The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1869-12-16
Communicated.

| wv SdOoSodA NOudl QTUpOSltIOu,
! and the proposition was defeated by q
large majority. What does this vote
mean? 1t means simply business; it
means that Manitowoc understands its
railroad affairs, and knows both who are
Its friends. and its enemies. The vote
| does not mean that the Western road
should not be built, and built speedily,
but it means that Manitowoc cannot build
two roads at once, hence must build ons
of the two proposed roads first. One
great difficulty has been. that the village
has been divided between doing two
things, constructing Western road and
a Lake Shore road. There have been
two strong parties contending against each
other, instead of joining hands, and 60
ing forth as one man to the work of bring
ing railroad into this large and already
antique village "a house divided
against itself cannot stand" AS long as
one party is for one road, and the other
party for another, it will be all oscillation
of power and no application of power;
the nearest approximation to business will
be aoindy debate.
There have been two objects inviting
attention and hence consequential delay
as to which one to attend to. This mo-
dus operandi emphatically won't do. It
should be all of Manitowoc with one pur-
pose for we have great obstacles to over
come. in short. too much to do to be do
ing against each other. In unity there
is strength, and in singleness of purpose,
there is promptness and energy of action.
The vote has decided that the Lake
Shore road ought to be built first. One
reason is, that it is the smallest of the
two things to be done. 1t is a longer
road, but we can get more help. The
small towns on the Lake Shore can throw
in their mite, but it is the rich railroad
companies that take the contracts and
furnish the capital for building rail
roads. Those companies are of Mil
waukee. They can under bid any eastern
company, for one reason, among others,
that they are nearer home. Milwaukee
is going to be our great hell in construct
ing the Lake Shore road, for that road
will be for its interests. But if we com,
mence the building of a Western road
now, Milwaukee will look on with jeal-
Gus eye, and cripple the enterprise if
possible; while the country along the c.
darburg and Chiffon route will be no bet
ter off than before. But propose to build
the Lake Shore road, and the Chiffon
route would be glad of the compromise,
and Milwaukee would rejoice at one m ore
iron grasp on the wealth of the North
west. The people of the Chiffon route
are greatly in earnest, they are powerful
ly supported on both ends of the line,
and to swerve them from their purpose
of having road through their midst
at the earliest opportunity, will require
the Immediate application of all the mon
ey and energy the Lake Shore towns can
command. Does any one think that the
Chiffon route is going to wait two or three
years for the Western road, when the
construction of that road would greatly
There would not be any such waiting
done, and Manitowoc, at the end of that
time, would wake up from its stultiGed
lethargy, to find itself in the centre of
a triangle of highways and the wheat of
its very suburbs leaving it alone to starve
to death. This matter will go before the
legislature at its coming session, and the
Chiffon route and the Lake Shore route
will bid against each other; then will be
the time when the fate of this village will
be decided, and let every man of it, who
has railroad dollar, or railroad idea,
be at the auction. The president of the
western road dssires the construction of
that road first. Why is he SO obstinate
about it2 Why does he not cheerfully
and patriotically succumb to the wishes
Of a large majority of the people
of Manitowoc? The argument is against
him, md he can see that as well as any
body else. The reason of his persistent
opposition is this; that every sensible
man has always some deep underlying
nootice, which is the soul and prompter of
his acts The motive In this case is that
he has an interest In large tract of wood
ed land, whose value the building of
Western road would increase ten-fold,
and which he has been holding up to the
eyes of numerous railroad companies,
East and West, for some years past, and
saying chow much will you bid He
has looked over the heads of the masses
of the people, and been dallying with
them these many years, and procrastinating
the construction of any railroad at all,
just for the purpose of getting higher
bid than he has yet been offered and
when that maximum bid is given, then
as to himself, welcome fortune and good
bye railroads
The Western road to be sure is neces-
sary, but not as necessary now as it will
be after the Lake Shore road is built.
The one road will be the indispensable
complement to the other; either will
pay much better after the other is COM
pleted: for passengers will come here
from the West with view of being able
to go South, and from the South with the
view of being able to go immediatelyWest.
And natures great harhnr here would at