aud enthusiastic au-
diencc which thronged the streets ~ we'll |
as the balconies and windows Of tho ada |
cent building. lie informs lis privately that
the arduous labor blistered one hand and |
made an ugly scratch On the other, on
which account he claims the first blood for |
himself.
Tho work thus commenced cannot DO less 1
that to move right straight ahead. On
Monday morning next the grading will be
commenced in earnest, under the supsrin-
,endence Of E. W. Baker, and as fast as
possible the line will be pushed forward to
completion.
The stockholders are among our most
substantial business men, and tho new en-
terpriso starts With every assurance Of sue
cess. The benefits that will arise from
the successful completion Of this work we
have before enlarged upon.
The price Of real estate along the river
road VII be g eatiy cnhanced-there can
be no coub: of its being paving invest
men. if rightly conducted.-And in addi
ton to this there will be tie pleasure ofa
ride for the af,ernoon-possibly it may
become thu fashionable amusement to ride
to East Davenport and back on pleas.
and days. Il i, step forward
ard in the right direction too-fer
should it provo q successful project, and
can show handsome dividend occasion
ally for the benefit Of its stockholders, il
vii! lead capitalists TO think that there are
other opportunities that are not being
pushed forward but which might bs turned
to good account here in our thriving young
city, and straightway we shall have other
and larger improvements such ones as
will bring money and men aud the ceaseless
castsr OF machinery into operation on the
banks Of the liver. The great trouble and
difficulty experienced in the projection Of
anything new under the sun 10 man to
start 1t. Whenever this is once done, ,hsn
follows everything else necessary. Even in
the event that il sbouid fail, the poss bility
Of success may have been but family DO.
but the fac, Of . commence
mont has been estab lished. and although
the enterprise should not result as fAvora-
bly, as its orig nators ~ishsd, still there
net at the present. but surely in the future,
men who will pu. their shoulders TO the
wheel and push forward 70 the goal which
the originstors failed to reach. Looking
forward to no distant day, it is safe to claim
for our city many improvements which
have - yet been left dormant here. With
so many great natural advantages. it is
surely within the range of the possibilities
to erect and carry forward any amount Of
manufactor'e Blu. with the increase Of
years these will come as natural sequence
Of small beginnings. The situation is here,
and the opening. and when the motive
power shall come, enterprises will be car
risd forward to grand results. Meanwhile,
it 10 best to labor and to wait.
/
The n. = =. 4. Railway U0der
Contract.
The meeting of the Directors Of the
Psoria and Rock Island Railway ct Peoria
last week resulted, as already announced, in
putting the entire line from Peoria TO Rock
Island under contract. The sucesssful bid
dsrs for the grading and masonry are Pres
colt L Jameson, being Col. J. @. Prescott.
Of ST. Louis, one of the wealthisst and most
snterpr.sing railroad contractors Of the
West, and Capt. E. Jameson, ofChillicoths,
I'll. The contract for bridging Was let TO
j. Baum, OF Peoria. The road bed is to bs