Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-04-03
THE SHORT LINE.

The St. Louis-Kansas City Short
Line railroad will pass through the
counties of st. sLouis, St. Charles,
WARREN Montgomery, Galloway Boone,
Howard, Saline, Lafayette and Jack
son, making the shortest and most d.
rect line between st. Louis and Kan
sas City.
The gentlemen who compose the d.
have assurances that the money
will be furnished to build and equip it
as a first class road, if the people along
the line will give the rights-of- way and
subscribe, as stock, $4,000 per mile.
The citizens in the counties of How
ard. Boone, Galloway and Saline have
held public meetings, and have about
complied with the requirements made
of them by giving the rights way
and subscribing the amount of stock
asked.
a meeting is called for April 8, at
which time it is expected that Lafay-
cite county will not be found tagging as
to this great enterprise. Lafayette
county is expected to respond and to
do its share in securing this valuable
addition to its wealth. There is no
county in the great state Of Missouri
that needs development of its resour-
ces more than does Lafayette. No re.
gion in the world equals this for corn
growing, and it embraces the richest
hemp lands of the continent. 1t has
greater depth, versatility and product
iveness of soil than any section of equal
extent in America, with over one
half Of the county underlaid with coal
that has no impurities, that burns free
" and ranks with the cleanest bitumi-
nous Goals in the country. The coal
fields of Lafayette are the nearest to
Kansas City, and are far more easily
worked than are any other veins in the
state. If the Short Line is built we
will have competing lines to Kansas
City, and thus these coal lands will be
more than doubled in value. Along
the line of this road will be almost 9
continuation of coal shafts and d1ifts,
and the coal underlying u lands will
readily sell for $50 Or 800 per acre,
and thousands of dollars of foreign
capital will be sent here. 1t is estima.
ted that an acre of coal contains be-
tween seventy and eighty thousand
bushels of coal. At one cent per bush.
ell it will bring 500 to $500 per acre
Just think of this vast wealth underly-
ing your land, and the great and in
creasing demand for it in our great and
growing City of Kansas. In addition
to this we Will have a splendid market
for all the products of the county.
Lafayette county has a large bonded
debt and is in need of more tax payers
to help bear its burdens. Let US take
as a comparison the G. & A. railroad.
The Short Line is proposed to be at
least as good a road. The comfy
valuation in 1879, the year the g. s. A.
was built, was ST 900, 900; it is now
; ,6OO,0OO, without including the road
and its equipments, depot houses, etc.
81 the increase in the taxable wealth,
not including the RAILROAD, is one mil
lion dollars. The assessment of rail.
roads in the county for 1879 was $780,.
434; for 1885, $s49,6 64, or a gain OF
S660,250. There is also a large gain by
the increase of merchants; 80 it can be
safely stated that by the building OF the
G. Sc A. railroad we have brought into
the county of Lafayette a tax payer
that pays on an assessment of 81, $50,
900, or in other words a tax payer that
pays one-fifth OF the revenue of Lafay'
cite county, and who will pay one-tifth
of the bonded debt of this county. The
c 81 A. railroad paid, last year, into
the public school fund of the county
$2,043 O5 on its property alone. Fig
ure out how many teachers this sum
will employ to educate your children
The road paid a total revenue of 49,
977 o. into your county treasury
the past year. Middleton township
has a township debt of $24, 300, at
per cent. requiring 81 ,4SS annual inter
est. Of this amount the C. & A. paii
1924 40, or the interest on nearly
$1,000 of this debt, On its road alone, t.
say nothing OF the increase of property
by building of roads and increase O
population.
Let us have another road like the c.
IL A, and thereby increase our coun.
tvs wealth and resources and lesser
the burden of taxation. Let us pu
our shoulders to the wheel of progress
and a~dvance'this enterprise. Let every
citizen along the line be on hand OF
Thursday next, April s.. Build thi
road and you will have the garden spo
of the world. Your land will b,
brought into immediate demand: you
coal will have a ready market, an,
purchasers will be on hand to buy it o
you. Your taxes will be light; you
bonded debt will not be a scarecrow t.
brighten away those seeking home
among us. We mention the G. & A
road in order to demonstrate what tn
Short Line will be. The cities @
Odessa and Higginsville were built n
by that road; the lands along its lin
were made valuable and salable, and 8
will value attach to the building of tn
Short Line. The construction of tn
road will be a strong inducement t
bring to us, here in Lexington, the 81
Joseph branch and a bridge over tn
river. Every tax payer in Lexingto
should be wide awake, and work fo
this road with a determination to sue
coed, as should all citizens along th
line.
THE FINAL SCENE.
Jetl. Viii son passed the night befol
his execution calmly and in good spirit
lie talked pleasantly to his guards ii
12:55 when he went to sleep. At
: O'Clock he aWaked and remained avail