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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1900)
"Che Conservative. MIDLAND PACIFIC RAILWAY COM PANY. Flrat Annual Report and Circular Made 1808. ( CONT1NUKII KItOM LAST WEEK. ) We are thns prevented for the present from negotiating the bonds , and this will delay the road until negotiations can be made at other points. It is to be regretted that such is the result ; it is to bo regretted that the credit of Otoe county should be destroyed among strangers , by one of her own citizens , and in a way , too , that must affect more or less the bonds of every county in the state. Other counties in Nebraska might aid internal improvements , but must suffer the general discredit , among strangers , caused by repudiation by any one county within the state. Wo deem it of vital importance to the business of Nebraska City and Otoe county , that the Midland Pacific Rail way should be built as speedily as pos sible , to retain the trade of the Salt Creek and Blue River valleys , and also to make the connection with the Union Pacific. The rapid building of the road is much more important to the com munity at large than to the railway company. We know that our efforts will eventually be crowned with success. We feel a pride and satisfaction in the amount of work we have done and the progress we have made. The same amount of money we have already ex pended will grade the road to the twenty- five mile stake. We have only the bridging and ties and grade from Hodge's to provide for , to commence running a successful railroad in Otoo county. Below is the report of a committee of citizens who examined the work ; We , the undersigned committee , ap pointed by the citizens of Nebraska Oity at a meeting on Tuesday evening last , for the purpose of viewing the graded portion of the Midland Pacific Railroad and reporting to the citizens of Nebraska City the amount of road graded , the condition of the road bed , and the number of hands employed by the Midland Pacific Railroad Company in the construction of said railroad , most respectfully beg leave to submit the following : Your committee were furnished with suitable conveyances by the courtesy of the Midland Pacific Railway Company and commenced their tour of inspection at the house of Henry A. Newman , in * ; South Nebraska Oity , at which point the road bed starts west. Your com mittee carefully examined and inspected said road bed , from that point to the house of Mr. Hedge , situated on the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section twenty-one (21) ( ) , of township number eight (8) ( ) , range thir teen , making eight miles of railroad bed ; and your committee report that the whole of said road bed is nearly com pleted and ready for the ties , except some few cuts and fills at three different points on the line to-wit : One fill northeast of Mr. High's house and one cut northwest of Mr. High's house and at the summit , at which different points there are from one hundred and fifty to two hundred men employed by the Rail way Company , who are diligently at work in completing said road bed , and we are informed by the company that the contractors were under bonds to complete said eight mile section by the first of December next , but wore assured that the whole of said eight miles of road bed would be completed and ready for the ties by the 20th of November next ; and as far as the observation of your committee goes , considering the fact that there are many heavy cuts and fills that had to be made by the company in constructing said eight miles of road red , and considering the condition of the said eight miles section , and also con sidering the fact that from Mr. Hodge's to Mr. Wilson's , there miles , there is scarcely no grade , as the road runs near Fox Creek , and the grade from Fox Creek to the Nemaha is nothing com pared with the grade in coming from Nebraska City to Mr. Hodge's , wo are of the opinion that the company can build twelve miles of the road west from Hodge's quicker and with less money than it has cost to build said eight miles from Nebraska City west. Your com mittee would also remark , that some parts of the road bed that we saw is as nice road bed as can be found in any section of the country , and that the whole of that which is completed is done in a good and substantial manner , and is highly creditable to the railroad com pany. Your committee would therefore say that we are of the opinion that the Mid land Pacific Railway Company is doing everything in its power to complete the road as fast as possible , and have faith fully expended on the road all the money that they have received by sub scription from our citizens , and also all the money that they have been able to raise from the sale of the Otoe county bonds , and also $37,263 besides of their own money , as appears from the fol lowing statement made by the company and furnished the committee : Amount paid out $50,568 46 Collected on donation 1,600.00 Collected on subscription to bonds. . . 11,700.00 . . $13,800.00 Leaving $13,300 as having been spent by the company of citizens' money , and $37,208 , as heretofore stated , as having been spent by the company nearly three times as much money as furnished by the citizens. Your committee also submit the engineer's report of the num ber of yards of dirt estimated in the eight mile section as follows : Earthwork on section 2 17,018 cubic yards. 8 44,208 4 18,892 5 48,041 6 40,635 7 108,425 8 84,100 Total " " 810,831 C. M. C. SNOA'KK , Chief Engineer. Which statement embraces cuts and fills as follows : 115,000 yards cuts , and 195,000 yards fills. And your committee further are of the opinion that it is abso lutely necessary a railroad should be completed from Nebraska City west , at the earliest practicable moment , and that as the Midland Pacific Railroad Company have faithfully prosecuted their road thus far under disadvan tageous circumstances , and as it is a company composed of men residing in our midst , and having interests identi fied with our interests as citizens of Nebraska City , we would recommend that the citizens of this city and county should encourage and do all in their power to assist by subscription to Otoe county bonds or otherwise the Midland Pacific Railroad Company in the prose cution of the railroad west. D. J. McCANN. C. W. SEYMOUR. WM. PAYNE. ( B. J. JOHNSTON. JOHN H. CROXTON. WM. E. DILLON. ROBERT HAWKE. GEORGE MOHRENSTECHER. JOHN BEUTER. J. J. HOCHSTETLER. Statement of Expenditures UP TO DKCRM1IKH 10 , 1868 TKN JULES OV GHAI ) . ING NEAHLY COMPLETED. Whole amount expended for grad ing , engineering and incidental expenses $61,562.75 Expended for depot grounds and right of way 25,000.00 Total ? 8U,502.75 The subject of granting the state lauds , given to the state of Nebraska for internal improvements , to railroads , is exciting considerable discussion among the newspapers of the state. The policy suggested by the demagogues , is to divert the lands from internal improve ments and give them to settlers at $1 25 per acre. They hope to convince the people in the interior of the state , where the vacant state lands are , that it is more to their interest to have a settler for a neighbor who has money sufficient to pay for a hundred and sixty acres of land at $1.25 per acre than to have a railroad that brings him lumber , wood and coal , and a score of rich neighbors , and gives him a market at his door for his wheat , corn oats , hogs and beef. The Blow process of settling our large prairies is well illustrated by the follow"
