Railroad construction

MCCAFFREY, MATTHIAS, SCHOLL, CUNDILL, BUTTERWORTH, STEPHENS, GALLAGHER, SANBORN, MURRAY

Posted By: Anne Hermann (email)
Date: 4/23/2008 at 22:51:30

Maquoketa Excelsior
May 8, 1903

Comments on a Proposal to Build a Railroad From Dubuque to St. Louis

O. McCaffrey: “Yes, I’m in favor. It would be bound to make good business for a couple of years, while the road was building and the ultimate result would be good. This town is too big to be seriously injured by small railway stations.”

W. J. Matthias: “No. From a business standpoint it would be a bad thing. It would start up small mushroom towns, especially north of us, and injure trade.

Jas. Scholl: “Sure. Bring on your road.”

Will Cundill: “I’m not in favor of voting a tax for it, but if it wants to come, we’ll welcome it. Maquoketa has reached the end of its string as a simple trading point and unless there are some manufacturing interests built up here the town is bound to deteriorate and we cannot induce factories to come here unless we have more railroad facilities than we now have.”

H. O. Butterworth: “I hardly know. The immediate result would probably be detrimental, in that it would give new shipping points to the country towns and cut off some trade, but until we get some factories, Maquoketa cannot expect to grow much more. There could be a great deal more business done by the stores for the city without crowding them any.”

John Wright: “I’m much elated over the prospects. A north and south railroad is just what we need.”

W. M. Stephens: “I am sure that the railroad will be a good thing for the town ultimately and I think it is going to come.”

C. A. Gallagher: “I am not in favor. I have seen lots of examples of towns which were good trading points, being very nearly destroyed by a railroad which tapped the territory and started numerous small towns around.”

C. M. Sanborn: “The road can’t hurt us and I think it will do us good, if it comes.”

J. C. Murray: “It won’t effect trade one way or the other, for it is not to be a cheap jerk water line, but a big transcontinental system."