The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1870-05-09
THE GREATILLINoIs GEN.
TRIAL.
IT'S ORIGIN. OPENING AND OPERA.
TION.

A sketch Of the origin, construction and
aud operation Of the Illinois Central rail
road, recently published in the Chicago
Rdit,oay Revie,c Is elaborate and just in
every particular, save wherein it treats OF
the origin OF the enterprise. The fact !.
overlooked that but for the persistent and
unrcmitting labors Of parties interested in
the Cairo Property, the Illinois Central
railroad might never have been built. II
was that interest that pressed the pro-
ject upon the attention Of Congress through
Senators Breese and Douglas II was that
interest that, rs far back rs lsl7,
instigsted mass meetings in Northern ILL
nois, and otherwise manufactured popular
sentiment in favor Of the project among
the people. During an interval Of four or
Ave years the energies and means Of those
parties were made to bear upon Congress
through an efficient and powerful lobby,
and a favorable public sentiment in ILL
nois and elsewhere. Congress finally sue
cumbcd, and on the Goth Of September,
1850, the 'sct granting the right Of way
and making grant Of land TO
Illinois, Mississippi and Alabama in
aid of the construction Of a
railroad from Chicago to Mobile
became law This end achieved half
dozen fathers Of the undertaking rc-
vealcd themselves and laid claim TO the
glory Of the achievement, while the real
authors oft subsidized into obscurity, sat
isHed to enjoy their success in silence.
We copy from the Rerie,o the reference
to the old Illinois Central railway, the
opening Of the present road and the effects
Of its operation--greatly rcgrctting our
inability TO reproduce the article entire:
ORIGINAL NORTH AND SOUTH RAILWAY.
Among the lines contemplated by the
Legislative act authorizing State aid, was
one project between 1885 and 1910, run
ming the entire length Of the State, from
Cairo To GalenR. Work on this was, In.
deed. hesun, and considerable sections
were graded. In def~sslt Of the payment
Of interest by the State Of Illinois how
ever, work was abandoned ut this point.
vi tuG MuOtc IUhEutuCcut Otutt runway
system, only short line from Springfield
10 the Illinois river was built. The last
state Of the commonwealth seemed worse
than the first. The fact of an enormous
State debt contracted for projects uncer-
tain of realization, and some Of them per-
haps imprscticable II realized. and the ex-
pectation Of high taxation upon an unpro-
ductive investment had the effect to turn
the tide of emigration away from Illinois,
and drive j, farther West, mainly TO
Iowa.
PRECEDENT.
The success Of the canal land grant
measure, and its fruits ia the creation OF
great route of commerce and the growth OF
population and wealth thereupon, 7 sug-
ges,ed and encouraged the revival Of the
project for north and south line OF rail-
way, that should, In like manner, open 10
settlement and to the markets of the world,
vast regions, concerning which II WAS only
known, vaguely, that there was In them
promise OF rich rewards TO productive in
dustry. At the time when the State
stopped payment on the old railway enter
prise far more money had been spent and
work was farther advanced on the canal
project, in aid of which the United States
made the grant Of alternate sections. IL
was natural that similar aid should be
looked for in behalf Of the revived rail-
way,-which, 1t was also natural, should
be virtual revival Of the
abandoned one conceived years before,
The preoccupation Of the public mind
with the old route also doubtless explains
the designation Of ''main stem applied to
that portion Of the more comprehensive
new line. At all events--as the result Of
,,,llto a..,s.s,n, AZ h.. s.ha hi1.h nj
yading and earnest as IL WAS, but feebly
emphasized its necessity ms a remedy for
the financial embarrassment and the in
dustrial decline of the commonwealth
during the terms Of Senators Douglas and
Breese, the act Of Congress referred 10 was
secured, authorizing the State to negotiate
with company, on the basis Of Govern
ment land grant, for the building Of line,
connecting on the one hand the great
lakes, and on the other the great rivers Of
the Northwest with the Gulf region Of the
country.
"MAIs LINE AND BRANCH.
This new project differed from the orig |
inal one in recognizing the growing Lake
port as the promising rival Of Galena.
Following the old line on many portions
Of its main stem,' il provided for u
NHichgo brhhch. ms originally pro-
lected, was to leave the "main' line at
La sallei but finally, points farther south
were considered, with the result of fixing
the present point Of departure Centrally
bringing its northeastern terminus on .
line Of divergence even more direct than
It's northwestern. The distance to Chicago
r'a La Sale would have been about 300
miles, in comparison with 253 miles BY
the present line. Competition with
other lines building from Chicago west
ward, was also avoided by the present
routei the amount Of land due the Co. was
materially. added to while the number of
counties TO which the road gave tho first
railway facilities and the most important
mat could be looked for for long time 10
come was increased by no less than seven
or eight.
OPENING OF THE ROAD.
Inc Road ~ AZ a q, A.. .7 tora |