The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1895-04-20

tue enterprise HeT CltiZcuS hist
began; therefore you know the impor-
lance of your help in this matter.
Gentlemen, if we build this bridge SO
your railroad company, now running
its ears from here to North Lexington,
can cross the river, 1t will mean u
continuation of it on to Sedalia, fifty
miles, thence to Versailles, on thence
to Union, where the same company
have n railroad running out from st.
Louis, which would give you the
shortest line of railway by far between
st. Joseph and st. Louis, besides going
through the richest and best agricul-
tural part of the state. You would
open up to your manufacturers and
to your citizens, the lest, rs well
as the cheapest, coal of any city within
the borders of the state, not excepting
Kansas City or St. Louis. Before you
can cope with your competitive cities,
Kansas City and Leavenworth, where
they mine their own coal right in the
city, you must be ready to offer cheap
coal for fuel, as well as railroad
facilities n all directions. We can
furnish you this cheap coal, that is the
best coal of any in the state, as well as
at the lowest price. As AN evidence Of
the quality of our coal, l can only
refer you to an advertisement as made
by our state authorities, wherein, adj
vertising for bids for coal for peniten-
tlary and state use, they say: ssThe
quality to be as good as Lexington or
best Illinois coal" Gentlemen, we
have good and cheap coal for you, and
have more than we can mine and ship
out in a thousand years to come.
You now have nj trade in Lexington,
or south of the Missouri river, on
towards Sedalia. Why? Because O
have to send your drnmmers and your
goods around through Kansas City.
Build this bridge and you cut off
Kansas City from it and secure it for
yourselves. You become interested
with us, we with you. You will try
to build up the event for this bridge,
we will do the same by giving it our
business, and in a few years our in
vestment of only a few thousands will
bring us back a harvest in the shape of
largely increased trade to you, cheap
fuel for your manufactures that are
now here and for those which will be
brought here, and you will then fully
appreciate the benefits from the sub
scriptions we now ask you to make
with us.
You will ask where We propose TO
get nj evenue to sustain this bridge?
Our answer is: First, from the wagon
traffic alone we will get about SIS goo
per year; second, from the Santa Fe
railroad we will either an annual rental
of say $50 1000, or, better still, we can
get Is to 20 per cent. of the gross
receipts, and from these two sources
alone we will get an income Of $50, 900
t. $4,000 annually. The bridge will
cost about $500, 900 to $3.50, 900;
operating expenses not to exceed
$4,000, if that; we have left S25, 900
to $4,000 to pay interest and establish
a sinking fund with which to pay off
the small amount of first mortgage
bonds.
We ask you, in conclusion, to give
us IN expression of opinion, ask us any
questions pertaining TO this matter,
which we will gladly try to answer.
We want to raise this subscription
complete inside of thirty days so we
can let our contract this summer and
build the bridge this winter. Will yon
enterprise without your help. We can
do it with your help, and we can
succeed. We do not ask you to give
US anything; we only ask you to invest
a little for a little while, the same as
we will do, and reap the benefits with us.
Mr.. McGrew, in closing, read a table
of statistics showing how much goods
the merchants of Lexington purchased
every year. The total was S9l5, 900.
OF this amount St. Joseph got none.
If a new bridge was built she would
become q strong competitor with Kan
sas City and st. Louis, and it was a
low estimate, with direct railroad
connection, to say that St. Joseph
would get one-fourth of this annual
traffic, OF $3.50, 900. Ten per cent.
profit on these goods wonld yield
$685. 900 profit to the merchants alone
in one year. Could not st. Joseph
Wholesale houses afford to give one
years profit on their business with
Lexington for that which they would
receive in the years to Gomez He paid
q high tribute to the business integrity
Of Lexington merchants by saying that
every bill of -four he sold each month
to the merchants of the city was
promptly paid between the LIST and 9th
Of the month following the one IN which
the debt was contracted. 'sGive us
$3.50 0 and in sixty days work will
begin on the BRIDGE" said Mr.. McGrew
In closing.
s. C. WOodson said hat the S25, 900
should be raised in a week. When St.
Joseph had undertaken In the past to
do a thing she always made q success
of the affair. He recalled the time
when money had been raised for the
Santa Fe, for the Rock Island from
the east into ST. Joseph, for the bridge
here, and when the 100000 was
raised to push the Rock Island west.
He believed that the building of the
Lexington bridge should be Of great
interest to st. Joseph business men.
BY thus giving st. Joseph direct con-
nection with the Chicago 4 Alton road
via Lexington the Wabash would come
into st. Joseph. lie made "A motion
that President Hartwig appoint u CON-
mittee of six to solicit subscriptions
and consult with the Lexington con
mittee. His motion prevailed.
r. l.. Mcdonald, Captain F.. NJ.
Posegate, Ed. C. Smith and others
made speeches, all faverIng the project.
1t was near 6 O'Clock when the meeting
adjourned.
The following Is a list of the visitors:
Julius Winkler, Patrick Pagan, Isaac
Gratz, Rev. w. L. Colo, Elder G. NJ.
GoOde, j.. Q. ~Plattenburg, Gustav
Haerle, Zachariah w. Wright, w. F.
Kerdolff, Jr., F. w. Geyer, ID. II.
Lyons, Mans. McCIelland, Henry
Sinauer, John Tauhman, w. II.
Stevenson, j. C.. McGrew, G.. o..
Grimes, Frank Kriehn, S Z. Silver,
George A. Fain, j. q. Crenshaw, Ed,
Aull, Philip Keller, l.. NJ. Taubman,
IL. F. blackwell, A. A. Jones, j. II.
MOorehead, Leroy Farmer, o. j. Pow
ell, L. NJ. McCauslapd, Isaac Male,
Joseph l.. Long, j.. F. Winkler, +. b.
Campbell, X. X. Hammer and Frank
Bowman.