Mather and Ridgely continued stock-holders, and were elected local directors. In the same year Mr. Schuyler became the purchaser of the thirty-three miles of railroad between Meredosia and Camp Point, which had been built through the influence of Gen. James W. Singleton; it was known as the Quincy and Toledo Railroad. In 1859, the name was changed to the Great Western Railway, and the work of extending it eastward was begun in earnest. In 1865, it was consolidated with the Toledo and Wabash Railway; January 6, 1877, the Wabash Railway Company was organized, and acquired the property of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway at foreclosure sale, in February, 1877, and in 1879, the name was changed to the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway.

Now, that insignificant twenty-four miles of flat railroad is a part of what is known as the "Gould system," which has business connections from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, and is esteemed one of the greatest railway combinations in the world. The company owns in fee simple, or operates by lease, 1,598 miles of railway in Illinois alone, and altogether 3,482 miles.

In 1847, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, which was chartered January 16, 1836, was put under construction, and the close of 1848 found only ten miles completed. The capital stock of the company was then fixed at $100,000, with power to increase it to $1,000,000. So timid were the projectors of the road that they put a clause in the charter which authorized them to build a turnpike in case they failed with the railroad. It was in these words:

That if at any time after the passage of this act it shall be deemed advisable by the directors of the said corporation to make and establish a good, permanent turnpike road upon any portion of the route of the railroad by this act authorized to be constructed, then the said directors are hereby authorized and empowered to construct a turnpike on any portion of the said route."

Passing over the subsequent struggles of the road, we will say that from this modest beginning has grown the great Chicago and Northwestern Railway, with its 3,584 miles of unsurpassed track, traversing the Western States and Territories, and reaching far in the direction of the Pacific coast.

The ninety-nine miles of railroad, connecting Quincy with Galesburg, which was built under a charter granted by the Legislature in 1849, by Nehemiah Bushnell, was bought by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company, under a sale of foreclosure by the bondholders, and it now forms an important link in the great system of roads operated by that rich and progressive company. The total number of miles of main line and branches owned and operated by this company in Illinois is 853. The total number of miles in and out of the State is 1,674.

February 10, 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad, which had been projected during the internal improvement system of 1837, was chartered, and Congress gave the company every alternate section of land along its line in aid of its construction, in consideration of which the State was to receive seven per cent. of the gross earnings. The line of road was from Cairo to Dunleith, now East Dubuque, with a branch to Chicago, embracing 700 milesthe whole of which was completed September 27, 1856. The completion of this great line of railroad at once opened up a market for the products of the State, and brought the lands in active demand, and emigration poured in as never before.

The United States census of 1850 had given the State a population of but 651,470, while that of 1860 swelled it to 1,711,955.

Thus it will be seen that under the influence of this one railroad the State had gained in less than ten years

1,060,485 inhabitants, as against 651,470 in the thirty-two years previous. No grant of land to a railroad company was ever more judiciously made. It enriched alike the railroad company and the State. The road is one of the very best in the entire country, and is managed with consummate skill. The company now owns, in and out of the State, of main lines and branches, 1,927 miles, which includes a continuous line from Chicago to New Orleans.

From March 24, 1855, to October 31, 1883, this company had paid into the State treasury, of the seven per cent. gross earnings, $9,476,578.99.

Since the completion of the first 24 miles of railway in 1839, there has been built, of main lines and branches, in Illinois, 8,766 miles; and the annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, shows that there were fifty-six railroad companies within the State, of which we speak in detail in another chapter.

As to the canal, it has cost the State over $10,000,000, and notwithstanding that enormous expenditure, it is still unfinished, being only 92 miles in length, and has long since ceased to be a source of revenue to the State. The money involved in this enterprise would have built on the prairies of Illinois 666 miles of railway.

The problem suggested by Gov. Duncan has been fully solved. As shown by the report of the Auditor of Public Accounts for 1882, the aggregate tax paid to the State, counties, cities and towns for that year, by the railroads, other than that paid by the Illinois Central, was $1,835,118.

STATE GOVERNMENT-1853-57.

The tenth State Government was inaugurated with Joel A. Matteson, of Will, as Governor; Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair, Lieutenant-Governor; David L. Gregg, of Cook,

Secretary of State; Thomas H. Campbell, of Randolph, Auditor of Public Accounts; John Moore, of McLean, Treasurer.

The first session of the Eighteenth General Assembly convened January 3, 1853, and adjourned February 14. A second session convened February 9, 1854, and adjourned March 4.

Lieut.-Gov. Korner presided over the Senate, and R. E. Goodell was elected Secretary. John Reynolds was elected Speaker of the House, and John Calhoun Clerk.

This Legislature became famous for passing the black laws, of which an extended mention has been made in a preceding chapter. The bill passed the House February 5, 1853, by a vote of 45 yeas to 23 nays; seven members were absent, or refrained from voting. The Senate passed the bill February 11, as it came from the House, by a vote of 13 yeas to 9 nays; three Senators were absent or refrained from voting. On February 12, the bill received the approval of Gov. Matteson.

CHAPTER XXIII.

PRINTING.

First Newspapers in Illinois-First Books Printed-Printing Presses Then and Now-First Daily Papers-Chicago Papers-Papers at the Capital -Weekly Journals-Interior Dailies-Eminent Journalists.

When Illinois was organized as a Territory of the United States, the arts of printing and journalism were in their infancy, not only in this, but in all countries. Research shows that Matthew Duncan was the pioneer journalist of Illinois, establishing the Herald, at Kaskaskia, in 1814. Prior to the establishment of the Herald legal notices were published, by act of December, 1813, in the Louisiana Territory (Missouri).

The Herald was a three-column folio until 1816, when it was enlarged to a four-column folio. In 1817, Daniel P. Cook and Robert Blackwell bought it. Subsequently, its name was changed to Intelligencer, and in 1820 it was moved to Vandalia. The second paper in the State was the Emigrant, established as an anti-slavery paper, at Shawneetown, in 1818, by Henry Eddy and S. H. Kimmell. The third paper, the Spectator, was established as an anti-slavery paper, at Edwardsville, in 1819, by Hooper Warren. In 1835, the number of weekly newspapers had multiplied to eighteen. The first daily paper in the State -Daily Express-was established at Chicago, in 1839, and the second-Democrat-in the same city, in 1840. John Wentworth was the editor of the latter.

The first book or pamphlet, of which we have any knowledge, printed in Illinois, was by Matthew Duncan, at Kaskaskia; it bears date December 24, 1814. It contained an act establishing a Supreme Court, the letter of Judges Jesse B. Thomas and William Sprigg to the Legislature, challenging the legality of the act; the answer of the Legislature to the Judges, the address of Gov. Edwards to the Legislature, and the memorial of the Legislature to Congress, numbering, in all, 46 pages. In printing this book, there were but three fonts of type used-burgeois, small-pica and English. In an address delivered by William L. Gross before the Illinois State Bar Association, at Springfield, January 6, 1881, we find that Matthew Duncan also published the first volume of what is known as Pope's Digest, in June, 1815. These books are in the possession of Mr. Gross, and they show the art of printing in its most primitive state.

The first printing press used in Illinois was known as the Franklin Ramage, which was capable of printing but one page of a folio newspaper at a time, with a capacity of 240