Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-04-23
st. Louis Connection.

Ex-Gov. Stone returned last Satur-
day from st. Louis where he went
with others to confer with citizens of
that city and with the management
of the st. Louis, Kansas City d
Northern Road In reference to the
construction OF a road from MoultOn
to Des Moines. A meeting was held
attended by several hundred of the
men who are most interested In the
matter. The Gov. reports an earn
est feeling In favor Of the project, a
determination to have the road if
satisfactory arrangements can be
made with the Central and the st. L..
X. G. e. N. Road, SO that they may
be operated in manner not un-
friendly to st. Louis. The latter
road is now managed in the interest
Of Chicago by means of vexatious de-
lays, crossing the river at st. Louis,
etc. New officers have recently been
chosen, however, and st. Louis
is hopeful of good results. Money
can be raised In st. Louis TO build
our road If the road can be made
valuable to that city The following
from a late issue Of the st. Louis
Democrat, will be found interesting:
Chicago has grown fat upon her Iowa
trade. and nothing so exasperates her as
| an effort by ST. Louis To arrange trans
portation facilities that will secure por-
| ton of this trade to her own merchants.
We cannot but think that Chicago infu-
ence prevailed in the management of the
affairs of the Central Iowa Railroad dur
| ing is construction, for its march toward
| st Louis was arrested mt Abba, and not
| an inch further I'm this direction has this
| line been able to advance since. BY
pushing It's track twenty-seven miles
| further, a connection would have been
had with the North Missouri road (now
the st. L., X. G. and n. Road at Moul-
ton. Not only by this means would st.
Louis have been let into the rich grana-
res of the fertile counties along the line
of the Iowa Central, but she would by
this time have had direct connection
with Des Moines, ninety miles from
| Abba, by railway at that time projected
and partly graded through the counties
OF Appanoose, Monroe, Marion, Warren,
and Polk. Chicago men perceived this,
and SO labored with the parties In control
plotting their road to Mention, they ex>
pended the very funds raised for so com
| pleting IL In extending their track from
Mason City to Mortified. Thus the
Iowa Central serves no purpose at all. II
begins mt a small town on an Iowa prai-
rie near the Minnesota line, and ends at
a small town on an Iowa prairie near the
Missouri line. II crosses all of the roads
leading to Chicago and Milwaukee, and
consequently does not get a long haul
upon any of it's freight, and sells no
through tickets ofconsequence to passen-
gers. No freight from the country along
It's line can come to st. Louis without
passing over a Chicago road, and the de-
lays attending the matter are so vexa.
tious, ~ to drive all of the freight Of the
| Central tn Chicago.
II IL quite clear that the Central road
az IL Is at present circulnstanced, is Of
very little use to any one. 1t does not
earn enough tn pay interest upon its
bonds. G. G. Gilman, in circular just
issued, says the ''latest sales Of the first
mortgage bonds Of the road were at 37i
cents second mortgage, no price; stock
absolutely unsafe 10 own" Every man
OF common business sense can see that il
this Abba gap were completed, there
| would be no trouble about the earnings
Of the road. The farm products and live
stock of Iowa would come freely along
this line to SC. Louis, and not only from
Iowa but from Minnesota also. The
prices OF wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley,
cattle, hogs and sheep are better in st.
Louis the year round than in Chicago.
the rates of freight would be fully as low
~ to Chicago, and the handlers of pro-
ducc in Iowa desire free access to this
market. All the winter through, while