The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-03
rRANscoNrINENrAL RAILWAYS.
Some Facts Of Early History Fur
nished by Col. Doniphan.

St. Joseph CAIo.) Special to ST Louis Globe
Democrat.
Colonel John Doniphan. the noted Mis-
souri, soldier, lawyer, statesman and octo-
genarian takes exception To- a recent pub
LEGATION in the East on Unconstitutional
railways, wherein an effort was made TO
give some history in connection with the
early moves for a railway TO the Pacific
coast Missourians more less ig-
nored in the recent sketches OF prominent
persons identified with the gigantic task.
Colonel Doniphan was closely identified
with the early moves, but the names or
some close personal friends are better
known TO such history at the present day.
Colonel Doniphan says the man who first
proposed road across the continent was
Colonel Whitney, in 1873 AT that time
Oregon was claimed by the United States,
and California belonged TO Mexico. In
1874, when Fremont started on his expe-
dltlon To Oregon. his friends. among them
Colonel Doniphan. had i'm mind "A railway
across mountain and plain terminating on
the Pacific coast at Astoria.
Colonel Benton Mssouri's great sena-
tor. said Colonel Doniphan to-day de
clared in favor of such line I'm 1916 Judge
James Burch ran as an independent candi-
date for Congress i'm the district OF which
northwest Missouri is a part. keeping TO
the front the proposed railway as a feature
OF his platform. He was defeated by VIII
lard Z. Hall. and his railway project was
rldiculed generally by the Democratic
press. The Missouri Republican. at me
suggestion of Colonel Benton. called a meet
ing in St. Louis in October. 1919. at which
Colonel Benton delivered a speech In favor
of line starting at St. Louis going by
Kansas City and up the valley OF the Kan
sas river and crossing the Rocky noun
tains at the head of the Platte river liz
was then that L heard him give utterance
TO the grand declaration, When his
mighty work is completed and the COM
merce OF the East IS being brought over
II, and the iron bands connect the oceans.
grateful country will carve out of the
statute of Columbus pointing 10 the
West and exclaiming. There is the Easti
There There H. India
This scene is ATTEMPTED TO be Dortravef
IL the monument erected 10 Colonel Benton
in Lafayette Park, St. Louis but. A is
tame affair, and accords but IN with my
memory. ahe language, so quoted I'm the
description, is not so te-se and graphic as
what he used. Then. his figure is almost
stopped forward. as If looking at the
ground a few feet i'm advance with his
finger pointing downward The facts are
that Colonel Benton held i'm his left hand A
scroll, received by him from Colonel Free
mont. about the practicability of a road
across the mountains. which he had just
read, when he elevated his head from the
reading, let his gold-rimmed GLASSES fan
on his immaculate white vest then look
ing as III i'm retrospect at the horizon point
ed his hand and extending finger 10 the
west, turned partially round, as he had
been facing the northwest. and deliberate
ly uttered the words as though addressing
the place indicated by the finger in the FAR
distance, and doubtless many of his hear
ers, like myself, by the eye of faith. saw
the blue waters Of the Pacific and heard
the murmur of its waves.
That convention was the forerunner OF
many held in the next ten years along the
Missouri river at different towns az far
north as Council Bluffs. but. owing TO the
attention attracted to St. Joseph by the
large immigration passing this point TO
California, in 1880 and up to 1860 with
the freight trains, stage routes and pony
express, IL was pretty generally admitted
that St Joseph would be the point from
which the railroad to the Pacific would
start, and this no doubt would have been
the case but for the civil war. In 1860 IL
was definitely decided by the statesmen
who controlled the legislation at Washing
ton to build two roads to the Pacific one
starting from st. Joseph and the other
from Memphis. but after a majority of the
Southern members had gone into the seces-
sion movement il was settled that road
could not start from a slaveholding State.
and ii was located by Mr.. Lincoln TO start
from Council Bluffs.
ION Dec. TO- 1880 Colonel Benton INTRO
duced in the Senate a bill To locate and
construct a great national highway from
St Louis, on the Missouri TO the Bay OF
San Francisco, on the Pacific ocean,. I'm
his advocacy he said the bill conformed
TO all the ideas of national highway On
Ii is central, as ii begins and ends between
the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth parallels.
(2) 1t Is national. as IL combines "A railroad.
a graded wagon road and a turnpike or
paved roadway. and a telegraph line. all
parallel. and TO be built upon the right of
way, of one mile In width. i'm the public
domain. CD 1t would have a branch TO
Santa Fe, one TO Salt Lake, and beyond
to Oregon. tD IL would be national. as
the work was TO be done and owned by
the government. And 90 TO be paid for by
the sale OF public lands.
THE details had been worked out I'm his
prolific brain. but the pigmies at home de-
feated Benton for reelection I'm 1851. and
this magnificent project was suffered TO
sleep the sleep OF death. Had this bill been
passed at the session OF 1S50-51 the road
would have been built ten or twelve years
sooner. and without loss TO the govern
ment. and that great highway to-day would
be the property OF the Nation. To be used
for the benefit Of the traveller and shipper
Then there might not have been railway
pools and exactions, as there II to-day"