North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1868-09-30
WHOLE No. 624.
Allison Again.

Allison Again.
Last week we gave chapter or two in
the history of Mr.. Allison and the Pacific
Railroad matter, subjects now undergoing
severe analyses at the mouths of orators
and the hands of editors Of both parties.
The letters following were written to the
Dubuque Daily Times, prior to the West
Union Convention, which replaced Mr. A..
On the Congressional track. Gen. Van
dever is the author of them. Some of our
over.sensitive, McGregor, youthful radicals
affected great indignation at Noble's
charge of corruption" on Saturday night
(Sept. l9th). A distinguished member
of the &c. & c. Pop. s. Club of this city
denounced Noble as "uncourteous in in
Producing railway subjects as political
matter" The member Of the &C. & G.
P. S. Club to whom we refer, is eminent
for freeness Of utterance; loudness of de.
clamatory power, earnestness of action.
consciousness of logical talent and the
best stock of geniality in social life which
it has been our fortune to meet with
since 1857. Unfortunately for him
self, and we regret to say, un.
fortunately for our ceuntry--our
young and highly esteemed friend (rhis he
knows is no sham profession) thinks it his
duty to sustain in a partisan sense, what
his reflective moments carnot but condemn.
We invite the special attention of him
whose illustrious namesoke was the lion.
tanner of scripture, to the brief paragraphs
of Gen. VIM. Vandever, Of Dubuque. II
raid upon the Treasury of the United
States, and the sell-out of North Iowa
interests by the Congressman who was
made, by election, the guardian of the one
and the advocate of the other, be no,
''political' we would be pleased to learn
what politics means!
We have more chapters to publish but
for the present let these two letters of Gen
Vandever suffice. Mr.. Allison's bold de-
NAL of the charges made are of no effec,
when "the goods" are discovered on his per.
son and his estate. His attempt to ridicule
the indictment out Of the Peoples Cour,
may be an exhibition of shyster talent
but thinkers are not SO easily satisfied
We liked Allison, personally, but our
'like' for any man who is proved untrust.
worthy cannot bear the frosts of the pre-.
sent investigation.
To the Editor oft the Dubuque Times:
i Mr. Allison, in his communication pub.
lished yesterday, says: ''The company
was selected with the approval of the Iowa
delegation in Congress, and selected by
Mr.. Lincoln with full knowledge of all the
facts l take issue with Mr.. Allison on
this statement, in regard to the full knowl-
edge Of all the facts by MIR. Lincoln at the
time he designated the Sioux City and
Pacific Railroad Company, to construct
the Sioux City branch of the Pacific road.
and that MIR. Allison mis- states is evident
from the fact that MIR. Lincoln certificate
of acceptance was d; ted December oath,
1864, and the Sioux City company did not
hle with the department map of the gen.
eral route OF its road until June 9th,
1865. In fact the route of this road was
not surveyed and located until after Mr..
Lincoln had given the certificate. reit-
crate the statement made in one of nv
former communications, that Mr.. Lincoln
never would have conferred this dangerous
power upon these men if he had been in
formed, or could have forseen the route
they intended to adopt. The manifest in
justice of such sham would have been
too great for Mr., Lincoln to sanction. and
very likely most Of the Iowa delegation in
Congress were imposed upon in the same
manner. Mr. Allison, however, is not en-
titled to any such extenuation of his
ottense for he was prime mover in the
scheme, and one of the original corpora
tors along with John Blair and others,
as is evident from the articles recorded in
our own county, August 9th, 1864.
Every engineer" says Mr.. Allison,
"who has examined the route, reports that
1t is the most practicable route from Sioux
City to the main line." Here again take
issue with him. Mr.. Blair's engineers
may have made such report for aught |
know, but the absurdity of the statement
is manifest on the face of it. It is simply
saying that the most direct practicable
route from the Sioux City branch of the
Pacific road is southeast down the east
bank of the Missouri river near to point
on the Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs
road. As | said yesterday, can any sane
or honest man doubt but that an easy and
practicable route for the Sioux City branch
of the Pacific road could be found west of
the Missouri river, according to the inten-
ton OF Congress. To say that such o
route could not be found would be to falsi-
fy the evidence Of ones senses. The
Pacific railroad does not stop for small
obstacles. 1t scales mountains, traverses
tee wilderness and defes the avalanche.
The large subsidy Of land and bonds,
granted the Pacific Road and its branches,
was to enable the company to surmount
every natural obstacle in constructing tho
road upon the 'most direct ioute."
! wish to rccapitulate some of the ma
terial facts heretofore stated in regard to
the connection Of Mr.. Allison with our
railroad matters.
The original Pacific railroad act was
passed by Congress July lst, 1862. The
amended act under which the Sioux City
branch was diverted from our road to the
Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs road,
was passed July I'd, 1864. Mr.. Allison
came home from the session uf Congress
which passed this amended act, and or
ganized the Sioux City Pacific r. r, Com.
pany in August of 1864. He organized
the company here in Dubuque in connec-
ton with John l. Blair and others. They
obtained Mr.. LincoIn's sanction of the |
new company December Oath 1864, upon