- -              ---------          -----' ----
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS
~i 3    ~~~~OF TnE
Mississippi Valley Railroad
# 0                  Convention, 1
HELD AT THE$
@I    In St. Louis, Monday and Tuesday, 15th & 16th iNov., 1852,
TOGETHER WITH:  TIXE 
AND 
Address to the People of the A    lississippi Valley,
Ordered by aaid Convention.
_8,:mr_ Quo
THE  OFFICIAL  PIR 0JCEEINGS'OF THM
j North  Missouri   ailroad  Convention,
HELD AT THE COURT HOUSE,
In St. Charles, Wednesday, the 10th November, 1852,
I        KWI1TH THEIR MnEMORIAL TO CONGRESS
Asking for a Grant of Land.
I' lOUIS:
PINITEDTBY M. ITLOIDZAR, CORNER *F CHESNUT AND THIRD STREETS....,-~.~..................... 








PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS.
A CALL.
NORTH MISSOURI, ST. LOUIS AND NEW ORLEANS RAILROAD
CONVENTION.
WHEREAS, movements have been made in favor of the Missou,'i and./rkcansas Railroad, the Railroad from St. Louis to New Orleans, and the North Missouri Railroad; and whereas, each one of these roads would contribute to the
prosperity of the other, by a judicious location of the routes; would allay sectional feelings, by a union of the interests of the North and South; and would
also give a new impulse to the success of latitudinal railroads, by pouring additional produce and passengers on them; and whereas, it is the part of wisdom to hearand fully understand the wants of every portion of the country
along the lines, in order to provide for the whole by one grand plan, to devise
ways and means, and to ensure combination of action for its speedy'execution; therefore, we propose that a meeting of the citizens of St. Louis be held
*at the Court House, on Saturday evening, October 9th, at half past seven
o'clock, to consult about the propriety of calling a Convention at St. Louis,
on the first Monday in December next, to obtain the co-operation of the North
and South along the Mississippi Valley, in behalf of a line of longitudinal
railroads firom Louisiana to Minnesota.
Henry Cobb,            R. P. Hall,             A G. Switzer,
H; A. Prout,           Wm. C. Jewett,          W. N. Switzer,
Mann Butler,           T. T. Gantt,            D. A. January,
L. M. Kennett,         A. H. Evans,            J. Stettinius,
S. T. Glover,          Peter Lindell,          Jos. A. Sire,
T. Grimsley,           Edward Bates,           Jas. E. Yeatman,
J. O'Fallon,           James Jennings,         Thos. Allen,
Wm. Glasgow, jr.,      J. R. Barret,           H. King,
Jos. Charless,         Jno. Maguire,           Louis Winkelmeier
Henry T. Blow,         Philip Tippett,         Pierce C. Grace,
Wm. T. Christy,        M. S. Cerre,            John S. Watson,
R. J. Lockwood,        George Taylor,          Chas. P. Chouteau,
W. R. Carter,          Charles Semple,         A. Hamilton,
Wm. G. Pettus,         Wm. H. Belcher,         J. W. Skinner,
H. Singleton,          J. W. Hall,             R. S. Holmes,
J. A. Brownlee,         Win. C. Anderson,      Jno. M. Wimer,
K. McKenzie,          HI. Von Phull,           Alton Long,
Oliver Bennett,        Jas. L. Waters,         Jas. B. Bowlin,
Charles K. Dickson,    Jno. B. Taylor, jr.,    B. B. Dayton,
John J. Murdoch,       Frederick Ray,          A. L. Mills,
H. D- Bacon,           Adolphus Meier,         Henry Chouteau,
Edw. Walsh,            Jno. Baker,             John Simonds,
Jos. H. Conn,          J. H. Llcas,            Amedee Berthold,
John H. Gay,           E. C. Angelrodt,        R. C. lMcAllister,
J. G. Shelton,         R. Barth,               J. B. Brant,
Edwd. Stagg,           Jas. Harrison,          Thos. S. O'Sullivan,,
John D. Daggett,       E. C. Wiggins,          Henry Kayser,
Samuel Treat,          B. Stickney,            Charles G. Ramsey.
John Y. Page,          L. Scollay,




PROCEEDINGS OF THE PRELIMINARY MEETING OF
THE CITIZENS OF ST. LOUIS,./It the Courthouse, on the 9th of October, 1852.
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY RAILROAD.
In pursuance of a call which had been extensively signed and published in
the newspapers of St. Louis, a meeting was held in the Court House, on Saturday evening, the 9th inst. On motion of Col. Thornton Grimsley, Hon.
L. M. KENNETT, Mayor of the City, was called to the chair.  HENRY COBB
and A. S. MITCHELL were appointed Secretaries.
The call for the meeting was then read, and after some remarks from the
Mayor in further explanation of the subject of the call, Dr. J. W. Hall moved that a committee of five be appointed by the Chairman to prepare resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting, which was adopted; and the
Chairman appointed Dr. J. W. Hall, Henry Cobb, Louis A. Labeaume, Geo.
R. Taylor and Win. M. McPherson, on said committee.
The committee, after a brief absence, returned and reported the following:
Whereas, the population west of the Mississippi is already very large and
increasing rapidly, and the rich and fertile country lying between said Mississippi and Missouri rivers north and the mineral wealth of the States of Mis-:souri and Arkansas, and the rich plains of the Southern States of the Missis-,sippi Valley, require new channels to develope the resources of this vast exitent of country; and the best way of doing so is by building a railroad from:the Falls of St. Anthony to the Gulf of Mexico, therefore be it
Resolved, That the people of the States and the Territory interested in
cbuilding the aforesaid railroad, be requested to meet in Convention at St.
Louis on the third Monday of the ensuing November.
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to issue a call for said,Conventi, n, and to invite distinguished citizens to attend.
Resolved, That a committee of ten be appointed, by the Chairman of this
(meeting, to make the necessary arrangements for the meeting of said Con-:vention.
On motion of Mr. Mason, it was
Resolved, That the Chairman of this meeting appoint a delegation of
twenty to attend the Convention of the fiiends of the North MissouriRailroad, to -be held at iSt. Charles, on the 10th of November.
On motion of Harry I. Bodley, it was
Resolved, That the.Hon. L. M. Kennett, Mayor of St. Louis and Chairman of the meeting be added as a member of the Committee of Invita-tion and as Chairman thereof.
On motion, it was
Resolved, That all the papers in the Mississippi Valley, friendly to the objects of this meeting, be requested to publish the proceedings thereof.
The meeting then adjourned.
L. M. KENNETT, Chairman.
HENRY COBB, 
A.- S. MrCIIOBBLL,  Secretaries.
HENRY. MITrcHELL5,~




3
COMMITTEES FOR THE MIISSISSIPPI VALLEY RAILROAD CONVENTION.
Hon. L. M. Kennett,  Chairman  of the meeting, appointed  the following list of names to constitute the Committees required by the resolutions
of Saturday night-his own name being placed at the head of the first by order of the meeting:
COMMITTEE OF INVITATION,
L. M. Kennett,           John O'Fallon,            J. B. Brant,
Henry Cobb,             Lteo. R. Taylor,           Chas. P. Chouteau.
COAIMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
Col. T. Grimsley,        Edward Walsh,             Samuel Russell,
N. Ranney,               J..  Barrett,           H. I. Bodley,
Isaac H. Sturgeon,       Louis A. Labeaume,    A. S. Mitchell,
R. S. Elliott.
DELEGATES TO THE ST. CHARLES CONVENTION.
E. R. Mason,             Col. Jno. O'Fallon,       Bernard Pratte,
Neree Valle,             Jas. HI. Lucas,           F. P. Blair,
John S. McCtune,         Win. M. Morrison,         Richard Phillips,
Henry T. Blow,           Col. T. Grimsley,         Isaac H. Sturgeon,
John Kern,               R. Campbell,              J. Longhborough,
H. Cobb.                 E. A. Lewis,              Thos. Allen,
A. B. Chambers,          L. D. Norris.
Persons aplpointed on the above Committee who cannot serve, are authorized to fill the vacancies that will be thus occasioned.
In accordance with the foregoing the Committee of Invitation addressed
the following
C I RCU L AR:
TO THE CITIZENS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY,
Interested in the Projected Railroad from  Mimnnesota to the Mexican Gulf via
St. Louis and the Iron Mountain.
At a meeting of the citizens ot St. Louis, Mo., held on the ninth of October,
1852, in pursuance of a call m. de for that purpose, the following preamble
an(l resolutions were adopted, and the undersigned appointed a committee of
Invitation:
WHEREAS, the population west of the Mississippi is already very large and increasing rapidly, and the rich and fertile country lying betw een said Mississippi and
Missouri rivers north, and the mineral wealth of the States of Missouri and Arkansas,
and the rich plains of the Southern States of the Mississippi valley, require new channels to develope the resources of this vast extent of country, and the best way of doing so is by building a railroad from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Gulf of Mexico:
Therefore,
BE IT RESOLVLED,  That the people of the States and the Territory interested in
building the aforesaid railroad, be requested to meet in Convention at St. Louis on
the thlird Monday of the ensuing November.
RESOLVED, That a Committee of five be anpointed to issue a call for said Convention, and to invite distinguished citizens to attend.
RESOLVED, That a Committee of ten be appointed, by the Chairman of this meeting, to make the necessary arrangements for the meeting of said Convention.
RESOLVED, That the Hon. L. M. KENNETT, Mfavor of St. Louis, and Chairman
of the meeting, be added as a member of the Committee of Invitation and as Chairman
thereof.
The vast importance of the contemplated road-the incalculable advantages that will result from its construction to that portion, especially, of the




4
inhabitants of the great Valley residing west of the Mississippi, and the nationality of a project thus intended to unite and bind together the iiterests of
the North and South, by increasing their facilities of communication, must
recommend it to public favor, and, as we hope, insure, tit no distant period,
its entire success.
As the first grand movement toward the accomplishment of this great work,
it is proposed to hold, in the city of St. Louis, a Convention of its friends,
among whom the most prominent should be, the p. oducers of Missouri and
Iowa, along the line of the North Missouri Railroad extended to St. Peters,
who have otherwise no direct outlet to a market, as well as the enterprising
population that are fast filling up the rich prairies of Minnesota, and who will
thus secure a means of communication at all seasons with the southern sea.
Nor can we think its friends will be fewer along the proposed line south,
through the mineral region of>Missouri, to such point in Arkansas as will afford an easy connexion with New Orleans and the Ocean.
It behooves us on the western side of the Great River, not to bury the talent that has been entrusted to our keeping, but to profit by tl e example of
our brethren, farther east, who are at this moment urging forward, with the
utmost energy, an iroil road, parallel to the Mississippi river, from Galena to
the Gulf.
Let us do likewise, and put the rich savannahs of the West on as favorable
a footing as possible towards reaching a southern market4 the eastern bank
of the river being justly entitled to no advantage over us in this, though it
must of necessity have the start of us in our attempts to reach the northern
Atlantic ports.
The time fixed for the Convention, third Monday in November, with a view
to have as many as possible of our northern friends in attendance, and give
time for their return to their homes before winter sets in, puts it out of the
power of the committee to send special invitations to the many hundreds of
intelligent citizens along the proposed lines, upon whom will rest the duty of
stirring up their neighbors, and drawing public attention to this project, and
whose presence and countenance are particularly desired at tie proposed
Convention.
But we say to all friends of this great Northern and Southern Railroad, no
matter in what division of it their interests may lie, come to the Convention
and assist us with your counsel, and we promise you a hearty welcome, and
the hospitalities of our City.
L. M. KENNETT,   JOHN  O'FALLON, J. B. BRANT,
HENRY COBB,          G. R. TAYLOR,         C. P. CHOUTEAU.




REGULAR PROCEEDINGS
OF TIIE
MI S. VALLEY RAlIIOAI CONVENTION.
ST. Louis, Monday, November 15th, 1852.
MNorning Session.
PURSUANT to the notice of the Committee of Arrangements, the Delegates to the Mississippi Valley Railroad
Convention assembled in the Varieties Theatre, the 15th
November, at twenty minutes past eleven o'clock, A. M.
Col. THORNTON GRIMSLEY, of the Committee of Arrangements, opened the proceedings with some appropriate remarks and concluded by suggesting a temporary organization.
On motion, Dr. E. D. BEVITT, of St. Charles was
called to the Chair, and GEO. R. TAYLOR, Esq., of St.
Louis, elected Secretary.
At the suggestion of Gen. Ranney, the Governor elect
of the State, Gen. Sterling Price, as also such of the
State Senators and Representatives as happened to be in
the house, were invited to take their seats with the presiding officers. The Chairman invited the various delegations to present a list of their members to him, so that
the names could be called. The Secretary then announced the following list of delegates:




Delegates from St. Chales county-Judge F. Yosti, Col. L. E.
Powell, James Green, John H. Richay, Dr. E. D. Bevitt, R. A.
Harris, E. Lesieur, John W. Redman, James C. Lackland, Dr. 5M.
J. McElhenney, John McDonald, B. Emrmons, Jr., E. Garvin,
N. C, Orear, E. J. Orear, J. A. Falley, A. Krekel, H. Beckman,
E. F. Git, A. King, W. F. Gatwisle, H. Mallinckrodt, A. Huber,
H. Kemnpf, F. Becker, T. J. Payne, A. T. Skinner, B. F. Tuttle,
M. Knobbe, C. Mallinckrodt, Jno. Herran, John Atkinson, R.
McClarin, R. H. Parks, Jno, Phelps, John Hilbert, James H.
Alexander, J. A. Dick, F. Oberkatter, F. Rohbacker, J. J. Johns,
B. A. Alderson, and Messrs. Carr, Graham, and Waters and
Johnson.
Delegates firomn Lincoln County-Thos. J. Wright, Geo. W.
Walne.
Delegates from.Montgomery County-Rev. Richard Bond, James
H. Robinson, John McElhaney, L. W. Salisbury, B. Sharp.
Delegates from  Washington County-T. J. McElvaine, Ferd.
Kennett, Thos. C. Johnson, L. W. Burris, George Crossvill, John
Walker, James A. McCrand, James Evans, Thos. C. Murphy,
James T. Smith, F. Desloge.
Delegates from  Warren County-Warren V. Stewart, Estlin
W oolum.
Delega!e from Ste. Genevieve County-Hiram Blackledge.
Delegatefrom Van Buren County, Iowa —H. Mills.
Delegates from Benton County-Jas. Atkinson and Robert C.
Henry.
Delegate from Cole county-E. B. Cordell.
Delegation of citizens of St. Louis-Hon. H. S. Geyer, Hon.
John F. Darby, Hon. Edward Bates, S. T. Glover, /I. Tarver, A.
H. Buckner, H. A. Prout, Jas. Harrison, J. Loughborough, J. R.
Barrett, E. Mead, J. H. Obear, C. Schlemmer, H. Cobb, E. C.
Yosti, A. M. Waterman, R. B. Whittemore, D. R. Risley, K. Anderson, W. S. Romeyn, A. H. Glasby, J. T. Sweringen, Benj.
Farrar, -B. Stickney, G. R. Taylor, C. M. Taylor, T. Barnum,
Capt. L. Bissell, C. Dana, Wm. iNf. Morrison, W. M. McPherson,
T. S. O'Sullivan, Samuel Russell, J. Tilden, J. Cavender, W.
Crow, H. Mills, A. B. Chambers, R. Martin, R. J. Lockwood,
Lyman D. Norris, C. C. Whittelsey, J. B. Carson, A. Kayser, R.
E. Launitz, E. R. Mason, H. P. Sanger, D. Marlow, Dr. Wilson,
S. Ridgely, F. P. Blair, W. S. McKee, Col. D. D. Mitchell, JO




Woodson, R. M. Renick, Wm. Palm, J. Baker, A. Meier, W. Po
Fisher, J. Kern, A. McDaniel, T. Schneider, Jos. Woods, J. S.
Smith, J. McNeil, J. D. Coalter, J. B. Brant, Col. T. H. Benton,
J. A. Blood, Win. Glasgow, E. Milligan, D. Overall, E. Wyman,
P. E. Bland, W. W. Lynch, J. Knapp, A. J. P. Garesche, A. G.
Switzer, J. Dent, James S. Quisenberry, B. Thruston, J. Barclay, J. F. Jones, John Lay, C. Weidner, T. J. Thompson, Dr.
Morton, Geo. Lackland, Olly Williams, Charles Weber, Jas. G.
Barry, E. A. Lewis, Dr. Geo. Penn, R. F. Hixon, Thos. G. Settle, Geo. XW. Sullivani, Jas. F. Garrett, Jos. G. Lakeman, Dennis
Lackland.
The Secretary then read the following letter from
Mr. MIcBean, of Southern Illinois:
PLANTER'S HOUSE, St. Louis, November 15, 1852.
Messrs. L. A. Labeaume, N. Ranney, R. S. Elliott, Committee
of Reception for the Mississippi Valley Railroad Convention:
GENTLEMEN: The undersigned, a private citizen of Metropolis,.
Massac county, Illinois, would informally, if agreeable, represent
that section of South Illinois, and exhibit a new chart, showing the
most cenbical, direct and practicable road for a railroad to connect
with the cities of New Orleans, Mobile, Nashville, Charleston and
the States south of the Ohio, and east of the Mississippi river generally, embracing the Belleville and Illinoistown railroad as a part
of the most direct road southward from St. Louis to the Gulf of
Mexit,o, and being upon direct line and bearing with the proposed
north-western railroad to connect, via St. Charles, with the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, etc., as will be exhibited by map.
Very respectfully, etc.,               WM. McBEAN.
John D. Coalter, Esq., of St. Louis, moved that Mr.
McBean be invited to take a seat in the Convention.
Carried.
On motion of Lyman D. Norris, Esq., of St. Louis, a
committee consisting of three from each of the delegations present, was appointed by the Chair to recommend
a list of officers for the permanent organization of the
Convention.
The following gentlemen were appointed such committee; Lyman D. Norris, Jno. D. Coalter,"NathanRanney, of St. Louis; Andrew King, F. Yosti, R. H. Parkis




8
of St. Charles; Thomas Wright, Geo. W. Walne, of Lincoln; Richard Bond, B. Sharp, Jno. McElhaney, of
Montgomery; Ferdinard Kennett, S. T. Dunklin, Col.
McCrand, of Washington; W. V. Stewart, E. Woollum,
of Warren.
The Committee retired and after a brief absence reported the names of the following gentlemen, as permanent officers of the Convention:
President-Dr. E. D. Bevitt, of St. Charles.
Vice Presidents-J. H. McIlvane, of Washington; W.
V. Stewart, of Warren; Dr. H. Mills, of Iowa; Jno. D.
Coalter, of St. Louis; H. Blackledge, of Ste. Genevieve.
Secretaries-Geo. R. Taylor, L. D. Norris, of St.
Louis; Benj. Emmons, Jnr., of St. Charles.
On motion of David R. Risley, Esq, of St. Louis, the
report was unanimously adopted.
Dr. Bevitt, on assuming the chair, remarked, that the
honor took him by surprise.,He knew of no special
personal merits, which had won him such distinction, nevertheless, he would endeavor to discharge his duties
faithfully, and in such manner as might most advance the
object for which they strove.
Hon. Samuel Benton and Gen. P. B. Starke, of Misssissippi, being present by invitation, on motion of H.
Cobb, of St. Louis, were invited to participate in the
proceedings of the Convention; and on motion of A. B.
Chambers, of St. Louis, a like invitation was extended
to the President and Directors of the Pacific Railroad,Company.
On motion of Andrew Krekel, Esq., of St. Charles, the
Convention adjourned to three o'clock in the afternoon.




Afternoon Session.
The Convention met pursuant to adjournment, and on
motion of Hon. L. M. Kennett, it was resolved that a
committee of fifteen be appointed to prepare business for
this Convention.
Whereupon, the President constituted the following
gentlemen such committee: Hon. L. M. Kennett, M.
Tarver, J. Loughborough and H. A. Prout, of St. Louis;
Thomas J. Wright and G. W. Walne, of Lincoln; Frederick W. Gatzwaler, Thos. W. Cunningham and Benj.
A. Alderson, of St. Charles; John McElhaney, of Montgomery; Ferdinand Kennett and T. J. McIlvaine, of
Washington; Warren V. Stewart, of Warren; Hiram
Blackledge, of Ste. Genevieve; H. Mills, of Iowa; and
E. B. Cordell, of Cole.
During the absence of the Committee, on motion of
Theron Barnum, Esq., Hon. Thomas Allen, President of
the Pacific Railroad Company, was requested to address
the Convention, who complied with the invitation, by a
speech full of information derived from practical experience.
The following communication was then read from
Mr. A. C. Farnham, Secretary of the Arcadia Railroad
Convention:
ARCADIA, Nov. 12, 1852.
To the President of the.Mississippi Valley Railroad Convention. —
SIR: As Secretary of the Arcadia Railroad Convention, representing the counties of Washington, Reynolds, Wayne and Madison, I am required to communicate to you the fifth resolution passed by that body on the 11th inst., with the request that you lay it
before the Convention over which you preside for their consideration. In discharging this duty, which I do with much pleasure, I
cannot but express the hope that your deliberation may be harmonious and redound to the best interests of our State and of the
whole country.
"Resolved, That if Missouri goes into a railroad system to connect Minnesota and New Orleans, she should so lay it out as to




10
develop her own resources and accommodate her ownr people; and
the bare question of directness between Minnesota and St. Louis
on the one side, and St. Louis and New Orleans on the other,
should be held strictly subordinate to these two considerations,
and in the opinion of this Convention the North Missouri Railroad,
and the Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob branch extended, are the two
roads by which the connection between the extreme North and
South ought to be made in this State."
I am, Sir, very respectfully your obedient servant,
A. C. FARNHAM,
Secretary of the Arcadia Convention.
A letter from the Hon. Preston B. Reed was also read,
as follows:
FULTON, Mo., Nov. 11, 1852.
GENTLEMEN: I duly received the address "to the citizens of the
Mississippi Valley," as well as the resolution "of the citizens of
St. Louis at a meeting held October 9, 1852."
I have been the subject of severe affliction since my return from
Jefferscn City, and am yet so unwell as to be unable to respond to
your kind invitation to be with you on the third Monday of November.
I have deferred writing this note until now, hoping that it would
be otherwise; but I cannot come.
I rejoice to know that the citizens of St Louis, if not fiully
awake, are waking up to a true sense of the importance of the proposed railroad.
The delegation from your county and city can testify to the zeal
I have manifested in favor of the North Missouri Railroad.
I can only now say, build this road, or make up your minds to
lose the commerce of Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, north of
the river. You can estimate its value, present and future.
I hope to be able to be in my place in the Capitol, on the second
Monday in December and will try to remember the true interests
of my immediate constituents of St. Louis and of the State.
I am truly sorry that I cannot enjoy the hearty welcome and
hospitalities of your city."
This is written by a friend. Very respectfully,
PRESTON B. REED.
On motion of Geo. R. Taylor, Esq., of St. Louis, the
President, Directors and Officers, of the North Missouri
Railroad Company were invited to take seats and participate in the proceedings of the Convention.
On motion of H. Cobb, Esq., of St. Louis, a similar
invitation was extended to the President, Directors and




Officers of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company,
the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company, and the
St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad Company.
On motion of Col. A. B. Chambers, of St. Louis, the
Convention adjourned till half-past seven o'clock, P. M.
Evening Session.
The Convention met pursuant to adjournment.
Hon. L. M. Kennett, from the Committee appointed
to prepare business for the Convention, reported the following resolutions:
Resolved, By the Mississippi Valley Railroad Convention, assembled at St. Louis, Mo., November 15, 1852,
First, That the individual and social interests of the inhabitants
west of the Mississippi river, imperatively demand the construction of a railroad from the city of' New Orleans to a central, eligible point in the Territory of Minnesota, in the direction of the
Red River of the North, aind with a branch to the Falls of St. Anthony; said road to pass by the capital of the State of Arkansas,
the Iron Mountain, and the city of' St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, and the Valley of the Des 3Moines river, in the State of
Iowa.
Second, That a railway ihus uniting the fertile valleys and productive prairies of the extreme northern Territory of the United
States with the Gulf of Mexico, is eminently National in its claracter, and therefore justly entitled to assistance from the General
Government..
Third, That the act of Congress granting public lands in aid of
the Illinois Central and Mobile and Ohio Railroads, gives additional strength to the claims of the States west of the Mississippi to a similar grant in aid of the Mississippi Valley Railroad,
for it would be unjust on the part of Congress to refuse assistance in establishing commercial facilities on this, after doing so
much to encourage similar works on the other side of the River.
Fourth, That in consideration of the National benefits to be derived from the construction of this great work and the large amount
of public lands remaining unsold in the States through which it is
proposed to be located, we ask of Congress a quantity of land,
equal to alternate sections for ten miles in width on each side of
said road throughout its entire length, with the privilege of selecting other lands to make up the quantity of such tracts as may
have been sold, or are subject to pre-emption, within the distance
of ten miles from the line.




12
Fifth, That the projected Iron Mountain and South Missouri,
and the North Missouri Railroads with the contemplated amendment of the charter of the latter extending the same from St.
Charles to St. Louis and making the latter city the Southern terminus, are important links in the great Iron chain by which we propose to connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Territory of Minnesota. And we, therefore, especially recommend these roads as
works of the first importance to the State of Missouri, demanding
at the hands of her Legislature the same degree of encouragement
through the means of the State credit that has been extended to
the Pacific, and to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroads.
Sixth, That the meeting of this Convention affords a proper occasion for those of whom it is composed to urge upon Congress the
necessity of adopting immediate measures in view of the certain
and speedy construction of the Great Central Pacific Railroad-a
grand national project calculated to unite the interests and advance
the prosperity of every part of the Republic, to secure by the
shortest and most economical route, upon our own soil and through
the heart of our own country, safe and uninterrupted communication between its distant borders on the shores of the two great
oceans-a proiect worthy of the age in which we live, and of the
American people, who would speedily accomplish this glorious
enterprise, if sectional jealousy and conflicting interests could be
reconciled, and the national mind concentrated upon its achievement.
Seventh, That the public lands in the new States, especially
those west of the Mississippi river, have chiefly derived their money value from  the labor of the present inhabitants, who have
suffered all the privations incident to the settlement of new countries; and, therefore, upon sound principles of national justice,
are entitled to the amount added to the value of the public domain by their own toil. And whilst this Convention believes that
the measure of this justice can only be entirely fulfilled by ceding
to the new States all the public lands within their borders, that
shall have been fifteen years or more in market; nevertheless, it
would acquiesce in the distribution of a reasonable share of the
monies accruing from the sale of all other lands amongst the old
States for purposes of education; solemnly protesting, however,
against giving them away to any one class of the people, or assigning them  wholesale to the old States as provided for by the
"Hornestead" and "Bennett's" land bills introduced at the last session of Congress.
Eighth, That it is the opinion of this Convention that the General Government should cease to regard the public domain as a
source of National revenue-but that it should only be dispos3d of
with a view to the encouragement of education, internal improvements, and other objects of a National character, upon such principles as will secure equal justice to the old and new States.




Jinth, That a Committee of Five be appointed by the President
of this Convention, to draw up a memorial to Congress, asking for
aid in behalf of this great enterprise, and expressing more at large
the views of this Convention, in respect to the public domain, as
shadowed forth in the preceding resolutions; and that a copy of'
said memorial be forwarded to each Senator and Representative in
Congress, residing west of the Mississippi river.
Tenth, That,his Convention fully approves the plan recommended by the St. Charles Convention, of paying county and corporation
railroad subscriptions by the levy of an annual tax, sufficient to
meet the calls on such subscriptions-provided the amount so raised shall not in any one year, be more than is required to pay thirty
per centum of the amount subscribed by a county or corporation,
to the stock of any one road, and that each tax payer shall receive
a certificate of stock to the amount of the special tax paid by him.
And we respectfully ask of the Legislature at its ensuing session,
the passage of proper laws to enforce the collections of such tax in
all the cities and counties of this State, which either have already
taken or may hereafter subscribe stock in any railroad company.
Mr. Kennett then addressed the Convention, and represented the national and individual interests combined
in the resolutions and the cause; and on his motion 500
copies of the resolutions were ordered to be printed
for the use of the Convention, and were made the special order of the day for to-morrow morning.
Col. F. Kennett, of Washington county, offered the
following resolutions, which were received and five hundred copies were ordered to be printed for the use of
the Convention.
Whereas the construction of a railroad, leading from St. Louis
to the western frontiers of Missouri, and thence to the Pacific
Ocean, s a work of great public utility, and calculated to bring
more closely together the older States of the Union, the far-distant
State of California, and our western Territories, and to open a direct trade with the Indies, Pacific Isles and China: Therefore be it
Resolved, That it is the sentiment of this Convention that the
construction of a great public highway of such importance calls
loudly upon our National and State governments to render all proper aid for the consummation of so desirable an object.
Resolved further, That it is the opinion of this Convention, that




14
imperative duty requires the Diriectory of the Pacific Railroad Company to locate, without further delay, the whole line of said road,
to the western confines of Missouri, and by this means enable our
State Legislature to take definite and judicious action relative to
the lands granted to Missouri at the last session of Congress, for
the purpose of aiding in the building of said road.
Resolved further, That in looking to the Pacific Railroad as a
great national work, sound policy would indicate that all sectional
interests in our State should be lost sight of by the Directory, and
that it should be rendered as purely national in its character as
possible.
Resolved further, That in consideration of the State credit, which
has been loaned to the Pacific Company, it is the duty of said company to build with as little delay as possible such branch roads as
will be best to develop the resources of counties not benefitted by
the main road.
Resolved farther, Thatas iron constitutes a principal element in
the manufacturing prosperity of all our great cities, this Convention would respectfully recommend to the Pacific Company the
propriety of fixing upon that article the lowest possible rate of
transportation, so as to secure the development of this great mineral resource of our State along the line of said road and the proposed branches.  Such tariff of transportation not to be greater than
would be charged by a road leading in a direct line to the Iron
Mountain, Pilot Knob, or other iron mines on said principal road
or branches.
Mr. Loughborough offered the following resolutions,
which were ordered to be printed:
Whereas a National Convention assembled in the city of St.
Louis, on the sixteenth day of October, 1849, for the purpose of
deliberating upon the importance and the means of opening a commercial communication from the Mississippi river to the Pacific
Ocean-of binding the States and Territories of the Pacific coasf
to the Union, and of effecting a radical change in the commerce ot
the United States and Europe with China and the East Indies. In
that connection, the people of fourteen souvereign States of the
confederacy were represented by nearly one thousand delegates,
consisting of gentlemen of science, of engineers, of merchants,
farmers, planters and manufacturers, all of whom were distinguished among their fellow citizens for uncommon intelligence and zeal
for the public good. After a careful examination, a mature consideration and an ample discussion of the subject, the Convention resolved with an unanimity which, it is believed, is unparalleled in the
histor yof public improvements, that it was the duty of the Con



gress of the United States to provide for the construction of a Central National Railroad from the valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; that in the opinion of said Convention, a grand trunk
railroad, with branches to St. Louis, Memphis and Chicago, would
be such a central and national one; that it was the duty of Congress, as a necessary and preliminary means to the construction of
such road to make provision for the establishment of numnierous military posts at short distances from each other, and encourage along
the line of them, by judicious donations of land, civilized and productive settlements; and that it was the duty of Congress to authorize the construction of a line of' Telegraph along the line designated for the great highway.
And whereas on the twenty-third day of the same month and
year, another National Convention assembled in the city of Memphis to deliberate upon the same subjects and devise the means of
effecting the important ends contemplated in that Convention, the
people of fifteen sovereign States of the confederacy were represented by nearly five hundred, delegates chiefly from the southern, as
those of St. Louis had been from the Middle and Northern States,
all gentlemen of great probity and intelligence, and animated by an
earnest public spirit.  Upon its organization, the delegation which
had been deputed by the Convention in St. Louis, laid before it the
proceedings of the body which they represented. After a like
careful examination and full discussion, this last Convention adopted a series of resolutions which were drawn for the purpose of
coinciding and did coincide with those adopted in St. Louis in all
material respects. These were also unanimously agreed to.
And whereas, although memorials were addressed to the Congress of the United States by both these National Conventions
which gave expression to the opinions, the desires, and the hopes
of a majority of the people and the States-although there is, at
this time, a pressing necessity for a rapid interior communication
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as a means of strengthening and
consolidating the Union-although the Wrest, which has, from the
origin of its communities, paid more into the common Treasury, in
proportion to its capital and population, than any other portion of
the country, is now suffering in every department of its business
and industry from the want of that encouragement and aid which
is needful to the development of its great natural resources and
the prosperity of its trade-although it is now a known and settled




16
fact, that the construction of a line of railway to the Pacific coast
would revolutionize the commerce of the world and give us the first
fruits of a trade which has ever been, from the earliest periods,
the harbinger of progress, prosperity and \power to the nations
which have successively controlled it-the Congress of the United
States representing under the forms of the Constitution the very
same people who send up memorials upon the subject, has not as
yet even taken into serious consideration a project of such grave
and nmomentous consequences.
Therefore be it resolved by this Convention:
1. That it is the duty of Congress to enter into immediate treaties
with the Indian tribes for opening the great pastoral region from
the border of the Western States to the Rocky Mountains, to settlement and cultivation, and to organize a territorial government
with jurisdiction extending from the line of the States to the Territory of' Utah, and from the Great Platte to the Arkansas river.
2. That it is the duty of' Congress to erect blockhouses with enclosures, at the distance of twenty miles from each other, from the
mouth of the Kanzas river to the border of California, to garrison
each with enough men to give protection and security to emigrants,
and enough to encourage along the line of them by judicious donations of land, civilized and productive settlements.
3. That it is the duty of Congress to provide for the carriage of
a daily mail from the mouth of the Kansas river, to the Bay of San
Francisco and to Oregon.
4. That it is the duty of Congress to authorize the construction
of a line of telegraph from the mouth of the Kansas river through
Utah to the State of California, with branches to New Mexico and
Oregon.
5. That it is the duty of Congress to provide by means of the
public domain, for the construction of such a central national railway, as will unite us by bands of iron, with the State of California
and the Territories of New Mexico, Utah and Oregon —secure to us
in the future the rich trade of the Pacific Ocean-and afford to
every section of the Union as fair and equal a participation in its
advantages as call be afforded consistently with all the great ends
to be accomplished.
6. That the treaty with New Grenada, by which we guaranteed
her sovereignty and independence in consideration of a grant of
the right of way across the Isthmus, at Panama, was a gross and
palpable violation of that principle of non-intervention which our
fathers wisely engrafted upon our foreign policy, and a violation
of the spirit of the Constitution-that the opening of routes across
any portion of the Isthmus was impolitic and dangerous-and that
it is the duty of Congress to withdraw from all subsisting treaty
engagements and entangling alliances relative to routes across the




17
Istlmnus, at the earliest practicable period, and enforce, with respect to foreign powers the prudent declaration made by Mr. MIonroe, in 1824, against permitting attempts by them to colonize in any
form upon the American continent.
7. That the President of this Convention be authorized to appoint a committee of five persons, whose duty it shall be to prepare a memorial to Congress, conforling to the foregoing resolutions-to have the same distributed to the people of this great Valley-and take needful steps to have the copies sent up to Congress
after they receive the signatures of the people.
Mr. Loughborough  accompanied his resolutions with
some explanatory remarks.
On motion of W. M. McPherson, Esq., Col. Thos. W.
Cunningham, of St. Charles, addressed the Convention,
illustrating the merits of the cause.
Gov. Price was requested  to favor the Convention
with his views, but excused himself, promising the projected  work every assistance, when the proper time arrived.
Col. T. H. Benton was also called to the stand, but
acting upon the suggestion of his Honor the Mayor declined speaking, until after the resolutions of the committee should be printed, having been absent when they
were read.
On motion of H. Cobb, Esq., Hon. S. Benton, of
Mississippi, addressed the Convention, showing by statistics and arguments the beneficial effects of Railroad
enterprises.
The Convention then adjourned to Tuesday morning,
at 10 o'clock.
hrurRhnr~~/~,,,_.  _2.




18
ST. LOUIS, Tuesday, November 16th, 1852.
Morning Session.
At half past ten o'clock, the Convention was called to
order.
The Chairman announced to the Convention that the
special order of the day was the report of the Committee on Resolutions.
In accordance with a call from Gen. Ranney, the tesolutions were read by the Secretary; after which Mr.
Burris, of Washington county, moved that they be taken
up separately for consideration.
Pending the motion of Mr. Burris, Col. Benton was
called on for an expression of opinion on the resolutions,
with which call he complied, after which Mr. Burris, of
Washington county, renewed his motion to consider the
resolutions of the Committee separately. This was
adopted.
The Secretary then read, successively, the first, second and third resolutions, which, on motion of Mr.
Burris, were adopted.
After the reading of the fourth resolution, Col. A. B.
Chambers moved that the words "ten miles" (indicating
the grant of land to be asked of Congress,) should be
stricken out, and the following sentence inserted in lieu
thereof: "in conformity with similar grants by Congress to similar roads."
Gen. Ranney advocated the adoption of the resolution as reported by the Committee.
Mr. Milligan suggested the insertion of. "six miles,"
nstead of ten -an amendment accepted by Col. Chambers.




The question being taken on the amendment, it was
lost.
The question then recurred on the original resolution, and it was carried.
The fifth resolution was then read, when Mr. Thos.
C. Johnson, of Washington, offered the following as a
substitute:
5. That the Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob Branch of the Pacific
Railroad, with the contemplated amendment of the Charter, giving
authority to said Company to extend their branch to the Mississippi river on the southern line of the State; and the North Missouri
Railroad, with a like amendment of its Charter, extending it from
St. Charles to St. Louis, are important links in the great iron chain
by which we propose to connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Territory of Minnesota. And we, therefore, especially recommend
these two roads already projected, as works of the first importance
to the State of Missouri, demanding at the Legislature the same
degree of encouragement through the means of the State credit,
that has already been extended to the main Pacific trunk road, and
the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
A debate here ensued upon the propriety of the proposed substitute, which was participated in by the mover
Mr. Johnson, Messrs. McPherson, Chambers and Kennett, of St. Louis, Messrs. Evans and Kennett, of Washington, pending which debate the Convention adjourned
to three o'clock, P. M.
Afternoon Session'
The President announced as the business first in order, the substitute offered by Mr. Johnson, of Washington, for the fifth resolution reported by the Committee.
The discussion thereupon was continued by Messrs.
Burris, Johnson and McPherson, after which the Convention refused to pass the substitute.
The question recurring on the resolution as reported,
Mr. L. M. Kennett moved to amend by striking out the




20
words "already chartered." After some discussion by
Messrs. L. M. Kennett, Chambers and Cobb, of St.
Louis, F. Kennett, and Johnson, of Washington, Mr.
Kennett modified his amendment so as to insert the word
"projected" before the words "Iron Mountain," in the
first line. The question was then put separately on the
two amendments, and both were adopted.
The fifth resolution, as finally passed, reads as fo!lows:
5. That the projected Iron Mou-ntain and South Missouri, and
the North Missouri Railroads, with the contemplated amendment
of the charter of the latter extending the same from St. Charles to
St. Louis, and making the latter city the southern terminals, are
important links in the great iron chain, by which we propose to
connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Territory of Minnesota.
And we, therefore, especially recommend these roads as works of
the first importance to the State of Missouri, demanding at the
hands of her Legislature the same degree of encouragement through
the means of the State Credit that has been extended to the Pacific, and to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroads.
The sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth resolutions, were then severally read and adopted.
On motion, the resolutions as a whole were thereupon adopted.
Mr. Cobb offered the following resolution which was
agreed to:
Resolved, That the President of this Convention appoint a committee of five to address the people of the Mississippi Valley on
the subjects embraced in the resolutions of this Convention.
The President thereupon appointed Messrs. Cobb and
Prout of St. Louis, Kennett of Washington, Orear of St.
Charles, and Mills of Iowa, to constitute the committee.
The Chair appointed the following gentlemen to constitute the committee to memorialize Congress, under
the ninth resolution:
Messrs. Kennett, Norris and Chambers of St. Louis,
Elhiny, of St. Charles, and Johnson of Washington.




21
The resolutions ofTered by Mr. Kennett, of Washington, were, upon his motion, taken up, and by a vote of
24 to 19 laid upon the table.
It was moved that the resolutions offered by Mr.
Loughborough be taken up, which motion was negatived
by the same vote as above.
Mr. Kennett, of St. Louis, moved that the proceedings of this Convention, together with their memorials
to Congress, be published in pamphlet form and forwarded to the Senators and Representatives in Congress,
and to such other persons as may be thought proper.
Adopted.
On motion of A. Krekel, of-St. Charles, the foregoing
resolution was so amended as to include the proceedings
and memorial of the North Missouri Railroad Convention.
On motion of Gen. Coalter, Mr. McBean was invited
to address the Convention, in explanation of the chart
alluded to by him in his letter to the Convention.
Mr. McBean thereupon exhibited his chart of projected and completed railroads, having a connection with
New Orleans east of the Mississippi river and down the
great valley. tHis remarks were full of interesting information, and were listened to with much attention.
On motion of Mr. A. J. P. Garesche, the thanks of
the ConVention were tendered to Mr. McBean for his
instructive address and explanations.
Mr. Ranney moved that the thanks of the Convention be extended to the stockholders of the Varieties
Theatre, for the use of their elegant and comfortable
building. Passed.
On motion of Mr. Henry Cobb, the thanks of the
Convention were also tendered to the President, for his




22
ability, courtesy and impartiality as presiding offcer,
and to the Secretaries for the efficient and satisfactory
manner in which they have discharged their duties.
On motion of Ion. L. M. Kennett, the Convention adjourned sine die.
E. D. BEVITT, President.
H. BLACKLEDGE, A
J. H. McILVANE,
W. B. STEWART,  ) Vice Pres'ts.
DR. H. MILLS,      I
JNO. D. COALTER, J
GEO. R. TAYLOR, I
L. D. NORRIS,           Secretaries.
3ENJ. EMMON S, JR.? J




PRO CEEDINGS
OF THE
H0Rl'-X IIS OUBI RAILRO0AD
CONSVEN'TION.
ST. CHARLES, MIO., Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1852.
M1orning Session.
The members of the Convention assembled in the
Court room, at ten o'clock, A. M., and were called to order by Dr. E. D. Bevitt, of St. Charles, on whose motion Wmin. M. McPherson, Esq., of St. Louis, was called to
the Chair, and Lyman D. Norris, was appointed Secretary, pro ternm.
Lists of delegates being called for from  the several
counties represented, the following were reported as being present:
Delegates from & Sth ChLatles county-Dr. E. D. Bevitt, A. Krekel, A. King, C. Mallinckrodt, Col. L. E. Powell, B. A. Alderson, J. J. Johns, N. C. Orear, R. H. Parks, E. F. Git, R. B.
Frayser, D. K. Pittman, Asa Overall, John P. White, T. W. Cunningham, Judge F. Yosti, W. J. McElhenney, Dr. Rogers, John
W. Redman, John I-. Richay, John Orrick, Edw. Lesieur, Alfred
Luckett, Dr. Talley, John Atkinson, J. K. McDearmon, James H.
Carlin, Henry Weber, Wm. McClay, J. A. Dick, G. Andrews,
John B. Selley.




24
Delegation of citizens of St. Louis- E. Mead, J. H. Obear, C.
Schlemmer, H. Cobb, E. C. Yosti, A. M.  Waterman, R. B.
Whittemore, D. R. Risley, K. Anderson, W. S. Romeyn, A. H.
Glasby, J. T. Sweringen, Benj. Farrar, B. Stickney, G. R. Taylor, C. M. Taylor, T. Barnum, Capt. L. Bissell, C. Dana, Wm..I.
Morrison, W. M. McPherson, T. S. O'Sullivan, Samuel Russell,
J. Tilden, J. Cavender, tY. Crow, H. Mills, A. B. Chambers,
R. Martin, R. J. Lockwood, Lyman D. Norris, C. C. Whittelsey,
J. B. Carson, A. Kayser, R. E. Launitz, E. R. Mason, H. P. Sanger, D. Marlow, Dr. Wilson, S. Ridgely, F. P. Blair, Col.
D. D. Mitchell, J. Woodson, R. M. Renick, Wm. Palm,
J. Baker, A. Meier, W. P. Fisher, J. Kern, A. McDaniel, T.
Schneider, Jos. Woods, J. S. Smith, J. McNeil, J. D. Coalter, J.
B. Brant, Col. T. H. Benton, J. A. Blood, Win. Glasgow, E. Milligan, D. Overall, E. Wyman, P. E. Bland, W. W. Lynch, J.
Knapp, A. J. P. Garesche, A. G. Switzer, J. Dent, James S.
Quisenberry, B. Thruston, J. Barclay, J. F. Jones, John Lay,
C. Weidner, T. J. Thompson, Dr. Morton, Geo. Lackland, Oily
VWilliams, Charles Weber, Jas. G. Barry, E. A. Lewis, Dr. Geo.
Penn, R. F. Hixon, Thos. G. Settle, Geo. W. Sullivan, Jas. F.
Garrett, Jos. G. Lakeman, Dennis Lackland.
Delegates fr)om  Lincoln County-Thos. J. Wright, Geo. L.
Mudd, P. G. Davis, George Dyer, Robt. B. Allen, Wm. Clark,
Walter Perkins, Chas. Long, Geo. W. Houston, Seymour Davis,
Wm. C. Shelton.
Delegates from  Callaway County-John B. Henderson, J. F.
Jones.
Delegates from  JMontgomery County-C. G. Buchanan, Thos.
Psrry, JamesH. Robinson, Col. C. B. Harper, J. L. Pegram, John
Lock, Frank Skinner, Rev. Richard Bond, L. W. Salisbury, Mr.
Gorey, James Davidson, David H. Witchell, J. P. Farrow, Mr.
Simons.
Delegates from   Warren  County —Ienry  C. Wright, John'Welch, Estlin NYoolurn, Andrew S. Wood, and Rev. Jas. A.
Welch.
On motion, a committee consisting of two delegates
from  each county, was appointed  to report permanent
officers to the Convention, as follows:




25
John D. Coalter and J. B. Brant, of St. Louis; Andrew King and E. D. Bevitt, of St. Charles; C. B. HEarper and J. P. Farrow, of Montgomery; Geo. W. Houston and Geo. L. Mudd, of Lincoln; John B. Henderson,
of Callaway.
The committee retired and upon their return reported
the following officers, who were unanimously elected:
President Geo. W. Houston, of Lincoln.
Vice Presidents-D. K. Pittman, of St. Charles; J.
B. Henderson, of Callaway; J. Cavender, of St. Louis;
H. C. Wright, of Warren; J. I-I. Robinson, of Montgomery.
Secretaries-Col. A. B. Chambers, of St. Louis; N.
C. Orear, of St. Charles; L. D. Norris, of St. Louis;
E. A. Lewis, of St. Louis.
Mr. Houston, upon being conducted to the Chair, returned thanks for the honor conferred upon him, in a
neat and appropriate address, which was warmly applauded.
J. Sidney Smith, Esq., of St. Louis, offered a resolution inviting Col. Thos. H. Benton to occupy a seat on
the platform with the President, which was unanimously
adopted. Col. Benton thereupon took the position designated, and was greeted with hearty applause.
On motion of H. Cobb, Esq., a committee of thirteen was appointed to prepare business for the Convention.  The Committee consisted of Messrs. Henry
Cobb, Edward Wyman, A. Meier, F. P. Blair, of St.
Louis; T. J. Wright, W. Perkins, P. J. Davis, of Lincoln; Robert H. Parks, E. D. Bevitt, Thos. Cunningham, of St. Charles; Jno. B. Henderson, of Callaway;
Jno. P. Farrow and Chas. Harper, of Montgomery.
The committee of thirteen having retired, Rev. Dr.




26
Bond was requested, by resolution, to address the Convention, but by his desire was excused on account of ill
health.
A resolution was adopted, requesting Col. Benton:to
address the Convention at such time as may suit his convenience.  Col. Benton responded briefly, and left the
time to be fixed by the business committee, hoping that
they would not place him first in order, but allow him to
come in with the other speakers.
Mr. King, of St. Charles, being called on, declined
speaking, and, at his instance, Col. Chambers was invited
to address the Convention. Col. Chambers thereupon
spoke about twenty minutes, dwelling upon the great
importance of the North Missouri Raijlroad, and the prospects for its early construction.
A discussion then ensued in relation to the time proposed for the departure of the St. Louis delegates and
the hour at which it would be most advisable for Col.
Benton to deliver his speech, after which the committee
returned and reported a series of resolutions.
On motion of Mr. Kayser, five hundred copies of the
resolutions were ordered to be printed for the ruse of the
Convention, after which the Convention adjourned until
two o'clock, P. M.
Afternoon Session.
The following additional Delegates were reported as
being present:
Delegate from Randolph County —Thos P. Ruby.
Delegates from St. Charles County-John B. Allen, P. Fulkerson, Wm. H. Vardiman, J. W. Savage.
Delegate fiom St. Louis County —W. S. McKee.
De!egates from  Montgomery County-B. Sharp, J. McElhenney.
Delegate from Warren County-N. P. Stevens.




27
Dr. E. D. Bevitt from  the Committee of Invitation,
laid before the Convention the following letters from
gentlemen who were unable to attend; which were
thereupon read by the Secretary:
AGENCY CITY, IOWA, Nov. 4, 1852.
To the President of the.N'orthern.Jlissouri Railroad Convention:
SIR:
At a meeting of citizens of this place, held
on the 16th inst., in relation to the contemplated North Missouri Railroad, I was appointed a delegate to your Convention,
with instructions:to represent the people of the Des Moines Valley as eager and ready to co-operate with the people of the State
of Missouri in the construction of said road-and to urge forward
the same as being reciprocally beneficial to the people of both Missouri and Iowa. Not being able to attend the Convention, I take
the liberty of inclosing to your address the proceedings of that.meeting, with the request that the same be submitted to the Convention. The resolutions are few, expressing considerations only
of the material and practical kind. The entire proceedings are
only worthy of the consideration of the Convention as an index of
views and feelings here.  And, I may say with confidence, that
public sentiment in this Valley is unanimously in favor of your
projected improvements-; and that when the time shall have arrived for the co-operation of our people with material aid-they
will co-operate spontaneously and abundantly in the work.
For the information of the Convention, I will state that we have
a general law under which a company can be organized to carry on
the work in this State, at any time and to any point of destination
and that such organization will be effected here, as soon as the proceedings and work of the JMissouri Company will justify it.  We do
not wish to begin too soon; nor until we can have a connection with
the Missouri line. When we are assured of such connection, then
we will spring to the work with alacrity, because of our interests.
Such a road would benefit this Valley immensely,. and the people
know it-the farmers know it especially.  They know too well
that they now receive but a pittance for their produce-that they
are offering to sell corn, as per location, at from ten to fifteen cents
per bushel, and no buyers; oats the same; rye twenty-five to thirty cents; wheat forty to fifty cents.; timothy hay $5 per ton and
other produce in proportion-that without a railroad to market,
this state of things must continue under present mode of transportation, and that their agricultural energies must continue to be paralyzed and deadened.  They know all this; and further, that such
a road as you propose to construct, would give them instantly on its
completion a market at their own doors for all their surplus, with
nearly full St. Louis prices-in cash.




28
On the other side permit me to say to the merchants and capitalists of St. Louis that the Des Moines Valley is capable of almost
unlimited production. Give our farmers a steady market for their
produce at fair and remunerating prices (and your road would do
this) and on their return, I promise you the quid pro quo —we
will increase our production —we will roll over your road and
into your warehouses such quantities of produce as will require a
duplication of your store-houses to hold it, and of your steamboats
to carry it away.
Wishing the Convention a harmonious sitting, and success in
its great object —I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
M. R. LEWIS.
The following are the resolutions referred to in the
foregoing letter
Whereas, a communication appears in the St. Louis Republican
newspaper, of October 8, 1852, signed by E. D. Bevitt and others,
as a committee of the citizens of St. Charles, Mo., addressed'To
the friends of the North Missouri Railroad," urging them to act in
the matter of said road, and to appoint delegates to meet in Convention at St. Charles, on the twelfth day of November, 1852, in order
to consult together and devise means for its successful completion;
And whereas, according to the proposed route of said road, its
northern terminus in Missouri will be at the Iowa State line, in or
near the county of Schuyler, in the former State,'and from thence
to cross the Iowa line and penetrate and cross the valley of the
Desmoines northwardly;
And whereas, we, a part of the citizens of the Desmoines valley,
are friendly and favorable to the construction of said road-and are
embraced in the call of said committee as "persons interested,"
and deeply interested therein-therefore,
Resolved, That a delegate be sent to said Convention.
Resolved, That said delegate be instructed to represent the people of this valley, as ready and eager to co-operate with the people of Missouri in the construction of said road.
Resolved, That such a road would be mutually, advantageous to
the people of St. Louis and of the Des Moines Valley-to the
former it would add vastly to their commerce and trade in merchandise and provisions —to the latter it would give a home market and fair prices for their salable products, and access in ten
hours travel to the city of St. Louis, at all seasons of the year.




29
GRAPE HILL, Saturday night, Oct. 30.
To Dr. E. BevittDEAR SIR:
It was matter of much regret to me that I could
not accept your invitation, by reason of engrossing professional engagements. I believe you know my long acquaintance and habit
of association with the good county of St. Charles, and the endearing ties which bind me to many of its people. And I assure you,
sir, that whatever deeply interests them, cannot fail to be a matter
of lively solicitude with me. Great, however, as is the importance of the projected work to St. Charles and the adjacent counties, that is not the greatest aspect in which I view it. It is a
great undertaking, of immense value to the State and the nation. I
have not sufficient practical knowledge of the subject to enable me to
form a reliable opinion whether or not the time has come to begin
the operation. But I am confident in the belief that the time is not
far off when the interests and feelings of the public will require
both the beginning and the completion of the work.
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
EDWARD BATES.
ST. CHARLES, Nov. 8, 1852.
-JIessrs. Bevitt, King and others (Committee)GENTLEMEN: 
Your polite note of this date inviting me to attend
the proposed Railroad Convention on the 10th November in this
city, has been received.
I have been so much occupied for the last four months in the matter of railroads, that it would afford me a special pleasure to attend your Convention, if it were practicable; but indispensable engagements require me to leave the city to-morrow.
The friends of the "North Missouri Railroad" may feel well
assured that the people in the counties of my immediate acquaintance, south of the Missouri river, feel a lively interest in the success of this noble enterprise; and will demand at the hands of
their members in the Legislature a cordial co-operation with the
representatives from the neighborhood of the line of the proposed
road, in procuring a liberal grant of the credit of the State to aid in
its construction.
Wishing you abundant surcess in this great work, I remain,
Your obedient servant,
R. C. EWING.




30
ST. LoUIS, Nov. 9, 1852.
JMessrs. Bevitt, Park and others (Committee) —
GENTLENIEN:
I indulged the hope until this morning that I
should be able to accept your invitation to attend the Convention to
be held to-morrow; but I find that my engagements will not permit my leaving the city on that day.
It is of the utmost importance that our State, in entering upon the
construction of public works, should adopt. a system-demanded by
the present wants of the country-no part of which will conflict
with each other, or become competitors for the same trade and travel. An unwise beginning may cripple the energies of the people and weaken their confidence in the ultimate success of the enterprise.  Looking at the map, nothing appears clearer than that a
railroad dividing the angle made by our two great rivers, and penetrating into the fertile prairies of Iowa to the extreme North,
should form an essential part of that system. It has only been of
late years that this improvement has been demanded by the wants
of the people, or the condition of the country. Population, the
opening of farms and the building up of villages and towns, must
precede the construction of railroads. The business and trade of
the country should create a demand for the improvement-not the
improvement create the business. What was but a few years since
a wilierness, is now a densely populated country, with a soil unsurpassed in fertility, abounding in all the elements of wealth and
greatness, save a reliable, cheap and direct medium of communication, at all seasons of the year, with the commercial emporium  of
the state.  Large and highly cultivated farms —extensive tracts of
prairie and woodland-subdued by the industry of the settler, and
producing crops of every description common to this latitude, are
now everywhere to be met with on the proposed line of the North
Missouri Railroad.  As an agricultural country, it is unsurpassed
by any portion of our Great Valley, of equal extent. But the products of the farmers' labor in this State, to be grown profitably,
must have a cheap and ready transportation to the market.  Much
of the country through which this road will pass, is distant from
fifty to hundred-fifty miles both from the Mississippi and Missouri
rivers; and the products of the agriculturist are not only taxed
with the cost of transportation to these rivers, but must submit to
the uncertainty and risk of their navigation also. Your road is intended to furnish a means of transportation to that portion of the State
midway between the two rivers, direct to St. Louis. Your object
is to meet one of the wants of the country, to open up a market to
a rich and fertile region now destitute of one. It is demanded by
the necessities of' the people and the country, not by the selfish
calculations of the speculator, and it must be and will be built.
The northern angle of the State, as well as the southern, made by
the Missouri and the Lower Mississippi, must be divided by a




railroad-the one stretching to the frozen regions of the North,
extending itself' as population and wealth advance-the other pushing its iron arms through South-west Missouri, North-west Arkansas, to Texas, and each pouring into thelap of the great commercial metropolis of the Valley of the Mississippi the rich and
diversified treasures of the respective countries through which
they pass. The construction of these two roads will satisfy present
wants; they will re' ch portions of our State unprovided by nature
with outlets to market, and destiiute of' natural facilities for cominunication.  With the Hannibal and St. Joseph, and the Iron
Mountain Road, they make uip a system of improvements for our
young and prosperous State that ought to be pushed to completion
with energy. It cannot fail to be productive of a great increase
in State and individual weldth. Others will be required hereafter  this is needed now.
With the assurance of my best wishes for the success of the object for which you assenmble, I am, gentlemen,
Your most obedient servant,
A. H. BUCKNER.
ST. Louis, Nov. 8, 1852.
To E. D. Bevilt,.JI. Krekel and othersGENTLEMEN:
Your letter inviting me to the North Missouri
Railroad Convention, to be held in the city of St. Charles, on the
10th inst., is before me; and I regret that, owing to other engagements, it is not convenient for me to be present on that interesting
occasion.
You say "it is a great work."  Most truly, gentlemen, the work
contemplated, and to be promoted, as I trust by the Convention, is
a great one in every light in which it can be viewed.  It is a great
undertaking, but its cost can be easily calculated, and doubtless
the means necessary for its co:nstruction can be raised without difficulty.  But who can calculate the benefit to be derived from its
consummatioi.?
Your Convention has been called to deliberate upon the ways
and means of building an important section of the great line of
communication between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay; a
work calculated to check the progress west of the eastern system
of commerce, which, like a mightly whirlpool, draws into its vortex the commerce and metallic circulation of the Western States,
and swallows llp the profits of their l b r; a work, which, when
completed, will constitute the principal artificial basis ef a system
of commerce contiorming to the wants and interests of this Great
Valley, a work th;t will bring to your tables the varied products
of twenty degrees of 1: titude, all fresh in their respective seasons
but mnore than this, than all, it will remove the social barrier between the inhabitants of the North and South, dispel old prejudices




32
and unite the hearts and affections of American citizens from the,
Gulf of Mexico to the waters which flow into the Arctic Ocean in
one common bond of fraternal sympathy.
These, gentlemen, are a portion of the benefits which will flow
from the consummation of the mighty project, of' which the work
proposed by the citizens of North Missouri is a part. Truly, you
are about to enter upon a great work, the benefits whereof, when
completed, the mind of man is incapable of calculating.
In conclusion, gentlemen, allow me to make a suggestion touching the ways and means of carrying out this great enterprise.  I
am aware that all those interested in its success look to the General
Government for aid, through the medium of public lands. I have
recently examined with great care the provisions of the "'Homestead Bill," and the bill known as "Bennett's Bill,"' which were
before the last session of' Congress, and am fully persuaded that
should these Bills pass through Congress and receive the sanction
of the Executive, as they probably will at the next session, their
operation will so far absorb the public lands as to render them unavlailable as a source, whence means can be derived to aid in the
construction of works of Internal Improvement in future. Therefore, if, when these Bills are referred to by the Convention, that
body should view them in the same light that I do, then I respectfully suggest the propriety of'protesting by resolution or otherwise,
against their passage.
Trusting that the deliberation of the Convention will be the cause
of an early commencement and completion of the North Missouri
Railroad, I have the honor to be,
Yours, etc.
MI. TARVER.
ST. Louis, Nov. 9, 1852.
GENTrLEMEN:
I regret very milch the necessity which compels
me to decline the kind invitation to meet you in Convention at St.
Charles, to deliberate on the construction of the North Missouri
IRailroad.
The age in which we live is eminently progressive, and nothing
affords me more unfeigned pleasure than the interest which our
citizens begin to manil-ifest in every sclheme of internal improvemnent. The citizens of St. Louis have relied with too much securi'y upon their unbounded natural resources. It is true that it
promises to be the great Babylon of the Valley, the great central
emporium of trade to the largest area of productive surface on the
face of the globe. It is true that most of' the railroads constructed
with a view to divert the trade of the Mississippi Valley from New
Orleans to our eastern seaboards, must converge to it as a centre.
Yet, with all these advantages, too much supineness, too much indifference, too much of a want of enterprise, may hazard her future




prosperity, and delay beyond a proper period the development of
resources, or the accomplishment of improvements which must tell
with cumulative interest on every succeeding generation.
The scheme of constructing a great central stem of railway from
the sources of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, whether we
regard it in the magnitude of its design, or in the extent of the blessings to be secuied to the millions who inhabit the broad surface
of the Mississippi Valley; or, in the controlling influence which
it is to exercise upon the progressive tendency of the race, is one
which is in every way worthy of the age in which we live.
The Mississippi Valley furnishes to the world more commerce
than the balance of our confederacy; and if its citizens prove true
to their own interests, true to themselves, they will knit the iron
bonds of association closer together, and hold the key of their commerce in their own hands. Then, and not until then, will our
Southern coast be protected from foreign aggression. Then, and
not until then, will we throw off the shackles of servile dependence
which have been imposed upon us. Then, and not until then, will
we grow up a mighty people, with unbounded resources, with unlimited influences, and with constantly unfolding prospects of newer and brighter stages of progressive improvement.
The work under consideration may be considered as a great undertaking when we take into view the unsettled condition of much
of the Territory through which it is projected. But we believe
there is sufficient wealth, intelligence and enterprise among those
who are to be immediately benefitted, to carry out the design, and
make these unsettled districts tributary to the wants of the world.
To show you that I feel sensibly alive to the importance of this
work, and every other work which is as promising in the future, I
will merely state that I wrote the first paper, written to advocate
the construction of the first railroad west of the Alleghanies. I allude to the Tuscumbia and Decatur Railroad, of' Alabama, which
will, in future, form a link in the chain of railway from Charleston
to Memphis. Its original construction was proposed in view of
these connections, and although the revulsions of 1837 and 1838 delayed all further action for the time, the original design promises
soon to be accomplished.
The road proposed through the northern division of our State is,
in my estimation, the most important which has as yet been proposed for the future interests of our citizens. Intersecting the St.
Joseph and Hannibal Railroad at some point near Bloomington, the
latter place must become a central focus, from which other roads
must radiate to our rich northern agricultural districts; while, by
its connection with Fort Des Moines or Oskoloosa, it will divert
most of the trade from Iowa, one of the best and most productive
States of the Union,, and must ultimately bring in the rich treasures of the fairy land of Undine and Minnesota. A connection
which is little dreamed of, perhaps, by those who have been in3




9trumental in projecting it, appears to me in the future as exceedingly important.  I refer to the fiuture extension of the road to the
valley of the Yellow Stone and Upper Missoulri as a link in a
chain through Oregon to the Pacific coast, This valley is sufficiently large to form three States, is fertile and arable, and must
in the course of time sustain an immense population.  The climate
is not more rigorous than that of Norway or Sweden, and what is
pregnant in the future is, that Nebraska has claimed a representation in the Councils of thz Nation.
If our northern counties should establish a connection with the
East and South, by the Iowa, Hannibal and St. Louis railways, a
choice of markets will be afforded then which no iiiland population
of the samne extent can enjoy, and which must contribute to their
rapid advancement and their permanent prosperity.  I trust lhat
your deliberations will be free from all sectional influences, that
you will go on harmoniously in the good work and decree that this
road shall be constructed.  Do this and, even without Government
patironaage, we shall soon see the iron horse puffing and pawing, impatieint of his progress, to the North and the North-west, and we
will so5n leel our beautiful and blooming prairie, trembling under
the tread of an earthquake which comles, not to overturn and destroy our homesteads and towns, but to revolutionize their social
and commercial relations.  Hoping that your deliberations may result in much good to the future interests of the State, I reminin,
Yotur most obedient servant,             H, Ao PROUT.
ST. Louis, November 9, 1852.
Hon. AMr. Parks, St. Charles —
DEAR SIR: Be pleased to present my compliments to the committee who have done me the hn:,r to,nvite me to attend the Convention of the friends of the North Missouri Railroad.  Feeling
an interest in that road in common with great numbers of my constituents,   I shoulid have attended with much satisfaction;  but a.summonls in court for that day, and a severe cold which nearly
disables me from speaking, conspire to prevent.
You will remember that I mentioned to the meetingat Jefferson.City, that some mnvements were wanting to show that the people
on the proposed line were interested in its behalf, and that when
tha:tt spirit of earnestness was exhibited, help to build the road
would be forthcoming.  The recent meetings of the people and the,Convention of to-morrow, are the proper andl necessary manifestations for a beginning.  I shall now expect to see your books opened for subscriptions, your surveys undertaken, and your works
actively begun and prosecuted to final completion.  Surveys are
the best explanations of a road, and subscription books are the sulrest tests of' the faith of those wllo profess to be its fiiends.  For
tny pa:rt, looking at- what other States, and even our neighbors are:doig, and atthe fact that our people are chiefly agricultural, and




35
depend very much on their surplus products which have to go to
a market, I have for some time been convincedt that a system  of
railro'ads for our State, was a matter of necessity,
You will field, however, that your work is to be advamncedl by individual exertion.  A few persons of intelligence and energy, applying themselves to it devotedly and constantly, will be sure to
succeed in the end.
My correspondence encourages me to believe that a grant of
lands will be obtained for the northern Ro;cld at thp next session of
Congress, and, I thinlk, that a loan of' the State credit may very
fairly be counted on. I am, very respectfully, your obedient; servant,                                   THOMAS ALLEN.
On motion of Mr. Orrick, the letters just read were
ordered to be filed and made part of the record of the
proceedings of the Convention.
The resolutions reported by the conmm ittee of thirteen
were then taken up, an:l each  resolution  being  passed
upon  separately, with slight modifications of the sixth
and ninth, the whole were adopted  as follows:
Resolved, That we regard the eairly commencement and construction of the North Mi-souri 1R1ailro:-d from St. Louis, by St. Charles,
to the Northern State line, with a view to its ultimtte extension
through Iowa and Minnesota, as an enterprise of the first importance, being one of the main trunk-s by which the wealth and prosperity of the State are to be promoted.
Resolved, Thlat we regard it as the duty of the State to adopt a
judicious as well as liberal system of' railroad improvements., and in
extending her aid and credit to these, a discrimingating policy, should
be observed, in faivor of such as are manifestly m Lin leading trunks,
best calculated to subserve the great interests of the Stateat large,
in the development of its agricultural and mineral resources.
Resot'ved, That this Convention present by memorial to the Legislature, the claims of this enterprise, andl solicit for it the aid of
the State by an extension of the State credit, on the same terms on
which it has already been extended to the two great works now in
progress.
Resolved, Thlat the Legislature be memorialized to so amend-the
Charter of the North Missouri Railroad Comp ny, as to authorize.
an extension of the road to St. Louis, and also to exempt said Company from the onArous features of the general law of thle State, in
reg: rd to corporations, which exempti)ns have already been granted to the Pacific and to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Cornm
panies.




36
Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, the construction of
railroads through the various producing districts of this State is a
great measure of phublic policy urgently demanded by the interests of
the people generally, and that the promotion of a judicious system
of railroads, with a view of providing to the principal agricultural
and mineral regions, reasonable facilities for carrying their products to market, is a legitimate subject for thefostering care of
the Legislature, and ought to be aided by the wealth and power of
the State.
Resolved, That in view of the fact, that the population of this
State is but young, and individual exertions have to be made in
surmounting the natural obstacles incident to our position, this Convention is of the opinion that the collective wealth of the community must be mainly looked to for furnishing the means for accomplishing this great undertaking for the people of our State.
Resolved, That in pursuance of the foregoing views, this Convention is of the opinion, that the General Assembly of this State
should be memorialized to pass a general law, authorizing the constituted authorities of all counties, towns and cities to subscribe to
any raliroad within this State such amounts as may be sanctioned
by the voters of such counties, towns, or cities, and further authorizing them to make such subscription available either by a loan to
the amount, or by levying a special tax on the property situated
within their respective limits, at the option of the community. interested, to be expressed by their votes at a special election for that
purpose; such special tax not to exceed in any one year 30 per
cent. of the amount of stock subscribed, nor to be less than 20 per
cent. of the same, and that all persons who shall pay said tax, shall
be entitled to become stockholders in said railroad companies to the
amount of tax paid by them.
Resolved, That the Congress of the United States be memorialized to make a grant of land to the State of Missouri to aid in the
construction of the North Missouri Railroad-similar in all respects.
to the grant heretofore made in aid of the Pacific Railroad and the
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
Resolved, That this Convention recommend to the Directors of
the North Missouri Railroad Company to open books for the subscription of stock as soon as they may deem it advisable, in St.
Louis, St. Charles, and in such counties as are interested in the
construction of the road.
Mr. Kayser moved a reconsideration of the vote upon the seventh  resolution, whereupon a debate ensued
which was participated  in by Messrs. Kayser, Norris
and Palm.
Mr. Kayser's motion was negatived.




37
Mr. J. Sidney Smith moved that the resolutions in
their present form be adopted unanimously, as the sense
of the Convention.  Agreed to.
The President announced that Col. Thos. H.- Benton
would address the Convention and the citizens who
might be assembled, at the evening session.  Whereupon the Convention adjourned until seven o'clock, P. M.
Evening Sessions
The Convention met pursuant to adjournment.
Mr. C. C. Whittlesey offered the following resolution,
which was adopted:
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to draft a memorial to the General Assembly of this State, in accordance with the
fourth resolution adopted by the Convention.
The Chair appointed Messrs. Whittlesey, of St. Louis;
Krekel, of St. Charles; Mason, of St. Louis; King, of
St. Charles, and Farrow, of Montgomery, to constitute
the Committee.
Mr. Smith, of St. Louis, offered the following resolution which was adopted:
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to draft a memorial to the Congress of the United States, in accordance with the
eighth resolution adopted by the Convention:
The Chair appointed the following gentlemen to conrstitute the committee:  Messrs. Norris, McKee, Palm,
Kayser and Smith, of St. Louis;  explaining that Mr.
Smith was not placed at the head of the list as Chairman, in accordance with his own request.
Dr. E. D. Bevitt offered the following resolution,
which was adopted:
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to prepare an
address to the people of North Missouri, agreeably to the resolutions adopted by this Convention.
Messrs. E. D. Bevitt,  T. W. Cunningham,  T. J.




Wright, F. P. Blair and J, Orrick, were appointed to
constitute said committee.
Mr. J. D. C oalter then offered a resolution to the effect that when this Convention adjourns, it adjourn to
meet with the Mississippi Valley Railroad Convention
in St. Louis on Mondly, the 15th inst.  Carried.
On motion of Lyman D. Norris, the thanks of the
Convention were tendered to the citizens of St. Charles
for their generous hospitality to the delegates in attendance.
Dr. Wilson, of St. Louis, offered the two following
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:
Resolved, Thft the thanks of this Convention are likewvise extended to its President, GEORGE W. HOUSTON, Esq., fobr the urbanity
and efficiency with which he has discharged the duties of' his office.
Resolved, That the thanks of the Convention are hereby tendered to the Vice Presidents and Secretaries, for the able and satisfactory manner in which they have discharged their respective
duties.
Col. Thomas I1. Benton then addressed the audience
present in an eloquent and masterly manner for about
one hour.  He was followed by Messrs. G. W. Houston,
J. F. Jones, Rev. James Welch, J. Sidney Smith and W.
M. McPherson.
At a late hour the  Convention adjourned, to meet
with the Miss. Valley Railroad Convention in St. Louis
on Monday, 15th November inst., at 11 o'clock, A. M.
GEO. W. HOUSTON, President.
D. K. PITTMAN,,
J. B. HENDERSON, i
J. CAYENDER,          V Fice Pres'ls.
H. C. WRIGHT,   -
J. H. ROBINSON, J
A. B. CHAMBERS, )
W. C. OREAR,
L. D.  OREARIS,         Secretaries.
E. A. LEWIS           J 




OF TIE
Mississippi Valley, and North  Missouri,
g2L2w:i         r,.2 -,Ad3








41
OF THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY RAILROAD CONVENTION,
HELD AT ST. LOUIS.
To the Honorable Synate and Hjuse of Representatives of the U;aited
States,. in Congress assembled:
The undersigned, a committee appointed by a Convention held
at the city of St. Louis, bn the fifteenth day of November, 1852,
respectfully represent that they are instructed to memorialize your
Honorable body, asking for aid in behalf of a railroad to be built
west of the Mississippi river, from a point opposite the city of
New Orleans, passing through the capital of the State of Arkansas and by the Iron Mountain to the city of St. Louis, and thence
northwardly through the valley of the Des Moines into the central
region of Minnesota Territory, with a branch to the Falls of St.
Anthony; and that the objects and views of said Convention may
be more clearly perceived and understood, your memorialists beg
leave to call the attention of your Honorable body to the foregoing
resolutions of the Missouri Valley Railroad Convention.
Your memorialists will not consume the time of your Honorable
body by attempting to prove that a work designed to open and establish commercial and social intercourse between the inhabitants
of the extreme northern and southern divisions of this great republic, is national in its character; or, that the individual and social
interests of the inhabitants west of the'Mississippi imperatively demand its construction. Both these points will doubtless be conceded. But there are other arguments in favor of the claim advanced by the Convention to an appropriation of public land in aid
of this great enterprise, to which your memorialists respectfully
invite attention.
The acquisition of Louisiana occurling subsequent to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, was strictly nationa
in its nature and consequences, and imposed upon the General
Government the duty of adopting such measures as would ensure
to the citizens of every part of the Union an equal distribution and
enjoyment of the benefits accruing from its cession. —By reference




'42
to history and to the geographical position of the French possessions in the Valley of' the Mississippi, it will be clearly perceived
that the price paid by out Government for Louisiana was chiefly
in consideration of the transfer by France of her political dominion
over that extensive region.  Political dominion was the principal
object of the treaty-property in soil was an incident-and froin
the day that the jurisdiction over that country was transferred to
the Government of the Uni'ed States, to the present time, the
States east of the Mississippi have been in the full enjoyment of
all the benefits flowing from its acquisition.
The free navigation of the Mississippi, one of the objects aimed
at by the nation and obtained by the cession of Louisiana, has contributed more, perhaps, than any other cause to the growth and
prosperity of the valley States east of that river, while the commerce of these States has been amongst the principal means of
building up the cities, the commercial marine, the manufactllres,
the canals and railroads of the States bordering on the Atlantic.
And could the benefits derived from the cession of Louisiana,; and
enjoyed by the States east of the Mississippi, be corredtly estimated, your memorialists are persuaded that the annual amount would
be found to exceed the price paid for its purchase.
But turning to the inhabitants of the States carved out of the
Territory of Louisiana, your memorialists respectfully ask your
Honorable body to contrast their privations with the benefits which
have enured to the citizens of other parts of the Union.  Pioneers
in every sense of the term, their labors have been employed in
subduing the wilderness and preparing the way for the advancing
column of civilization.  But they have received neither bounty
nor pay from the Government for their services, and the money
which they have paid for their lands was so much withdrawn from
their circulation, because disbursed at distant points by the Government; and their improvements, instead of advancing the market
value of their land as in the old States, have served but to increase
the value of the public domain, while the great quantity of public
lands by whilh they have been surrounded, have depreciated the
value of their own.  Nor are these all the disadvantages under
which they have labored. The want of connected settlements has
render ed the education of their children inconvenient and frequently impracticable, while the lack of commercial and manufacturing
facilities has greatly increased the cost of every article of con



43
sumption produced in other States, and at the same time reduced
the market value of their own products.
In view of these facts your memorialists respectfully insist that
the inhlabi.ants west of the Mississippi, are justly entitled to a
quantity of the public domain that will be sufficient to enable them
to construct Railroads and open avenues o/ commercial and social
intercourse, which will place them  in these respects upon an
equality with the citizens of the older States.  Thoroughly convinced of the reasonableness of this claim, and confiding in the intelligence and justice of Congress, your memorialists feel assured
that they might safely submit it upon the grounds already stated
without further argument.  Butt desiring to meet and remove the
objections of those who regard the public domain as a source of
revenue merely, they beg to state that the policy of granting alternate sections along the line of Railroads, in the manner proposed by the St. Louis Convention, has recently been tested by a sale
of the reserved sections along the line of the Illinois Central Railway, and your memorialists are informed that the entire quantity
was sold as soon as offeredat $2,50 per acre or more, though much
of it: had been in market for more than thirty years at one half
of that price.'
And your memorialists feel confident that a similar result would
be realized west of' the Mississippi, wherever the land is of sufficient fertility to authorize its cultivation.  But even if all the alternate sections reserved for the Government should not sell at the
advanced price, yet the value of the poor sections would. be doubled, and much of the public land lying beyond the distance of ten
miles from the road wrould be taken at the present price, lands
which would probably remain unsold for fifty years, unless this or
some other railroad should be made near to them. And, besides
all this, the duties which would acrue to the Government upon
the importation of the rails necessary for tlhe construction of the
work would, at the present prices of' iron in England, be equal to
about two sections of land to every mile of railroad.
If these objects be viewed without prejudice, and fairly appreciated, your memorialists verily believe  that every intelligent
mind must admit that the Government will even increase its revenue from  the" public domain by making the grant asked for by
the St. Louis Convention.  But yet there remain considerations of
a national character, which have not been taken into the account:




,44
the facilities which such a work would afford from the transportation of the mails, of troops and of public property; its agency in
developing the natural resources of the country; its power to remove the prejudices which naturally spring up between the inhabitants of the North and the South, and the sympathy and fraternal
affection which it is calculated to diffuse throughout twenty degrees of latitude, are, in a national point Of view, in the estimation
of your memorialists, of infinitely more value than all the revenue
that the Government could derive from the public domain to tho
end of time.
Having stated the grounds upon which the St. Louis Convention
claim the aid of the General Government in carrying out the great
enterprise under consideration, your memorialists respectfully beg
leave to submit the following brief remarks touching the views of
said Convention in respect to the future disposition of the public
domain, "It is declared to be the opinion of the Convention that
the General Government should cease to regard the public domain
as -a- source of national revenue."  A few remarks will show the
justness of this opinion:
By appropriating the public domain to the purposes of edllcation, internal improvements and other objects, national in: their
character, the physical resources and wealth of the nation would
be developed, and the intellectual and moral condition of the - people improved by means, which, if wisely managed, would be as
lasting as the Government. But if the money derived from the
sales of the public lands should continue to pass into the financial
account of the nation, until the entire public domain shall have
been disposed of, it is scarcely assuming too much to affirm, that
neither the Government or people will then be in a better condition than if a single dollar had never been received from that
source. But this is not the only consequence of such a policy, to
be deprecated; it has and must continue to operate unjustly in respect to the new States.  Unjustly, because the large possessions
owned by the General Government within their respective limits,
prevent the development of their resources, and abridge their sovereignty by a claim of exemption from taxation-unjustly, because
long experience has proved that none but choice tracts of the public land will sell at the fixed price until it has received an additional value by the improvements made in its vicinity, and because
the value thus imparted by the labor of individuals goes into the




45
National Treasury —unjustly, because the inhabitants of the new
States have not been recipients of the benefits derived from the
acqusition of the political dominion in an equal degree with the citizens of the older States.
Nor are the measures proposed by the Homestead Bill and the
bill introduced by Mr.: BENNETT, of New York, at the last session
of Congress, more just in respect to the new States than the policy
hitherto pursued by the General Government.  By the Homestead
Bill it is proposed to donate one hundred and sixty acres of land to
a certain class of individuals, whose merit is made to consist in
being the head of a family, and without land; and with so much
favor are these grounds of merit regarded, that the bill proposes to
give to each a greater quantity of land than that class of individuals can reasonably be expected to improve; and, moreover, protects them in its possession against the claim of previous creditors,
irrespective of the law and policy of the State in which the land is
situated.  Now, your memcrialists respectfully insist that, if the
public lands are worth anything in money, that value, whatever
it may be, belongs to the nation at large, and cannot be given to
one class of individuals without doing injustice to others. This
bill will doubtless effect one of the objects desired by the St. Louis
Convention; it will put an end to the reception of revenue from
the public domain; but in the opinion of your memorialists, it contains no principle calculated to promote the development of our national resources, or to improve the intellectual and moral condition
of the people. It will be the means of depressing still more for
many years the value of land in the new States, and fill them with
a thriftless and inefficient, and it may be added, with an ignorant
and vicious population.
Nor are the provisions of Bennett's bill, in the estimation of your
memorialists, more just toward the inhabitants west of the Mississippi; for, like the Homestead Bill, it is calculated to depreciate the
value of land in the new States, by throwing an enormous amount
of land warrants upon the market, which will enable speculators
to anticipate the location of all public works, and, entering the
lands along the probable lines, make merchandize of the enterprise
and labor of those who desire to improve the country. And, finally, the passage of these bills will, in the opinion of your memorialists, amount to a total abandonment of the public domain as a
source of revenue, while the provisions contained in the latter, in




46
respect to railroads in new States, will be rendered comparatively
valueless by the cause referred to. It will also place it out of
the power of the General Government to signalize the nation
and the age by affording means, through the medium  of the
public lands, to aid in the constructionof the great Pacific Railway;
and more than all, by the passage of these bills the nation will cast
away the means, which it now possesses, of enabling each State of
the Union to establish a system of education upon a basis which
would ensure a reasonable degree of instruction to every American citizen to the end of time.
L. M. KENNETT,          1
A. B  CHAMBERS,
LYMAN D. NORRIS,  - Committee.
THO. C. JOHNSON, 
WM. J. J. McILHENNY,J




47
OF THE
NORTH MISSOURI RAILROAD CONVENTION,
H-IELD AT ST. CHARLES, MO.
The eigh;th resolution passed by the North Missouri IRailroad Convention, which met
at St. Charles, Mlissouri, on tlhe tenth day of November, 1852, reads as follows:
R -soLtrvD,'Ihat the (C,ngress of the IUnitedl States be memorialized to make a. grant of land to the
Stateof M!issonri. to aid in the construction of the Nonrth Mlissoeri Railroad, simila.r in all respects to
the grant lt(retofore made in aid of the Paciiie, and the tlTnniial and St. Joseph Railroads.
Underthis resolution and by virtue of the additional resolve.
That a committee of five bc- app,,inted to draft a memorial to the Congress of the United -tates. in
accirdanee witli the egtlth r:lslintion adoo!ted by the ('onvention, the I'r-sideint of the (Cot-vention designated the following committee: Messrs. Norris.. clKeo, Palm, Kayser asd J. S. Smith, of Stk
Louis, to) prepare that mnemoral.
In obedience to such action, the Chairman of the committee upon consultation with the
majority of his colleagues, presents the following memorial:
To the Congress of the United  States:
In fullfilment of the instructions alluded to Tlove, the commitfee'
aforesaid earnestly cldl the attention of your Honorable body to the
reasonable request of tlhis Cutnvention, for  C"a grant of land  to  the
Stale of Missouri to aid in the construction  of the North Missouri
Railroad, similar in all respects  to the grant heretofore m'ide  in
aid of the Pacific Railroad  and the Hannibal and St. Joseph-Railroad."   That grant, it will be  remembered, was made by act of
Congress, approved 10th July, 18,52, and  gives  "to the  St(.te  of
Missouri for the purpose  of aiding in making  the railroad  a'-oresaid, every alternate section of land, designated  by even numbers,
for six sections in width  e(n each side."
A  similar grant we now   solicit at your hands, for an  object
equally deserving, equally important to the interests  of tlhe inhabitlnts of the Mississippi valley, and equally necessaly lo tlie development of the resources  of the grent West.  It is proper that
you shotuld be apprized of the character of hlie body whlo thus demand attention at your hands. They were upwards of one hundred
and fifty delegates, represetiiting se-en counties  of omir State, a majority of which lie inland and removed from  all access to market except by the ordinary dirt roads of the vicinage.  They were mostly
from  thle agricultural class, men who heretofore have felt but little
inte-est3 in projects of internal improvements-who heretofore have
left to capitalists and speculators  the inceplion  and completion  of
these heavy works, but who now, fully aroused to their importance




to themselves and their country, have come out to consider the
ways and means of local and general improvements with an enthusiasm  and confidence that deserves, and will secure ultimate
success. These men are the practical men of our State. By the
energy of their character and the honesty of their purpose, they
influence public sentiment and control the policy of their precincts.
Such as they are as a whole class, they are now thoroughly aroused to a sense of their own necessities and rights, and throughout our entire borders, there is a healthy tone of public thought
upon the subject of the development of our strength and power,
which we trust may be felt not only in our own legislative halls,
but also in your Honorable body.
At this iinme, it is useless to discuss the abstract question of the
power of Congress to make these grants, or the obligation resting
upon them, to do so, when the power is conceded.  By a long line
of precedents, Congress has declared its willingness to appropriate lands in aid of healthy internal improvement schemes, when
fully satisfied, they are such, and the people,-particularly of the
West-the source of all power, have with an unanimity unpar —
alleled in the history of Acts of Congress, placed upon these the:
seal of their approbation.
Not to go farther back than the summer of 1846, this committee
can refer to no less than six States of the Confederacy who have:
received grants of a similar character to the one now prayed.
By an "Act, approved August 8, 1846," a tract of land equal to
one half of three sections in width on each side of the Fox river
and the lakes through which it passes, and on each side of the ca-.
nal leading to the Wisconsin river was granted by Congress in aid
of the Fox River and Wisconsin canal.
There is an Act, approved May 9, 1848, amendatory of an Act
passed in 1827 and confirmed in 1841, whereby "a quantity of
land equal to one half of five sections wide on each side" of the
Wabash and Erie Canal was granted to the State of Indiana for
the purpose of completing this work.
By an Act, approved September 20, 1850, every alternate section, designated by even numbers for six sections in width on each
side of the railroad from the southern terminus of the Illinois and
Michigan Canal to a point at or near the junction of the Ohio, and
Mississippi river, and the same amount on each side of its two
branches leading the one to Chicago and the other by way of Ga



49
lena to Dubuque, Iowa, is granted to the State of Illinois to aid, or
rather to complete the construction of this road and its branches.
In case any of the land so granted shall have been already disposed of by the General Government, the State has the right to select other lands in lieu thereof "most contiguous and not farther
than fifteen miles from said road."
By the last section of this act the same grant is made and the
same privileges  and immunities are conceded to the States of
Alabama and Mississ!ippi in aid of the Ohio and Mobile road. The
amount of land grantee. LO Illinois is 3840 acres each mile, or estimating the entir'e L'_agth of the line at 670 miles a total of
2,572,800 acres valued (by those most interested) at 21,400,000
dollars, or 2,400,000 dollars more than the estimated cost of this
Road.
There is also the act of the 10th July, 1852, for the benefit of
the Hannibal and St. Joseph, and the Pacific Railroad Companies,
similar in most of its provisions to the act of the 20th September,
1850, in aid of the Illinois Central Railroad.
With tnese facts relative to the past action of Congress in granting alternate sections, in aid of internal improvement projects before them, the Committee feel authorized in assuming that Congress following they precedents the must have enacted upon full
knowledge and mature deliberation will only require of the people
seeking grants of lands in aid of western improvements, satisfac.
tory proofs, that the schemes, the Government is asked to assist,
are in themselves feasible, of importance to the country, can be
made "to pay," and are in all things worthy of the consideration
and support of the government and people. The Committee propose to present such facts and leading topics, as will enable others
(whose peculiar province it is) to shew  that the North Missouri
Railroad meets all these pre-requisites, and that in many important considerations, it stands first and foremost in its claims upon
the attention of your Honorable body.
By an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Missouri,
approved March 3, 1851, "The North Missouri Railroad Company" was incorporated with a capital stock of 6,000,000 dollars to be
divided into shares of one hundred dollars each. Section 7 recites
among other things that "said Company shall have full power to
survey, mark, locate and construct a railroad from the City of St.
Charles, in the County of St. Charles, passing up the divide. bet4




50
ween the tributaries of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, as
near as may be to the northern boundary-line of this State, with a
view that the same may be hereafter continued northwardly into
the State of Iowa, in, the direction of Fort Des Moines, in that
State."  It will be perceived from the proceedings preceding this
memorial, that by action subsequent to the granting of this charter
it has been decided to continue this road some twenty miles farther south to St. Louis, and for that purpose an extension of the
present charter will doubtless be obtainst i lc:m the ensuing General Assembly, which meets at Jeffersoni',rv. on the second Monday of December.
From St. Louis to the northern boundary of our State is an important link of the great iron chain from St. Anthony to New Orleans, and the road is thus closely identified in interest and rights
with the gigantic but feasible project of connecting the Red River
of the North with tho Gulf of Mexico by an iron track, running
through the five great States that margin the western shore of the
Father of Waters.
It has two broad grounds for its claims to your consideration:
first, as an independent road, and second, as no insignificant portion of the future Mississippi Valley Railroad.
The Committee must premise, that inasmuch as there have
been no topographical or other surveys demonstrating the
best routes, nor estimates of probable cost and receipts, the friends
and advocates of these schemes are forced to rely upon such general knowledge as they possess relative to its resources, and such
rough calculation as can be made from the insufficient data in the
possession of the Committee.
Following the route indicated by the seventh section of the act
of incorporation, the line of this road seems to pass through or
touch the following counties, in the following order:
St. Louis, St. Charles, Warren, Montgomery, Callaway, Audrain, Boone, Randolph, Macon, Adair, Schuyler.
Eleven counties with a population of 181,829 (by the census of
1850).
Let it be remarked in passing, that the aggregate population of
these counties has increased almost one hundred per ct. in ten years.
Five of these counties lie in the interior, entirely removed from the
Missouri river and from all access to market by that river —precarious
as it is. The larger body of the valuable agricultural land lying




in four of the remaining counties is so far removed from the river
that margins them, that as an access to market it is practically of
little value. It is unnecessary for your Committee to review in
detail the resources of each county lying along this proposed line;
such old, wealthy and densely settled counties as Boone and Callaway, St. Charles and Montgomery need no eulogium, and if it were
possible to discuss their claims upon your attention, a volume
rather than a report would be needed. They contain an abundance of fine lands, producing heavy and valuable crops of tobacco, hemp, corn and the other cereals. They abound in excellent
grazing pastures whereon they breed horses, mules, cattle and
sheep, nor are they lacking in mineral wealth and timber. Traces
of' coal, iron, salt and lead having been found in various portions
of this range of old and opulent, as well as youthful and
undeveloped counties. In short, in every essential pre-requisite
for a high state of affluence and power, they are amply provided,
save only one-a safe, easy and at all times available access to a
cash market, without which all the other advantages with which
they are blessed, are as valueless as most of the superabundant
mineral wvealth of our State, lying powerless and worthless in the
bowels of the earth, beneath its superincumbent mass of mountain
and plain. The lands that lie on the divide between the tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi in the newer and more northern counties are almost without exception rich prairie that requires
but little grading or excavation, and in this section of the route
the superstructure might almost lie upon a road-bed of open prairie. Your Committee feel assured that no eleven counties in our
State can be found in one continuous line that possess more rich
agricultural lands, a more industrious and enterprising population,
better facilities for the development and acquisition of great wealth,
and at the same time fewer advantages in the way of easy and
cheap access at all seasons to a market, than the counties that lie
along this proposed line. Here then are eleven counties, containing a population of 181,829 persons, desirous of building a railroad
to develope the resources of their respective counties, and they
ask therefor your assistance. Will it be given?
Estimating the distance from St. Louis to the northern boundary
of the State, roughly by the diagonal of the sections, at 228 miles,
and suppose the cost of each mile of the road full stocked with one
freight and passenger train each day, at 20,000 dollars (something
undor the Ohio and Mississippi estimate) its entire cost would be
4,560,000.
N-)w, what are the resources of these counties and wherein lies
their power to build and support this road?
They can readily be seen from the annexed table prepared with
some degree of care from correspondence with the County Clerks
of the various counties designated. A portion of this table is made
up from calculation based upon the returns, contained in the last
Auditor's report.




Acres    Acres             Value     Value   Number  Value   Value of   Money    Total  Papulation Population
C 0 U N T I E S.  of Land in  of Land  Difoarence.  of tuxed  of  of    of    Personal   and     Taxable    in      in
the County.  luxed.          Lad    Town Lots. Slaves  slve.   Property.   Bo|ds.   roperty.   1850.  o1840. 0 
St. Charles....  280,529  280,714    8,8061$ 789,041 $ 155,100 1,690 $341,270 $249,550 $153,860 $1,688,821  11,454   7,911 25
Warren..         256000   26,870   29,130   269505    11,3551  954  208'490  184,5201 150,375   824,245  5,861   4,253 14
Callaway...  483,840  251,833  232,0071  638,770    52,941 3,362  695,4001 225240  224,600 18365  13,28  11,765 19..... 2o,2o  224,~oo 1,836,9511 13 ~~i ~,7~[l
Montgomery-  322,560  123,742  198,818   266,259    14,880   987  311,4101 154,839  138,156   885,5441  5,489  4,3714      5
Boone......... 414,720  316,098   98,622 1,108,553   127,460  3,467  868,510  280,606  321,991 2,702,1201 14,981  13,561 24
Randolph....  |282,240 1234,518   47,7221 607,8951   36,815 1,9441 439,400  156,108  205,318 1,508,536   9,440  7,198 20    Cr
Audrain.....    414,720   90,000  324,720   195,500     3,650   473  113,010  122,665   67,965   502,790  3,508   1,949 51
Macon.....    529,920  134,807  395,113   328,955    19,651   318  100,153  144,306   19,635   612,700   6,566  6,034 8
Adair....       282,240   22,6241  259,616    51,570    10,480    49   15,050   64,850   20,510   162,460[ 2,351   -    5
Schuyler......  207,360   17,566  189,794    44539      1,9951 39   11,645   66,510   16,485   141,174  3,287   -   10
Total..3,483,120 1,598,772 1,884,348 4,358,587   434,327 13,283 3,104,338 1,649,194 1,318,895 10,865,341  76,765  57,012 14
St. Louis.1350,000  325,2251  24,745  8,902,596 28,358,843  4,140  949,419 1,371,857 2295,990 41.878,705 105,064  35,979 200
Total Sum..    3.83312 01.924,027 1.909,093 13.261,183128,793,170 17,42314,053P75743,021,o5113,614,88552,744,046 81,829i 93,021




Your Committee present the table, such as it is, and Itere pause:
deeming it their duty to aid those members of Congress whose immediate constituents reside in these counties with the skeleton of a
speech, which when covered with muscle and tissue, and clothed
in the habiliments of their oratorical "property room'" will not only
render them immortal, but likewise help us greatly in procuring
from your Honorable body the wherewithal to help us build our
road. Upon them and upon all other western Statesmen we feel
that we can safely rely for the elaboration of the great thoughts
and convincing arguments, which the consideration of the development and protection of western interests will ever suggest. The
probable cost-the increased value of the land and all its products
in the vicinity of the proposed line-the returns arising from the
road-the question whether a railroad through an agricultural
country can be made good stock-and in this connection the returns
of those roads, who have already tried this experiment and suceeeded-the probable amount of freight both ways-the produce of
all kindslofthese eleven counties- the amount of interest the road
must pay-the importance of securing the loan of the State credit
-the possibility at all seasons of competing in heavy freight with
the river —the great question of direct taxation to aid this enterprize, all these and a thousand other questions of equal importance
should be discussed.
Your Committee have neither the necessary time, statistics, nor
ability. They, therefore simply present their petition:
The St. Charles Convention reflecting the will of the people of
these counties recommend the plan of "paying county and coporation
railroad subscriptions by the levy of an annual tax, sufficient to
meet the calls on such subscriptions-provided the amount so raised shall not in any one year, be more than is required to pay thirty
per centum of the amount subscribed by a county or corporation,
to the stock of any one road, and that each tax payer shall receive
a certificate of stock to the amount of the special tax paid by him.
And they respectfully ask of the Legislature at its ensuing session,
the passage of proper laws to enforce the collection of such tax in
all the cities and counties of this State, which either have already
taken, or may hereafter subscribe stock in any railroad company."
Here we have a proposition coming from the people themselves
to allow their aggregate wealth always increasing (though individual
wealth may decrease) amounting in this instance to 52,744,046 dol



54
lars to be taxed for bailling the road. Can a route, so supported,
fail? Your Committee think not.
Again it will be seen from the proceedings of the Mississippi
Valley Ra.ilroad Convention preceding this report, that the North
Missouri Railroad is recommended to the consideration of the people as one of the links in the great chain connecting the Gulf of
Mexico and the Territory of Minnesota, the claims of which are
ably set forth in the memorial of Mr. Tarver, preceding this paper, and need no further elucidation from us. The General Government (as has been stated above) have already made a grant similar to the one now asked, for a railroad from Mobile to Galena
on the eastern side of the Mississippi. Is the western side less
deserving? Have the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa
and the Territory of Minnesota fewer claims upon your bountyno, not upon your bounty, rather for their just rights? Havelthey
no resources to develope, no hardy and industrious population
seeking a market? Are they on the confines of civilization and
need no fostering care? Or rather are they not the Central States
of a great confederacy limited by two oceans, lying in the richest
and most fertile valley the sun shines upon and containing a larger
amount of arable and mineral land (yet undeveloped for want of
roads) than any other five States in our country?
Working in iron has ever been considered not only the index of,
but the means to achieve a high civilization, and history assures us
that high civilization cannot be achieved in its absence. The Spaniards have a proverb to the effect that mining in silver entails'poverty, in gold beggarly destitution, in iron wealth uncounted. Yet,
the great central heart of Missouri is one solid mass of iron, sufficient for the consumption of a world. It lies there almost untouched, because the cost of transportation eats up the profits,
and because the people of the great West have thus far been too
busy growing and developing their other countless resources, and
have had neither time nor capital for the giant task of profitable
mining-so far from market.
Your Committee deem it unnecessary to urge further upon the
attention of your Honorable body their claims to your consideration. We have a long line of Congressional precedents —we have
our necessities-we have our rights to similar grants with other
States-we have the feasible nature of our projected roads-we
have rights arising from what we have done and suffered in the ear



55
ly settlement of our country, thereby improving and increasing in
value the public domain-we have rights arising from our natural
positionr-we have moreover, or should have, the voice of every
man who loves the Union and the perpetuity of our institutions
strengthened and made stable by the iron intercommunication of
North and South-we have all these speaking and acting with you
and among you, and all favoring the prayer of our memorial. If
these potent voices are unheard in our national councils, the feeble
prayer of this petition will avail our people nothing, and our course
is plain. Ceasing to put our trust in a partial Government, we
will remember the great truth enunciated by the giant mind of one,
who "though dead yet speaketh": "America will lie ere long
in the Mississippi valley."  For the rest we will patiently "bide
our time."








To the People of he Mississippi Valley.
Feeling the solemn responsibility of the duty with which we are
charged by the "Mississippi Valley Railroad Convention' "to
address the People of the Mississippi Valley on the subject embraced in the resolutions of the Convention,' we present them before you:
(See Resolutions in the foregoing Proceedings page i1.)
In presenting to you the cause of the Mississippi Valley
Railroad, we would urge as the first and most striking feature, its
national character.
The natural feeling that arises at the first glance, and which is
strongly sustained by a deliberate comprehension of the whole
plan, is that the General Government should begin the work, and
that the people of this vast valley should aid the Government.
But, although the General Government has already surveyed the
line of the route here proposed, from St. Louis to Little Rock,
has estimated the cost of the construction of the middle links of
this immense chain, whereby it is discovered that the cost of the
construction of the Iron Mountain and South Missouri Railroad,
linking St. Louis with Chalk Bluff, on the northern boundary line
of Arkansas, is $3,514,773, and that the cost of the construction
of the North Arkansas Railroad, linking the same Chalk Bluff
with Little Rock, is $2,342,263; although the House of Representatives have passed a Bill granting public lands to Arkansas to
be applied to the construction of the Railroad from Little Bock to
Chalk Bluff, extending the same favor to the road on each extremity beyond these points, viz: from "Fulton to Cairo;" although the




New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad Company
have memorialized Congress "to grant all the lands of the United
States within ten miles of the said road, and its St. Louis branch,
on each side, or its equivalent in other lands;" although the North
Missouri Railroad Convention have resolved to memorialize Congress "to make a grant of land to the State of Missouri to aid in
the construction of the North Missouri Railroad —similar in all
respects to the grant heretofore made in aid of the Pacific Railroad, and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad;" although the
Mississippi Valley Railroad Convention has resolved to memorialize Congress for "a quantity of land, equal to alternate sections
for ten miles in width, on each side of said road, throughout its
entire length;" and although the Government of the United States
has manifested a disposition by the grants already made to the
Mobile and Ohio and the Illinois Central Railroad, to unite the
North and South by bands more material than laws; although all
these things be true, and embolden the national aspect of this
cause-yet it possesses manifold traits deeply interesting to every
individual in the Mississippi Valley west of the Great River.  The
people of this valley, east of the river, are also interested in this
work.  They are embraced in the resolution on the Address, and
we therefore present them some reasons why they should unite and
act harmoniously with the people along the line proposed.
The people of the State of Mississippi have through the Legislature signified their acknowledgment of the advantages to be derived from  this railroad.  A charter has been granted for a
company to build a railroad from a point on the Mississippi river,
opposite Helena, in Arkansas, to connect with the New Orleans,
Jackson and Great Northern Railroad, in a direction nearly south.
Helena may be easily connected with the Mississippi Valley Railroad by a branch either from Chalk Bluff or Little Rock. By these
channels a tide of prosperity will flow among and enrich the people
of the State of Mississippi.
The people of the State of Tennessee, by the junction to be
made between the Mississippi Valley Railroad and the City of
Mlempis, will make the northern and southern portions of the Mlississippi Va.ley Railroad tributaries to their wtealth, and by the




"Memphis and Grenada" Railroad roll back a tide of prosperity
toward the Northwest.  The people of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana,
and Illinois will derive kindred advantages by their main lines running to Cairo and St. Louis, as a Bill is now before Congress for
a grant of lands to the State of Missouri, to aid in the construction of a railroad from Chalk Bluff to a point on the Mississippi
river, opposite Cairo-said road connecting, at the Bluff, with the
Mississippi Valley Railroad, which passes through St. Louis.
Of all the inhabitants of the Mississippi Valley, the people of
Wisconsin are least interested in the Mississippi Valley Railroad.
Yet a few facts may suggest material advantages which the people
of Wisconsin may derive from this work.
The City of St. Paul, near the Falls of St. Anthony, must necessarily be touched by the Mississippi Valley Railroad. St. Paul
is only 18 miles from Lake St. Croix, in Wisconsin.  Lake St.
Croix and Fond du Lac, of Lake Superior, must be linked together
by a railroad. The immense resources of North Wisconsin —the
iron, copper, white pine and other lumber, and the products of the
lake fisheries, which are now eagerly sought after, but obtained'at
great cost, will then flow with ease, and be distributed throughout
the valley of the Mississippi, at a reduced expense to meet the increasing demand with an enhanced profit.
By a union with Lake Superior, the Mississippi Valley Railroad
would not only open a market for the metal, lumber, fish and other
produce of Wisconsin, but, in return, would bring rich treasures,
from the South.
The people of Wisconsin, therefore, though least interested,
must nevertheless view this cause with favor and deep anxiety.
Now, we would address the people of the Territory and of the
four States along the line of the route; and assuming that the first
principles are already well understood, freely acknowledged, and
highly, appreciated, we would direct attention to, and urge the
prompt espousal of the more progressive and radical principles embraced in the resolutions.
Taxation for stock gees to the root of the enterprise. The work
cannot be done without money. Where should the money come
from?  Who is most deeply, most vitally interested in the work?




60
We answer: the individuals, villages, towns, cities, parishes and
counties along the route. Property is raised 100 per cent. in vale
ue by its location.  Who will refuse to allow his property to be
raised 100 per cent. by a railroad through or near it? Who but
the owner of property should expend means to raise the value of
his own? What owner of property will refuse the bargain by which
he gains 100 per cent. on the value of his property by paying 1
per cent. additional tax? By which he receives the one per cent.
back again in certificates of stock in the road, and stands a fair
chance of selling it at a premium? The suggestions contained in
these questions are substantiated by practical experience.
We refer to the universal history of railroads.  The evidence
from thiy source on this point is so extensive, so conclusive, and
at the same time so freely acknowledged, that we will here adduce
only an instance from the history of the Pacific Railroad, crossing
this valley, premising that the histories of other railroads abound
with similar instances.
Hon. Thos. Allen, the enterprizing, practical and energetic
President of the Pacific Railroad, in his first annual report, made
29th March, 1852, before a rail was laid on the road, states:
"'The effects of the railroad upon the price of land adjacent to
the line, is quite as much as was ever predicted or promised. The
value has been at least tripled.  Lands which recently were held
at $1.50, are now held at $10.00.  Those which were held at
$30.00, have been sold for $100.00.  Those which were lately
bought for $300.00, have been sold for $1,000.00.';
Judging from the uniform evidence of the past —the irresistable
authority of experience-and the fairly deducible superior advantages of the proposed over many others paying railroads, the
Mississippi Valley Railroad would not only double the value of the
property along the line, as we have above suggested, but would
raise it fourfold.
Those, then, who have property on the line of the road, should
tax not only every energy, but also every inch of land they possess, to raise funds immediately for its successful operation.
We would here point to one noble example- an example worthy
of imitation by every city, parish, town and county, from the Falls
to the Gulf.




The City of New Orleans, on the 21st day of June, 1852, voted
for $1,500,000 tax for stock in the Opelousas road by 2938 voted
against 490.
The New Orleans and Opelousas Railroad, together with a
branch projected from that to the capital of Arkansas, is adopted
as a portion of the Mississippi Valley Railroad.
What now has been the effect of this tax on the energy and real
estate of New Orleans, and on the prosperity of this project? The
energy of New Orleans has grown stronger, the real estate has
risen higher; and from a letter written on 11th October, 1852, by
Col. B. H. Payne, of Louisiana, Sup't of the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad, to Roswell Beebe, Esq., of
Arkansas, memorialist for the charter of the Mississippi Valley
Railroad Company, in which the prospects of this great project
are disclosed, we extract the following paragraph:
"This company (the N. O., 0. & G. W. R. Co. ) have now the
capital at command, equal to $4,000,000. Under our new constitution the State will take $1,000,000.  This will make the sum
of $5,000,000.  The cost of the road, on the main trunk to the
Texas border, will be about $4,000,000, leaving $1,000,000 towards
the St. Louis branch. The parishes in Louisiana, along the line of
the branch road to the Arkansas line, will contribute, at least, as
much as will, with the aid of the $1,000,000, furnish and equip
the road to your State line."
Such being the effect of taxation for railroad stock in Louisiana
in four months, will the people of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and
Minnesota wait in idleness one month longer, letting the golden
moments, worth more than golden mines, pass out of their hands,
for nothing, when they might turn them into a fortune as quickly
as they could travel to and return from California?
Judging from a careful calculation based on an actual survey of
the route from St. Louis to Little Rock, by Cart. Joshua Barney,
United States agent, whose report was made November 1st, 1851,
and ordered to be printed by Government, March 16th, 1852, and
based on the opinion of civil engineers, geologists and geographers
acquainted with the general character of the country along the
route to each end beyond the portion surveyed by Capt. Barney;
the cost of the Mississippi Valley Railroad, on the route adopted
by the Convention, has been cstimated at about $24,000,000.




This estimate includes equipments as well as construction and
every item of furniture necessary for its complete operation.
About $5,000,000 were allotted for the construction of the road
through the State of Louisiana, about $4,000,000 for the same
through Arkansas, about $7,000,000 for the same through Missouri,
and $4,500,000 for the same through Iowa to the Falls of St.
Anthony, in Minnesota.  $3,000 per mile were allotted for the
cost of equipments. The length of the whole road was assumed to
be 1325 miles, allowance being made for deflexions.
In the State of Louisiana contracts have been made for the construction of portions of this road, at prices far below the above
estimate. Col. Payne, of Louisiana, on the 27th November, 1852,
in a letter for publication, wrote as follows: "Over the worst part
of the road contracts are out, that when finished, make the cost
$8,400 per mile, at the present price of iron, with rails 65 pounds
to the running yard."
Adding the expense of bridging, he calculates the cost of construction of this road, through Louisiana to Little Rock, in Arkansas, at only about $10,000 per mile, asd closes his letter touching this road by stating:
"We shall have all the capital necessary to build our end of the
road to the Arkansas line on the way to St. Louis completed by
January in such form as will enable our Board of Directors to
use it without delay."
Louisiana has proven that she is awake to her own interest-is
ardent and energetic in the good cause, and besides setting an admirable example for her sister States, has thrown a flood of light
on this subject, which must cheer the hopes of the people in the
middle and northern portions of this valley.
The people of Arkansas and Missouri are now through their
portions of the valley, and in their Legislatures manifesting an
appreciation of the course pursued by the people of Louisiana.
May the people of Iowa and Minnesota join them heart and hand,
and may they act on and persevere together in the same course
with patriotic devotion, till our object is secured.  May we develope our own resources, agricultural and mineral, establish and protect our own manufactures, cloth and iron; out of the Iron Moun



tain of this valley may the rails of this Valley Railroad and the
Pacific Railroad, with all their branches and all parallel chains
and converging links be formed, and wire rolled and drawn, to
send electric intelligence in a moment to every city of America.
Through Missouri, the heart of the United States of America,
may the currents of the life blood of our great commercial body
flow with an equal, strong andhealth sustaining power to every
limb and fibre of the national system.
Resolved to tax individual energies and possessions to the utmost, as a basis for operations; entertaining these liberal and conservative principles of a national character denoting the benefits
to result from the superstructure of the plan; meeting together
frequenty in towns, cities and counties, raising subscription for
stock; passing resolutions for taxation for stock; memorializing
the Legislature for laws in that behalf, and for the credit of the
State; protesting against a profligate abandonment of the public
domain by the General Government for private speculations; praying for judicious as well as liberal endowments of railroads and
schools, by which the public land may be converted into a perpetual fund for the support of the cause of education and internal
improvements; by memorializing Congress directly on this subject:
-by taking these steps with a warm heart and with an iron will;
by bending every energy unflinchingly in this direction; by pursuing it with unremitting perseverance, the people along the line of
the Mississippi Valley Railroad north of Louisiana may realize a
prospect for themselves next spring, brighter even than is presented by Louisiana now, as then not only immense subscriptions of
stock will be raised from  individual and incorporate sources, not
only may the credit of the States be obtained, but what is quite as
probable from the present aspect of affairs at Washington City, all
the land of the United States, within ten miles in alternate sections on each side of the road, from the Falls of St. Anthony to
the Gulf, may be granted by the present Congress, in aid of this
grand project, not less national in its character as we have endeavored to show, than it is vitally important to the well-being of the
rapidly augmenting population of the country through which the
road will pass.
HENRY COBB,         1
1H. A. PROUT,
FERDINAND KENNETT } Committee.
N. C. OREAR,
II. MILLS,