Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-07-13

~. o'hty was definitiyely beaten IN
sne h'igation, by the decision of the
supreme Court, and after every hone
OF obtaining indemnity or secnr;t,
aol us liability on the Co. Bonds was
e u and after my profession.
ai5 engagements We're terminated on.
,ereo INTO verbal arrangements With
Mr. Deecher, which, if thew had heen
perfected, hoped and believed would
nave resulted in this extension Thesa
.lnchoate arrangements, brought down
upon me all sorts of vituperations, en-
tending even to charges of hetrav,l
OF professional trusts, and to hav;na
been bribed. They have been hereto
fore publicly refuted, and / need not
further aliude to them, as they are for
elgn to the special objects of this pa
paper. These arrangements were held
IN .abeyance for about four months
when IN October, 1869, I met Mr.
Beechef in Detroit, and he informed
me that the Mineral Point Railroad
was for sale; that he would do moth
ing whatever for its extension in any
direction; would not expend another
dollar on railroads in Wisconsin. but
should devote all his means and ener-
gies to other enterprises.
Being thus batfied, for that year. in
my hnpeS of an -extensioa, -aaI think
ing that the owners Of the Mineral
Point Il. X. would do nothing to pro-
mote it, [ turned my attention to
other parties. In the meantime the
extension within a short time of the
Chicago & N. w. X. H., from Madison
to Winona, ria the Baraboo Valley,
mad become an assured fact: as had
also the continuation of the West Wis
consin X. r., from Tomah to st. Paul.
and little doubt remained of the con
struction Of the link from Tomah to
the Baraboo Valley, BY one or the
other of those companies. These
were very important considerations,
as they reduced the distance necessary
to connect the Mineral Point Railroad
with the three great North estern
systems of Railroad, from 100 to 60
miles.
In view Of what | have stated, /
availed myself OF an early opportuni-
ty during the last year, 1870, to lay |
the subject before the Illinois Central
r. r., and the CHI, Bur. ~ Gu. X. r.,
which latter Company will very soon
operate r. r. from Aurora to For
reston, on the Ills. Cent, Is miles
South of Freeport, presenting most |
direct line from Freeport to Chicago.
| obtained such assurances of aid from
these Companies, to any Company
that would construct Railroad from
the Mineral Point r. r. to the Baraboo
Valley, that / felt confident / should
be able to induce the holders of the
Iowa County Indebtedness, and per.
haps of that of the towns OF Mini Point
and Waldwick. to exchange it for stock
or bonds OF such Company. l then
obt lined, at the last session OF the
Legislature, the charter Of the Rich-
land and Iowa Counties X. r., in the
hope of obtaining this municipal IN
in exchange for the stock
or bonds of the new Company, and at
the same time of getting the County
and towns to discharge their lndebt-
cdness. and receive the expenditures
of the proceeds in the construction OF
the extension. i
The cooperation of the owners OF
the Mineral Point Railroad was es-
sential to the success OF my plans.-
When / sought to obtain their assist
aDce. | learned that they had deter
mined to revive the idea OF extending
the NJ. p. II. X. under its own charter
and amendments, and that they pro-
posed partially to adopt my scheme.
/ was not welded to any particular
mode of effecting the result. The eX-
tension of the road was the great OBJ
iect. the means a secondary consider
ton. If they preferred to operate ''Il-
der their own charter, was Wiling "
waive my preference, and lend them
hearty and willing cooperation. ,
The Iowa and Riehland County II; /
r. Co. was formally organized ana
officers elected, and the Directors ae-
termined TO remain passive so iohe a.
there was any hope of ATTAINING 'ne
extension under the charter ct Tue
Mineral Point i. H. -.
I have thus given n tireseme detai'
Of nv efforts to make good the repre-
se,,atiou that the Railroad should be
extended. made with view 10 Obtain
votes for the County Bonds, and nope
and expect before long time to see
the representations verified; not be-
cauSe many votes were secnred ny
them. but because good faith demands
that those who will have to contribute
to the payment of the debt, should re-
ceive every benefit which was ever
as a consideration tor It's
creation.
THAT THE EAILkoAp
COMPANY WOULD PAY THE BONDS
Tpon this subject there is a good
deal of confusion of ideas, much ms
understanding, and fear some ms
This condition OF
things is the growth Of the last few
wears. which is not singular, since so
few of the present population were
here to participate in the election. At
the time of the election upon the
County Bonds. there was no confn-