The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-01-07

The enterprise whose success we Gel
Enthusiastically was first set on foot little
over four years ago. In the month oil
September, 1865, the ariiclesof incorpo-
ration of the Union Pacific Railway,
Southern Branch Company were first
fied. Its projectors acted upon the faith
that la view of the then supposed near
re-admission of the Southern States in
to the Union, Congress might be Undue
ed to endow q road connecting the South
| with the main Pacific line already pro-
vided for aud in process Of construction.
That was the hope with which the en-
terprise was undertaken. The war,
which had withdrawn all productive Ia
Dor and destroyed all values I'm the inte-
rior portions Of Kansas, was Just closed.
The country was sparsely settled, and Il
looked as though many years would
hardly suffice to repair the waste of the
war; and meanwhile the people would
not be able, however willing, TO aid in
building the road. Its only hope in
public estimation, as well as that of its
! projectors, lay in subsidy from the
/ Government. With this view the first
meeting of tho iDcorporators provided
for sending one or more agents to Wash
1 ingto1 70 press the matter upon Con-
| gress-pledging themselves to raise, by
! subscription of stock among the people
Of the Valley, enoughto pay the sexual
expenses Of the agents-which was all
the compensation asked. BY the fol-
lowing January one hundred thousand
| dollars of the stock OF the company had
| been subscribed by citizens of the coun-
ties of.Davis,tMarion, Lyon, Coffey and
| WoodsOn, of which tIco per cent. only
| was paid in-barely enough to author
| ize the election of a Board of Directors.
Early in the same month q meeting of
| the stockholders was held, and Board
| of Directors chosen. Various measures
| looking to the creation of a popular
feeling in favor of the enterprise, with
a view of influencing our Senators and
Representatives in Congress, were de-
termined upon, the feeling being unani-
nous that success depended upon Con-
gressional aid.
In February, 1866, the State Legisla-
| ture granted to the company the pro-
ceeds of the sale of lbs, 600 acres of the
lands granted by the General Govern
ment to the State, to be turned over to
the company, whenever ten miles of its
road was completed; and in July fol-
| lowing Congress, as result of the Ia
bors of the agents of the company. and
of the popular interest which had been
promoted in the Neosho Valley and
| elsewhere, through the instrumentality
of the company, made to the company
a grant of land along its line. to aid in
The construction of the road. Suisse
quently, and in the same year, the COM
pany secured transfer to itself of n
grant of land which had been made
some years before 70 the Atchison. To-
peka & Santa Fe Railroad, TO build a
branch OF its line from Council Grove
down the alley, and besides conclud ed a
treaty with the Cherokee Indians. secur-
ing valuable concessions of land and
money. conditioned upon the building
ofthe road through the Indian Territory.
These grants united. though of consid-
cradle extent and value, and very en-
couraging, were still insufficient to en-
able the company to put the road under
contract, and tho efforts to secure sub
sidy OF Government bonds was contin
ued through the winter of 1867, but
without success-resultingi in a convic-
ton that further effort in that direction
was hopeless. But faith in the road as
important to the Neosho Valley, and as
an integral part of the Kansas system OF
roads, had so developed, that it was re-
solved to attempt other means TO sue
cess. At a meeting of the Directors,
early in the spring of 1867, il was voted
to ask the counties before named to sub
scribe to the stock of the company
100000, payable in 30-year's county
bonds, deliverable only as the road-was
completed through the counties. In
June and July the counties voted, and
in all but Woodson, whose apportion-
ment was $4,000, the proposition was
carried by large majority. Cores
pondence was again opened with rail-
| road men and capitalists in the Eastern
States, and in the month of August fol-
Flowing two gentlemen, representing
parties profcssedly able to build the
road, visited the Neosho Valley to as
certain the character of the lands, the
general capacity and character of the
country, and the terms upon which the
contract could be had. They were more
than satisfied with the country, and fin
ally made n proposition to take the
franchises and build the road, which was
accepted, nothing whatever being re-
served rs payment for services rendered
or money expended-the Directors stip-
ulating only that the work should be
wefrand speedily performed.
The work was commenced, according
to coptract, in October of the same year,
but owing to failures and other difficult
ties among the contractors, was not con-
tinued. Deceived by false promises, the
Directors waited n year, in hopes that
the contractors would go on with. the
work. Finally, they cancelled the old
contract, and opened negotiations which
| resulted IN q new contract on much the
same terms as the old one, with the
Land Grant Railway and Trust Com
pany, of New Y erk, whereby work was
formally commenced on the 18th of De-
| cember, 1868, though owing to the I'M
usually stormy weather of the winter
following, the real work of building the
road was not comm enced until last
spring. Tho result is before you in the
sixty five miles of road completed and
in operation thirty more ready for the
iron, and another section Of equal length
lacking but few weeks of completion.
And still there is "neither pause nor
rest :" and the work will go on without
intermission until the State line is reach
ed. Nor is the work TO Re stopped even
there. New arrangements and combi-
nations may have to be made, but an un-
broken line of rail from Junction City
| to Galveston, will be a fact accomplish
! ed i'll less than two years.
| Thus, an enterprise, conceived in fee
bleness and with little promise OF future
| greatness, has, in the short space offonr
years, become al actual tangible success.
During the greater part OF THAT time the
enterprise has been mentioned by the
outside public only to be ridiculcd, and
has had fair share of the same feeling
4
number, however, along its line, its sue
cess was contamination to be wished
anil worked Tor, and on which the per-
manent prosperity of the country large
| ly depended. To the uuseifish faith and
labor of its projectors and managers the
success you now witness is largely due
but the sympathy aud votes of the peo-
pie themselves were, after all, its main
reliance; and TO them more than all
| others is that success due. Their faith
III the road was q part of their faith il
Kansas-faith that reverses and ridicule
could not shake-a faith that vas bound
to triumph; that had for its ground
work the feeling that railroads were
bound TO be built along the valleys OF
the principal streams; that this road
would bring to the upper portion ofthe
Valley those two desideratnms in prai-
rie country-cheap lumber and cheap
coal-and in addition would open to US,
at comparatively short distances, the
markets of the Gulf of Mexico on the
South, and that of the mines of the
Rocky Mountains on the West, together
with direct and speedy communication
with the Pac;fic-and thus do really
| more for the true and permanent growth
and development of the country than
any other single enterprise could do.
These feelings inspired no opposition to
other roads. On the contrary, its friends
have uniformly advocated most strongly