Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1870 — Prospects of the Ft. Wayne and Pacific Railroad. [ARTICLE]

Prospects of the Ft. Wayne and Pacific Railroad.

Rsnssklaeb, Sop. 26th, 1870. Editors Union: Knowing that year readers are interested in the success of the project for the building of the Ft. R. R. and feeling that it is due the people along the line of the proposed road to know the status of the project, I will give you a brief history of the same. • The company was organized in November, 1869. It was the understanding at the time of the organisation, that our division would be a link in a great through line running from central Ohio to Omaha. It was also understood that the organisations in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and lowa should be consolidated. Indeed, it was conceded from the first that such consolidation was absolutely necessary to insure the success of the enterprise. For the purpose of taking the initiatory steps to effect a consolidation, a meeting of the directors of the four local companies w r as called to meet at Kankakee City, 111., on the IGlh of January last. The lowa, Illinois and Indiana companies were represented at that meeting. It was there agreed between the companies represented, that a consolidation should be effected. It was at that meeting that the board of directors of our division became acquainted with James E. Abbott, Esq., President of the Central Railway Construction Company, and negotiations were there opened which resulted in the execution of a contract between our company and his construction com-' pany for building and equipping our division of the road. This contract was completed on the 13th of April last. / Prior to that time, Mr. Abbott had made a contract for buildipg and equipping the Illinois division. There are three conditions in the contract made with the construction company: —Ist. We are to secure $4,000 per mile of local aid, and the right-of-way through the State. 2d. The consolidation of the companies in the four. States.— 3d. The construction company was not obligated to build our road, unless it could obtain a favorable contract for the construction of the

Ohio division. After the expenditure of considerable time by Mr. Abbott and myself in negotiating with the Ohio people, the last condition has been complied with, and the construction company now have the contracts for building and equipping thq,entire iDad. I received a request from Judge Green (the financial agent of the construction company), to meet him in New York City to consult in reference to the best plan of consolidation. In company with Mr. Abbott 1 went’ to New York, and met him. The result of that conference was to call a meeting at Cedar Rapids, lowa, for the Bth of June. This meeting was held, and after consultation between the members of the different companies and some of the members of the construction company who were present at that meeting, it was thought best to organize a company under the laws of lowa and consolidate all the local companies with it. This was deemed the best policy for the reason that the lowa laws were, thought to be the most favorable for that purpose. The consolidated company was organized and christened “New York Western Railway.-’’ Since that -time the Illinois and Ohio companies have taken the necessary steps and been consolidated with the organization, and it now remains for our company to do the same when the second condition of the contract will be complied with. In respect to the local aid: Fulton county has voted 860,000, and in addition to this there has been raised in that county by personal subscription, about 810,000. Jasper county voted 849,330, and there has been raised by personal subscription, $25,100; of this amount Mr. Henry Weston, of New York, subscribed $15,000 besides making a donation of twenty acres of land for depot purposes which will be worth a large sum when the road is built. Mr. J. G. Vatißenssclacr subscribed $3,000 of this sum. I have assurances from all along the line that there will be no difficulty in securing the remainder of the local aid and the right-of-way west of Allen county, provided Allen county raises $200,000; and the leadingureiFOfTliat county say that a tax for that amount can be carried there, and that they will take hold of the matter and carry it through immediately after the October election; as evidence of this I refer to a statement signed by a large number of the leading citizens of that county, which was published in the Union of August 18th. I well remember that it was said by Mr. Abbott, myself and others, during the spring and summer, that work would be commenced on the road this year and a portion of it completed. Work has not been commenced as yet. and perhaps will not be in this State this year. It has required more time to work up the preliminaries than any one connected with the project at first, supposed. It must be remembered that this is a long line of road, being over eight hundred miles in length, and there are a great many obstacles to encounter and overcome that were not thought of in the beginning. No one thought that the project would be delayed by the political election, yet that has caused a delay of three months. I might go on and enumerate the various causes of delay but it would make this statement too lengthy.— But I will say to those, if any there be, who feel discouraged in reference to the project on account of the it is very seldom that any one accomplishes an undertaking of any magnitude within the time fixed. For proof of this we need not go outside of our own town. There is no cause to be discouraged. We expect to be able to secure all the local aid this fall and winter, and work up all the preliminaries and be ready' to commence work vigorously early in the spring. Mr. Abbott is vigorously at work in Ohio, assisting in procuring the local aid in that State, and he writes me that he is having good success. Judge Bronson, the President of the Illinois division, also writes me that they have secured $5,000 per mile in that State.

R. S. DWIGGINS.