The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1869-02-02
Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad

Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad.
Hons. 1rssr TrRyTR. llrGu r TnoMA
soN, GR,xyILLE WILCOX and Mr. a j
NARD, Delegates to the Little Rock anC
Fort Smith Rail Road Company meeting
ID lastis Rock. ON the s3rd January. re
turned On Monday night, the 18th, OIL
the steamer -imerieas From these gen
temen We learn that strong hopes are en-
.tertainel by the company and its friends
that the road will be completed at an early
day. Iy the contract entered into, by u
wealthy New York Company, the work
to commence on the 18th of February
and twenty miles to be completed by the
ssth Of July The contractors are conf
dent ofbeing fully able to construct the
twenty miles by the time assigned, and to
complete the road in about two years.
The men composing this company are
not men of straw and what they say they
mean The people of Northwest Arkan-
sss have been so long and anxiously
awaiting the building Of this road, that
many are no doubt nnpreparcdto believe
that a sh.ie read will be built To these we
say, be Of good cheer "therc is life in
the old land yet" An effort, and a
strenuous and persistent one, was made
by a few of our birds of passage to EN-
barrass the company and prevent the
building Of the road Judge Bowen
headed the despoilers of the people, and
openly ayowed his object to be to make
money out of the road and his determin-
ation to break up the "whole thing Ito
use bis own elegant language if he did
not get large share Of the immense a
mount of money to be made. lie was Ia
boring assiduously for himself and the
interests Of the people were wholly sec
ondary in his plans. II he could not fig
ure in the building of the road and make
an immense fortune, then, the people of
Arkansas must be deprived of the road
entirely. This is rather a selfish view to
take Of matters Of this Importance, yet
such is the fundamental idea underlying
his opposition to the road. The South
Side Road lives but in name, and it was
never contemplated that it should be other
than q bngbear to frighten the North
Side Company into compliance with the
wishes of Bowen and his adherents All
their plans failed, and Bowen most IN,
gracefully fed the field. 1t would con
sumo too much time and space, to even
attempt to particularize the grounds of
opposition to the company--and to the
best interests of the pcople-manifested
by Bowen and his friends. Suffice it to
say, q Board of Directors we're elected
who arc unohjectionable in point of 10y
atty, and who will honestly and faithfully
aid the contractors in carrying out the
great work We now predict an early
completion of the road, and trust all may
soon be convinced by practical illustra
tion. Let all encourage by word and deed
the completion of the great work, and
our poor bcnighted State will yet be an
empire within itself
The following are the names of the
gentlemen elected as Board of Directors
for the ensuing year:
John A. Butts, Geo, X. Otis, and Sa
lem II. Wales, ofthe City of New York
CharlesG Scott, Edward Wheeler, David
Il. Jones, and d. II. Barnes Of Little
Rock, Jacob L. Shinn, Of Pope county,
and Charles c. Reid, jr., of Johnson
county. e6
The entire number of votes cast was
1927, all being cast for the above named
gc,tlemcn, and also for the proposed in
crease of the capital stock to six millions
of dollars. a