Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-02-06

Omaha Republican 4th lofty depart
ment): Contrary to pre-arfangemeui
aud q great deal Of high strung expecta-
ton the county commissioners did mol
hold q meeting yesterday, by reason oil
the receipt, early in the day, Of the fol-
lowing communication which served &c
put several, if not all, members of the
board in a humor anything but favorable
to proceeding with the plans mapped
out on the previous day and 1t was also
deemed best by a majority of the mem
bers to confer With their attorney and
probably to prepare further conditions
on the matter OF calling the election, tc
wit; that the railroad warrant or guarnn.
tee that this end Of the road and Its
shops be located with two miles OF the
Douglas county court house:
Office Omaha, Yspkton & Northwest
ern Railway Company, Omaha. Feb. 81
To the Honorable Board of County Com
Observation-Disclosures: Some time ago
the Omaha, Yankton g. Northwestern
railway company submitted q PROPOSE
tion to Douglas county through you.
honorable body to build $50 miles OF
AhiAWsy q POAhS wibhAh bho SOfpOE-
ate limits of the city of Omaha; said
company to maintain it's headquarters at
Omaha, and to bald and maintain it's
principal shops within the county the
100 milea to be built, equipped and in
operation within eighteen months. The
conditions of the proposition were that
Douglas county issue it's bonds in the aid
OF SAID company in the sum OF $500, 600,
said bonds to issue only after the COM
pletion Of the $50 miles of road within
the time end subject to the other conai-
tions cited or upon the failure of the
company to complete the road within
the time and under the other conditions
the bonds to be forfeited end cancelled.
Accompanying this proposition was a
petition asking that it be submitted to
the voters OF Douglas county. There
were nearly 600 Of its entire taxable
property, After several conferences
with your body, the company consented
to several reasonable notifications.
This proposition, modified, was drawn
up in the presence of the entire board
by your county attorney and actually
agreed to. 1t was to be passed upon the
following day. and q proclamation was
to be issued at once submitting it in
that shape to the voters of Douglas
county.
Through some influence unknown to
the company your board has violated it's
faith, and now refuses to trust the voters
of Douglas county to pass Judgment on
the question involved. The inoorpora-
tors of our company entered into this
enterprise reluctantly and only at the
instance and with the assurance of
the support OF a namber OF the largest
capitaliats in the city. Unlike other
interpretations, the members of this com.
paoy entered into the enterprise vigor-
ously by advancing money and placing
g assEss oii engineers i q che hefd. AN
enterprise of this magnitude oapnot at
this time be successfully carried out
without the corporation of the people.
The i%neorporators of this company were
not prepared to face opposition at the
outset from this peoples representa-.
tives in the very face OF their expressed
will through the medium of the petition,
unparalleled in character in this county
IN the extent OF interest represented.
In view of these facts we have decided
upon and hereby officially notify your
honorable body that useless you carry
out the agreement heretofore entered in.
to in good faith, that the company will
withdraw and cancel it's proclamation.
AS citizens and taxpayere, the i%noorpor-
ators are already to assist any like enter
prise OF any other company, and hope
You will secure q proposition IS good or
better than our own. The les:, above,
paragraph was marked OUT.
The responsibility of action will rest
with our body and not with. ourselves.
Signed-The Omaha, Yankton &
Northwestern railroad company, by
ID. o. Patterson, secretary.
Later in the day the commissioners
decided to instruct County Attorney
Simeral himself to prepare conditions,
the most important OF which will be that
the company must bind themselves to
locate its depot within one mile of the
court house, and the shops within two
miles thereof.
Omaha Republican 4th (editorial):
The proposition submitted by the Oma-
he, Yankton d Northwestern railway
company to build q line of railroad be-
tween this city and southern Dakota has
been withdrawn, and the enterprise prom.
isinR most to the city of any that has pre-.
sented itself in years. is dead-killed by
the overzeal and bad Judgment OF the
representatives OF the people.
The proposition OF tie incorporators
WAS o straightforward one-to build and
equip within eighteen months $50 miles
OF railway from q point within the COR
porate limits of the city OF Omaha,
through Douglas county and northeast
Nebraska to the city OF Yankton-the
company to maintain its headquarters
at Omaha. and its principal shops in
Douglas county. In return for this the
incorporates asked that Douglas county
vote the company a bonus of $500. 600,
none OF which was to be paid until the
road was completed and in operation.
The proposition the commissioners
were asked to submit to the people, but
Instead OF doing SO they insisted that
the ino0rporators should first do certain
things which they could not do without
entailing upon themselves an additional
and wholly unnecessary cost. which
would unquestionably have exceeded
the amount OF the bonus asked. The
commissioners announced that before
the people would be permitted to have
any voice Whatever in the matter, the
incorporators must lay all their plans
before the public, including the survey
OF the route, the location of the head
quarters, shops, depots, etc.; and thus
put themselves in tho power OF boomers
and real estate spectators in the pur-
chase'of required real estate in the city
and county.
No more absurd or unreasonable
stipulation was ever made, and il it was
not done for the purpose of killing the
scheme, certainly ever reasoning man
must have known that IL wonJ6 hava