Page images
PDF
EPUB

and by judicious legislation the people obtained temporary relief as to their personal financial burdens, and measures were devised for paying the public debt. It required years of toil and hardship, but the debt was finally paid in full, principal and interest, and the honor and credit of the State maintained.

It is a remarkable fact that while all the roads projected in 1837 failed of construction, private companies have since built them, in whole or in part.

SEVENTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY-1850-52.

The first session of the Seventeenth General Assembly convened January 6, 1851, and adjourned February 17. A second session convened June 7, 1852, and adjourned June 23.

Lieut.-Gov. McMurtry presided over the Senate, and William Smith served as Secretary. Sidney Breese was elected Speaker of the House, and Isaac R. Diller Clerk.

The work of enacting laws to conform to the new constitution, was one of the grave duties of this Assembly. Of the new members there were such names as John M. Palmer, of Macoupin; Wm. B. Plato, of Kane, in the Senate; and in the House, Isham N. Haynie, of Marion; James C. Allen, of Crawford; Sidney Breese, of Clinton; William H. Snyder, of St. Clair; S. A. Buckmaster, of Madison; Wm. Thomas, of Morgan; Anthony Thornton, of Shelby; James W. Singleton, of Brown; Jesse O. Norton, of Will, and O. M. Hatch, of Pike.

Gov. French retired from office in January, 1853, leaving behind him an honorable record. He had been the Executive when the darkest clouds of the financial storm hovered over the State, but had ever counseled an honest payment of the State's obligations, and he lived to see the debt almost wholly canceled.

Gov. French was born in New Hampshire, in August, 1808; he attended Harvard University; removed to Illinois

in his youth, and as early as 1835 became closely identified with the politics of the State. He was a lawyer by profession, and was for several years President of the Board of Trustees of McKendree College, and Professor of Law in that institution. His last appearance in public life was as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1862. He died at Lebanon, September 4, 1864.

CHAPTER XXII.

OUR FIRST RAILROADS.

Gov. Duncan's Opposition to Railroads-Senator Gatewood's OppositionReport of Committee Favoring Canals in Preference to Railroads-Number of Miles of Railway-Number of Miles of Canal-Amount of Taxes Paid by Illinois Central Railway-Amount Paid by Other Railways in 1883-Gov. Duncan's Problem Solved.

It will be difficult for the reader to realize, amidst the many grand railways which cross and re-cross the broad domain of Illinois, that there should have ever been anybody to oppose their construction, or doubt their success, but a study of the early legislation of the State shows that there was serious opposition, even among the brightest minds of the State. Gov. Duncan, in his message to the General Assembly, in 1834, gave utterance to the thought that it was yet to be determined whether railroads would be more benefit to the State than the Illinois and Michigan canal. Said he:

"No one who has visited the different canals and railroads in the United States, and compared the country through which they pass with the fertile lands which lie between the Lakes and the Mississippi, to say nothing of the unbounded country that is washed by the twenty-five thousand miles of river and lake navigation, which this canal will unite by the shortest and most certain route that can possibly be made, can doubt that it will yield a larger

profit upon its cost, in a very few years, than any other work of the kind that has ever been, or can be, constructed in this country.

[ocr errors]

"In commencing this great work it should be borne in mind that its utility and success, as well as it expense, will greatly depend upon the kind of improvement that the Legislature shall adopt, and upon the plan of its construction. Of the different plans proposed, I find that the Board of Canal Commissioners and my worthy predecessors, have recommended a railroad, in which I regret that I am compelled to differ with them in opinion.

"In my judgment, experience has shown canals to be much more useful, and generally cheaper of construction, than railroads. When well made they require less expensive repairs, and are continually improving, and will last forever, while railroads are kept in repair at a very heavy expense, and will last but about fifteen years. In the present case especially, a canal should be preferred, because it connects, by a short and direct route, two great navigable waters, that wash the shores of most of the States and Territories of the United States and British Provinces of North America, and thus opening a commerce between the remotest parts of the continent. By using the lake as a feeder to this canal, a large body of water will be turned into the Illinois river, which will improve its navigation, and by increasing the current, will, probably, render its shores more healthy.

"An additional argument in favor of a canal, which should justly have great weight with you, is to be found in the fact, that it puts it in the power of every farmer to carry his own produce to market, which renders him independent of that monopoly which must always control the transportation on railroads. There appears to be but little force, in the present case, in the argument commonly used in favor of railroads-that transportation upon them is uninterrupted in winter-as this canal will be open several weeks longer in the fall and spring than either the lake or river, consequently no inconvenience can result from its closing, especially as at that season the roads will be sufficiently good to accommodate all the traveling which will be required." (See House Journal of 1835.)

Acting on the views of Gov. Duncan, a committee was appointed by the Senate to determine which system of internal commerce should be adopted. The committee

gave the subject a wide consideration, and in the course of an elaborate report, expressed the deliberate opinion that canals were preferable to railroads, in these terms:

"From all the lights of which the committee have been able to avail themselves, it would seem that the public judgment, in this State and elsewhere, has settled down in favor of canals in preference to railroads, wherever the country is peculiarly suited to their construction; and there can be no doubt that nature has declared that this is the character of the region of country lying between the navigable waters of the Illinois and Lake Michigan. That railroads are better adapted to the speedy transportation of passengers than canals, seems to be admitted; and whenever that is the main object intended to be effected by their construction, they are, doubtless, entitled to a preference over canals. But such can not be the case in reference to this work.

"If we glance at the institutions and improvements of civilized man, in every portion of the world, we are struck with the fact that, in those countries, and among those people, where the means of promoting the happiness of the social state are most profoundly understood, there canals abound; and there the Government has been most anxious to increase the facilities for internal commerce and inter-communication between different parts of the same country. But we are not left to that brilliant example alone to cheer us to the undertaking-our neighbors, Ohio and Indiana, have profited by the wisdom and experience of other enlightened States, and their citizens are now enjoying an unparalleled prosperity, as the fruit of their sagacity and enterprise. Shall not Illinois do likewise? The probable cost of the canal, to be supplied with water, will be $2,956,260.56."

It will be observed, from these figures, that the committee went into details in calculating the cost of the construction of the canal, as fractions of dollars form a part of the estimated cost. (See Senate Journal of 1835.) At that session William J. Gatewood, a State Senator from Gallatin county, and a man of eminent ability, was one of many who earnestly opposed legislation in favor of railroads, but, nevertheless, the agitation of the question continued, and in 1839, the completion of the first

railroad in the State, known as the Northern Cross Railroad, was celebrated, and George Gregory, now of Springfield, run its first locomotive. The road extended from Jacksonville to Meredosia, a distance of twenty-four miles; it was built by the State, and laid with flat iron. In 1841, it was extended from Jacksonville to Springfield, and in 1845, from Jacksonville to Naples. The State operated the road until 1847, when the Legislature passed an act, February 16, authorizing the sale of the road between the Illinois river and Springfield, fifty-two miles in length, at public vendue. One of the peculiar features of this law was, that it provided for a forty years' lien upon the road, in order to secure the amount for which it might be sold. The sale took place soon after the approval of the act, and Nicholas H. Ridgely, of Springfield, became the purchaser, paying $21,100 in State indebtedness. Mr. Ridgely afterward sold Thomas Mather, of Springfield, and James Dunlap, of Jacksonville, each an interest.

They changed its name to the Sangamon and Morgan Railroad. During the time the State had operated it but two engines had been obtained, and when the new owners took possession they found them so worn as to be unfit for use, and for nine months they were compelled to run their trains with mules. The trains consisted of two cars drawn by two mules. There were two trains daily, one of which left Springfield in the morning for Naples, and the other, Naples for Springfield. Reddick M. Ridgely was one of the conductors.

About the close of the year 1847, the company received three new engines, when the services of the mules were dispensed with. The Legislature passed an act extending the charter of the road to the Indiana line, and in 1857, Mr. Mather visited New York and negotiated a sale of the road to Robert Schuyler, who was then deemed the great railroad manager of the country, for $100,000;

« PreviousContinue »