Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-09-13
BUILDING THE BRIDGE.

Diaiculties Originally Encoantered In
Spanning the River 1t Rock IslaaA.
The Chicago 4 Rock Island rail-
road was the pioneer line in reaching
the father of waters. says q writer in
a Chicago paper. 1t was chartered,
or rather had an old charter worked
over by the legislature, Feb. z, 1851.
Work on the line was begun at the
Chicago end in the fall Of 1853 and
rapidly pushed westward. being
opened for business in sections
Joliet, Morris, Ottawa and LaSalle-
during 1853, and reached the Missis-
siPpi in 1854.
Premeditated crossing Of the river
was shown by a charter granted 70
the Railroad Bridge company by the
Illinois legislature in 1853. This
charter only carried to the middle Of
the main channel, hut there il was
met by like charter from the state
of Iowa, granted to the Mississippi
& Missouri railroad, which, with
the Bridge company. consolidated
under the title of Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific railway. the present
legal name Of the line. Bonds were
issued for 100000 and the bridge
was built. After it was begun the
secretary Of war ordered the district
attorney to apply for an injunction
to prohibit the building across the
island which was government prop
erty. and to stop building piers in
the river also. At the trial before
Judge Mclean the injunction was
denied and the bridge was completed
in April. 1856.
On May 6 following the steamer
Ellie Alton ran against the pier (de-
cidedly, as was declared and believed
by many with such force that she
was wrecked. took fire and was to-
tally destroyed, together with q span
of the bridge $50 feet in length.
The owners OF the bridge, St. Louis
men. brought suit for damages in
the United States court, Judge Nc
Lean again presiding. Among the
counsel for plaintiffs were H. NJ.
Wead of Peoria, T. Il. Lincoln of
Cincinnati, Joseph Knox of Rock
Island, N. b. Judd of Chicago. and
Abraham Lincoln of Springfield.
The jury disagreed. new trial was
granted. and after being spread over
a series of years was, with other SIM
liar suits dismissed. Mr.. Ward, also
of St. Louis. commenced suit on May
z. 1858. in district court of Iowa
claiming the bridge a nuisance and a
menace to river navigation. Judge
Love rendered decision which at
this date seems singular. He de-
clared it both nuisance and obstruc-
ton and ordered its removal by the
first of October following. An APP
peal was taken and Judge Loves de-
cision was reversed because Judge
Love could only act for the Iowa side
of the river.
The Last Suit.
The last suit was brought by the
Northern LiAe Packet com pany which
ran line of fleet steamers on the up-
per Mississippi and regarded a draw
bridge as menace to the free navi-
CATION of rivers. While this suit
was pending Judge Miller. OF the
United States supreme court. handed
down decision, declaring similar
bridge at Clinton, Iowa, a ..lawful
structure" under the constitutional
right to regulate interstate traffic
This was the Northwestern" bridge.
and while it closed the controversy
for all roads for all time it was the
continuous fight inaugurated by the
Rock Island in 1874 and loss;p, paar
ly decade that paved the way for
the iron horse to cross all navigable
rivers.