Which report was by substituting the name of H. W. Gray in place of W. Smythe, Esq., adopted.
On motion of I. Cook, Esq., If any fail to attend they appoint a substitute.
On motion of Dr. Carpenter, Resolved that the secretary inform absent delegates of their appointment.
On motion of Hon. G. Greene, Resolved that the delegates shall assemble in a separate convention if they shall deem expedient after the action of the State Convention to advance the interest of the Dubuque & Keokuk Rail Road.
Messrs. Cook, Esq., and Hon. G. Greene being called for, addressed the meeting in appropriate addresses.
On motion the meeting adjourned.
J. Greene, Secretary.
The getting of a railroad into Cedar Rapids then was the much talked of scheme, and many people believed that this would also end in failure as many other paper railroads had ended before. But the men at the head of this company were men who had a standing in the financial world and were in touch with the big banks of the country. They did not rely on the taxes voted or on empty promises, for if these failed they would still go on with the work. It is needless to add that this company, like all others, got as much tax as possible and changed the location of the route according to the amounts of bonuses offered. When the road entered Cedar Rapids it was the beginning and the end in the long struggle for railroad supremacy in the county, and decided for all times the supremacy of the river city over the county seat. The latter without a railway could do nothing more than sit down and wait till such a time as some company saw fit to extend a line across the state through other points.
For the air line known as the Iowa Central Air Line, the citizens of Linn county voted in June, 1853, the sum of $200,000 to aid in the construction of the road. In 1856 congress voted a grant of land to the state of Iowa to aid in the construction of four roads across it, including one on the line of this company. The legislature in extra session conferred the land on this road in case it was completed. A contract was let to a New York concern to complete the road to Marion, a distance of eighty miles. On account of the financial crash in 1857 the contractors failed to raise the money and to go on with the work. While the people were sore over this failure another company began building from Clinton west and had completed forty miles during the year 1858. It came as far as Lisbon by the end of this year, and this was the first railroad station within the borders of Linn county.