Year: 1875

=


He Asks only the Right Of Wa
and 81 Donation of $500


Per Mile.


A large meeting was held in Co


umhus on the 18th inst. in favor {


the Michigan & Ohio r. r. Dele


cations of leading citizens were pres


ent, from Portsmouth, Circleville


Chillicothe, Waverly, Defiance, Ma


rysville and Grand Haven, dich:, tn


northern terminus of the road. Gov


Allen and other gentlemen mad


speeches warmly favoring the enter


prise, and Jas. S. Gibbs, Esq, O


Buffalo, N. Y, President of the road


spoke as follows:


FELLOW CITIZENS OF OHIo:-As Pres


ident of the Michigan and Ohio Rail


way, I appear before you tonight tc


explain to you the objects of our or


ganization and the intentions of the


company Of which 1 am President.


About three years ago few of us


conceived the project of building a


railroad from Grand Haven, on the
east shore of Lake Michigan, to the


Ohio River. Looking over the map,
and studying the statistics not only
of Michigan but of Ohio, and looking


for q route to the Ohio River that
would be at once feasible and prac-
ticable, and would be paying route,
we traced the line down through Col
u2bus to Portsmouth, on which we
could build our road. We were en-
couraged in our endeavors by the
people of Michigan, and with that
encouragement we kept at work, and
now we appear before you with a
capital o. fifteen million dollars, with
our arrangements complete for rails
ing the money upon our bonds; and
L can say with your assistance we
shall build this road. Applause ]


Now, then, many of you present,
[ suppose, have but little idea where
Grand Haven is, in the State of Mich
igan. I will venture to say that
there is not one of you who can pick
out route by which he can travel
from this place to Grand Haven with
in two days time. Now, if we pro-
ceed to build our road, as we intend
to do, we expect to travel the dis
tance from Columbus to Grand Hav-
en- in ten hours.


The whole distance from Grand
Haven to Portsmouth is 400 miles.
Of course Grand Haven is but
small town on the east shore of Lake
but it has a most capacious
harbor, with water at the bar of
Grand River twenty feet in Gzp5h,
and is directly opposite Milwaukee,
where they have fifteen feet of water
On the bar in theirriver. Milwaukee
is a city of nearly 100000 inhabit-
ants, with vast resources in the way
Of trade. It is the terminal point of
nearly 1000 miles of railroad reach
ng to tie West, the Northwest and
the North. The statistics show that
n 1870? they received more wheat
there than at Chicago-nearly three
million bushels. Now we are prom
sed twenty thousand tons of freight
rom Milwaukee, if we can furnish
5he facilities to carry it away; and we
Ire going to attempt to furnish them.


After we bad completed our organ
zation, got our papers prepared, we
set about finding t. e men who would
furnish us the money. We have
succeeded in our efforts We com
nenced our work at Grand Haven
n July. One of your own citizens
las the contract for two hundred
niles of our road. We have graded
thirty miles of it. We expect to lay
5he rails, which will be steel rails, up
IN that portion of the road before
spring. Our road is to be a double
rack and to be laid exclusively of the
pest steel rails. We shall continue
% carry out the project of two tracks
Ill the way.


[ must confess that I am ignorant
of the Scioto Valley except
rom the testimony of others and the
ofirial reports of the State. But it
a vast amount of coal, which
ihe Northwest is anxious to obtain
We shall agree to carry off in the
first year that we shall be ready for
business, all the Coal that the Hook
ing valley road will bring here in
one year. I understand that road
brings three-quarters of a million
tons year to this point now. They
are ready in the Northwest to take
every pound of this coal. They in
fact demand it.


The grade upon our whole line
will not exceed twenty feet We
shall be capable of doing large
amount of business. The iron inter
est of the Northwest will be glad to
their products for the coal
of your valleys We introduce you
to the Lake Superior iron from the
port of Escanoba on Green Bay. It
can be shipped to Grand Haven, and
thence by cars to Columbus as easily
as it can be transported to Cleve-
land, and thence to this city.


Mr.. Gibbs then alluded to the ma
tional importance of the road, mas
much as it joins by anorth and south
line States that should become so
cially and commercially acquainted.
1t would make the people better and
the country stronger than by road
east and west. He was
travelling through the State attending
to having the mortgage recorded
which they had made to secure the
payment of their bonds; and that
work was about completed. He
thought that within two years from
this time they should be able TO tray-