Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-06-22
THE EFFIE ALTON.
Collision at the Old Bridge
Which Made History.
FATE OF TWO CITIES HUNG Oh IT.

| An Early Incident In the Career Of Rock
Isiasd In which Abraham Lincoln Flg.
| aesd - Counsel and Estabiished an
| Uaiqas Precedent.
The Chicago Tribune Of Yesterday
contains an article from McCIure's
Magazine about q lawsuit in which
Abraham Lincoln was one of the
counsel. which excited great interest
in the Mississippi valley 80 years
ago. A river steamer. the Ellie Alton,
had run into the Rock Island railroad
bridge, the first built across the river,
and had been wrecked. The owners
sued the railroad company for dam
ages. claiming that the acciden. was
due to the obstruction of the stream
by the bridge, and that no such
structure could be allowed in the
river with safety to navigation. All
the vesselmen, q powerful interest
then, were backing the owners of the
Ellie Alton. Mr.. Lincoln appeared
for the railroad and made q long ar
gument in the United States court in
Chicago in 1851. The nub of that
argument was that lone man had as
good right to 60 across the river IS
another had to sail up or down"
The jury disagreed, but the courts
have acted ever since on Mr.. Lin
coins doctrine. But wheD Mr.. Lin
coin took to prophesying he was not
as successful. His statement that q
tunnel could not be built under q
a river like the Mississippi or a
bridge be built high enough for YES
sells to pass under it did not stand
the test of time.
| The purport OF the article is to
show the beginning of the rivalry be-
tween Chicago and St. Louis as rival
commercial centers. Up to the time
referred to St. Louis was the mistress
Of inland commerce west of the Mis-
sissippi. Speaking of Chicago's bold
stride. the article in question says:
"In 1854 Chicago. in disregard of all
precedents. struck westward with
q line Of railroad which did not GEN.
ter in st. Louis. This road. the
Rock Island, ran directly to the Nit
sissippi. and when it got there in
stead Of stopping and taking a boat
over, as had been the custom. it act
ually built a railroad bridge over.
Chicago not only built this bridge
over the Mississippi, but she made it
pay. Over $4,000 freight cars and
nearly $4,000 passengers passed over
the bridge the first year. The ex-
citement caused on the river by this
bridge was intense. 1t was an in
suit to the Father of Waters himself,
the rivermen declared. to 60 vault
ing over his dignified old back as il
commerce was nothing but a game
of leap frog and. the one over first
was the best fellow. The river was
made to float on, not to jump over.
st. Louis. conscious that her own
commercial supremacy would be
shaken il the bridge succeeded, be-
lgan to question the right of bridg-
ing the river. 1t could not be done
without interfering with naviga-
tion."
The Ene Alton Accident.
fortunately for her argument
there happened just then an accident
which seemed to prove her theory.
In May. 1856. a steamboat, the Ellie
Alton. struck one of the piers of the
bridge, was wrecked and burned. The
flames spread to the bridge. one pier
of which was destroyed. Immedi-
s,elv the owners of the steamer
brought suit against the railroad
company. The trial did not come
OF for over year, but in the inter-
val the affair was discussed con-
stantly in the newspapers and by the
people. The anti-Nebraska bill itself
hardly equaled in interest the burn
ing OF the Effie Alton. 1t was not
mere matter Of damages and repairs.
Upon the decision Of the case hung
the future Of two cities. II the
bridge remained st. Louis must re-
sign her throne to Chicago. II it
went down Chicago certainly would
not mount the throne without hard
struggling. The contest grew more
and more bitter as the months went
lon, until in St. Louis the idea of
lputting bridge over the Mississippi
came to be regarded rs monstrous
violation Of self-evident rights, a
crime against nature, q thing to be
forbidden by the constitution. In
Chicago. in the meantime, public
sentiment was being educated to be-
lieve that the chamber of commerce
OF St. Louis aud river people in gen.
eral were unprincipled bandits. who
burned bridges if they interferred
with their plans, and who might be
guilty Of any kind Of destruction or
, violence il they could make money
by it.
The article goes on to intimate
that perhaps the collision, which
many Of our old settlers will recall,
was not purely accidental. and then
lcomes the recital of the trial in which
Abraham Lincoln laid down the pre-
cedent referred to rs regards the old
Rock Islsnd bridge. and st. Louis,
although the case was never decided,
adopted herself to the new situation,
as il is said:
1.-The trial ran on for weeks, but
public interest in it rather increased
! than abated. The ending was
rather unsatisfactory. for the jury,
after remaining out for many hours,