Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1878 — WHAT THEY SAY. [ARTICLE]

WHAT THEY SAY.

[From the Lafayette Journal.] Vice-President Reynolds, of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad, having kindly put a special train on the road for the accommodation of those who desired to attend the celebration at Rensselaer yesterday, of the completion of the Indianapolis, Delphi & Chicago Narrowgauge, there was a large crowl in attendance. Owing co the very short notice there were not many from LaFayette. Delphi sent down a delegation of thirty or more, under t he pastoral charge of Mayor Walker, Postmaster Watts, Editor Cox, of the Journal, Enooh Rinehart, the members <»f the Qty Council, county officers, and other prominent citizens. Quite a number were taken on board tte train at Battle Ground, Brookston and Chalmers, and oy the time tbe train reached Reynolds, the two coaches which had been provided were tilled. At Reynolds a crowd of 150 was in waiting, about 100 of whom were from Monticello, and brought with them the Monticello band; the rfifet from Wolcott, Kentland and Reynolds. At Bradford a train with eleven box and flat cars was in waiting at the new road, to convey the excursionists to Rensselaer. At every stopping point numbers were taken on, and by the time the train reached its destination it was overcrowded, there being over 600 persons on board. Arrived at Rensselaer dinner was the first thing in order, it being by this time after noon; ana it was proceeded with without delay or ceremony. The lady visitors, according to announcement, were first to be served, and the crowd waited with reasonable patience until they were seated; but, sad to relate, the cravings of a thousand hungry men were too strong for their courtesy, and a general rush soon ensued. The provision made by the good people of Rensselaer was most ample us to quantity and excellent, in quality; but the crowd and the mud were entirely too much for the serving committee of ladies and gentlemen. The good people of Rensselaer are deserving of all praise, however, for their efforts to provide for the comfort of all. The fa-t is they had no expectation there would be half so many hungry mouths to feed; and the crowd was so that someconfus on was unavoidable. Wto-nmosi of the people had dined, the audieuce, which by this time had gathered in the court room, was called to order by Alfred Thompson, master of ceremonies for the day. The main room of the court house was crowded aud yet not more than one-third of those in attendance could gain admittance. There must have been fully 1,500 to 2,000 people gathered iu the town.

The exercises opened with a song about “The Indianapolis, Delphi & Chicago Railroad,’’ by the choir, when Hon. John Lee, president of the road, was introduced. After complimenting the ladies and citzens upon the generous repast which they had provided, Mr. Lee expressed the opini< n that this was a memorable day for their little town, and would mark an important epoch in its history; and he congratulated them upon the completion of this enterprise, which connected them by irou bands with the rest of the world. T hey had just started in the enterprise, however; and he appealed to the citizens of Monticello, Delphi, Frankfort, and other points along the projected line of the road, to come up now and do their share. He complimented Mr. McCoy, the Thompsons, Dwiggiuses,. and other public spirited citizens, to whose assistance and liberal support the enterprise was greatly indebted lor its success. After music by the Monticello Band, Zimri Dwiggius proposed the toast, “The Narrow-gauge Railroad,” and called upon Colonel Yeoman, of the firm of Yeoman, Hegl< r & Co., the contractors who built it, to respond. Mr. Yeoman thought the road itself was the best speech he could make; but proceeded to enlarge upon the prospects, and the coming importance of uarrow-gauge roads in general. He thought they were the solution of tbe problem ofcheap transportation, aud predicted before many years, the completion of a net-work of nar-row-gauge railroads, together with at least two great double-track trunk lines to the East of that gauge. Their great cheapness vi* oonotruvliUU) UpUl'ill.iuu, ctluxocit item of expanse pertaining to a railroad enterprise, made them the rising giant of the future.

Ir.i W. Yeoman proposed the to;ist “Cons ruciion of the Indianapolis, Delphi & Chicago Railroad,” which was responded to by Dr. 1. B. VVushburn, of Rensselaer. The choir then sung a long poetical compositiou on “The Natr-iw-Gauge’’ to the tune of “Old John Brown,’’ tbe audience joining in the chorus. 1 n ch R, Cox, of the Delphi Journal, then toasted ‘’The Ladies,” to whi<-h sentiment Mr. President Lee gallantly responded. Captain C. A. Edmonds, of Rensselaer, proposed “Our host, Alfred McCoy,” in response to which Horace E. James, ot The Rensselaer Union, read an ardent eulogy on that public spirited citizen, who, we believe, provided the ox cf which most of his hearers had liberally partaken. This ended the regular programme. In response to calls short speeches were made by Hon. Anson Wolcott, Colonel Hurlbut, of Georgia, (a member of the contracting firm for building the new road), Judge Hughes, H. P, Owens and Dr. Bushnell, of Monticello, Dr, R.chardson and Vine Holt, of Delphi, Hon. John P. Carr, of White county, and S. Vater, of LaFayette. Cox, of Delphi, proposed “The people of Rens-selaer—th-y build railroads on the narrowgauge, but dispense hospitality on the btoad-gauge system,'’ to which Hon. R. S. Dwiggius was culled to respond, and did so in a few happy remarks. The meeting then adjourned, and the greater part of the visitors waded to the train, though some staid over until to-day. The people of Jasper county and the upper part of White county are < s delighted over their railroad as a child with a new toy, aud well they may be. Like the aged maiden in the story, their feelings are best expressed by the ines ot the hymn:

“This is the way I long have sought, And mourned because 1 fitind it not.” We wish them and their new road long life and prosperity. It may be proper to add, by way of appendix, a few items concerning the enterprise The project of a road fr >m Indianapolis to Chicago, passing through Frankfort, Delphi, Monticello and Rensselaer has been long pending, and several different efforts have be.n made without success to complete it. Finally last year the officers decided to make the road narrow g,uge instead of the standard gauge, and the people of the portion of the line just completed went down into their pocket-books and paid the amount of subsidy asked, in older that so much of the road might be done without delay, and they relieved from the mud embargo. The contract for the entire line from Indianapolis to Chicago was let to Yeoman, Heeler & Co., who were to be paid a subsidy of about $4,000 per mile, for which they agreed to complete and equip the road. They were not bound by their contract to begin work until January 1 last, but anticipated the work on this division, in order to give a stimulus to the enterprise as a whole. They began work Nevember 1, and finished laying the iron February 5. The second division is from Bradford to Monticello, the third ftom Monticello to Delphi, and the fourth from Rensselaer to Dyer, in Lake county. The engine is from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, a sac simile of those run on the Centennial Grounds, at Philadelphia, and a’ perfect beauty. The equipment so far procured seems to be neat and serviceable thbugh of course light. And UuW, kind reader, if you want to see a delighted community, just get on the cars and go up to Rensselaer.

[Correspondence Indianapolis Journal.] The celebration of the completion of the Indianapolis, Delphi and Chicago railroad took place here to-day. The programme was a good one and well carried out by Alfred Thompson, who was master of ceremonies. The fat ox furnished by Alfred McCoy was well roasted and done to a turn. It weighed 853 pounds net, but was not half 'arge enough to go around, becau-e the crowd reached up into the thousands. It is said 800 came in on the train from Bradford and along the road. There were about forty from Delphi, a large number from Monticello, and several from Lafayette.

Vater represented the Lafayette Journal, Enoch Cox a Delphi piper, and Will Hot-ver, of the Moatioello Democrat, was on hand. The dinner was large and excellent, but the thousands were too much for t, but we hope that the most of our guests were well satisfied with that very important part of the entertainment. The Monticello end Rensselaer bands and cho'r furnished excellent music. Speeches were made by President Lee, Contractor Yeoman, Colonel Hurlburt, of Georgia; Mr. Holt, Dr. Richardson and Mr. Cox, of Delphi; Judge Hughes, Dr. Bushnell, and others, of Monticello; Hon. Mr. Carrand Hon. A. Wolcott, of White county; Mr. Vater, of Lafayette; H. E. James, Captain Edmonds, I. W. Yeoman, Dr. Washburn and Alfred Thompson, of this place. Those in auihority spoke cheeringly of the prospect of an early completion of the road to Indianapolis, tbe great inland city of the republic. The gentlemen present assured us that the construction of a narrow-gauge road cost much less than the st mdard gauge, and that it could be run twenty-five per cent, cheaper, and that this saving will pay the cost of the road in five ye *rs. The town and county are chiefly indebted to the enterprise of our townsman, Alfred McCoy, for what we have to-day. This town is the paradise of the prairies, and this county is one of the best in the stole for industrious young men to settle and make a home in. Our stockraisers and dealers are the wealthy men of our county. There is probably no county in this state that contains a greater number of wealthy farmers in proportion to its population. The professions und n if-rent branches of business are full, but there is plenty of room for farmers and stockraisei s. There are hundreds of acres of land in this county that can be bought for from $3 to $lO per acre that would make the best pastures and farms. This county is largely Republican in politics. There is not a licenced drinking hon»e in it. We have no jail and scarcely ever need one. Our citizens are intelligent, moral and industrious. If men of that class come here they will be cordially welcomed. None others need apply.