The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1869-01-14
Washington. Ottumwa and
Cameron Railroad,

We published the other day, an
article from tho Fairfield Ledger,
showing that a. desperate attempt
would be made there to divert our
Washington, Ottumwa and Cameron
Railroad from this its natural route,
to Fairfield and Bloomfield. We
printed it without comment, that our
people might keep posted Of the ef-
forts of their neighbors to circum-
Veut them. 800 ~.
Since that time we have received
the Fairfield Democrat which has the
proceedings Of a large public meet
ing held there, and at which Mr..
Charles Negus, prominent lawyer
of that city, made the follwing re-
marks: H ;9s@tto d
Mr. Ncgus stated that he learned
shat there was movement being
made towards extending the Wash
,ngton branch Of the Chicago, Rock
Island and Pacific Railroad, and that
he had been over to Chicago to ascerl
tain the facts. That while there hehad
'earnedthat there had been company
recently formed with view Of build
ing railroad from Washington, Iowa,
,c Cameron, Missouri. That he had
seen the President of this company,
AMI had been informed that there
had been corps Of engineers organ
lied, and that they were immediate
~ going to make survey Of the
route, and that it was the Intention
;n put the entire road under contract
the coming summer. That the
chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railroad Company were deeply in
serested in the project, and would
aid in building it. That it was the
present intention of the Company to
run the road by Ottnmwa, though
this WAS not permanently settled up
on" alsa
After which Mayor David moved
that committee of seven be appoin-
ted to devise means to secure the
proposed extension of the Railroad
from Washington, by Fairfield, to
Bloomfield, in Davis county, Iowa,
which motion was uaanimouly
adopted. Whereupon the chair ap-
pointed Charles Negus, c. w. Slagle,
John II. Wells, w. 81. Jordan, VIII
liam Aston, Daniel Mendenhall, and
Daniel Young.
''To be forewarned, is to be fore.
armed" andif the people of Ottumwa
allow this great enterprise to miss
them, on account of their stolid indif
ference, and blind faith in their
manifest destiny" it will be no
fault of the COURIER which has con.
tinued to stir them up, without ceas-
ing, in regard to the Feasibility and
Importance of this project, and the
efforts of our neighbors to appropri.
ate what property belongs to us.
While it is q matter ofrecord that
the Directory of the c. r. 1. & P. R.
t., unanimously voted at their last
meeting to makes connection with
the Hannibal and St. 10 R. R., Leav.
cnworth, and the Eastern Division Of
the Union Pacific Rrilroad at Gamer
on, via Ottumwa, and while it is
doubtless true, as Mr.. Negus says
that company has been organized
tT that purpose; and while it is a
self evident fact that we are direct.
ly OF the line of this proposed great
thoroughfare, and the most important
railroad centre in the State, and
therefore point desirable to make
on this route, it may be set down al
80 as stubborn fact, that Railroad
companies are not building roads, and
pouring out their money like water
through sections ofthe country where
the people seem to manifest total in
difference, or blind faith and conf.
dence that they will get their roads,
effort or no effort.
Let us move in this matter.