The Northern Railway

The Northern Railway
VISIT TO CEDARBURG
Meeting at Turner Hall - Speeches by the Hon. O. H. Waldo, Edward D. Holton, CouncilorHilbert, and Supervisor Walters
(The Milwaukee Sentinel, Monday 16 May 1870)
Transcribed and contributed by Carol Boettcher

On Saturday morning the special Committee of the CountyBoard, together with a number of prominent citizens and the representatives of thepress, left City Hall in carriages to attend the railway meeting at Cedarburg, inresponse to an invitation from the Supervisors of that place.

The party consisted of Supervisors Hyde, Douglas, Walter, Egan, Fink and Billman;the Hons. O. H. Waldo, E. D. Holton, Senator Deuster, Mayor Phillips, Counselor Hilbert,and Messrs. James Ludington, Charles Holzhauer, and Frank Charnley.

The press was represented by Col. S. B. Brightman of the SENTINEL, Maj. Cadwalladerof the NEWS, Col. Messervey of the WISCONSIN, Dr. Vette of the HEROLD, and P. V.Deuster of the SEE BOTE.

ARRIVAL AT CEDARBURG
The party left City Hall at nine o'clock, and after a pleasant ride reached Cedarburgabout noon, where they were received by the Hon. Fred Horn, Fred Hilgen and otherleading citizens and invited into the Horneffer House, where, after a short rest,they were invited to a good and substantial meal. After the party ahd done justiceto the dinner, they reentered their carriages and were driven to points of interestin and about the village and its surroundings to Milwaukee River, a short distancebelow Grafton. At this point the Hon. Fred Horn gave the party interesting informationin relation to the waterpower of the Milwaukee. From this the party returned to thevillage and prepared to attend the railway meeting at Turner Hall.

CEDAR CREEK
This creek is a branch of the Milwaukee River, entering a little below the fallsnear Grafton, and having a similar fall near the junction, over the same limestoneledge. It is a rapid stream, supplied chiefly by many copious springs, and had acrooked and irregular course. It is the outlet of Musquewoc Lake, a beautiful sheetof water neat the western part of the county, four miles in length, five-eighthsof a mile wide, and nine and one-quarter in circumference. A little above its embouchureit is confined between high, perpendicular walls. Messrs. Horn and Schleifer haveopened two fine quarries along the south side of its banks. When the railway is completedthey will be able to supply us with both stone and lime. The banks of the creek arelined with cedars, which accounts for its name.

CEDARBURG
The town of Cedarburg is situated on Cedar Creek, Ozaukee county, about eighteenmiles north of this city, and has a population of about two thousand souls. The creekfurnishes excellent waterpower, along which several mills are built - among themthe woolen-mill of Hilgen & Wittenberg and the Cedarburg and Columbia flouring-mills,the latter well-known through their brands. The former employs thirty-five hands- twenty-three men and twelve women - and daily turns out about five hundred yardsof goods in the line of doeskins, cassimeres, flannels, blankets, jeans, etc. Themill runs thirteen looms, some of them double-warp, and three spinning-jacks, andhas two sets of cards for custom works. The entire establishment, from basement toattic, is a model of neatness, and its manufactures, for texture and finish, werefound equal to any in market. Last year the establishment consumed one hundred andtwenty thousand pounds of wool, which was purchased at Milwaukee and Chicago prices,and turned out two hundred and fifty thousand yards of cassimeres, tweeds and flannels,and sixty thousand pounds of stocking yarn. The products of the mills are shippedto various markets in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, and the mill, through the superiorquality of its goods, finds a ready sale for all that it can deliver.

The mill is a handsome and substantial three-story stone building, its white dormerwindows and tower adding greatly to its appearance. A short distance west of it isthe store where the goods are sold, packed and shipped. This is also built of stoneand in a style of architecture corresponding with that of the mills.

Some distance below the woolen mills are the Cedarburg flouring mills, and beyondthe turn the Columbia mills, both establishments of importance. There is also a millwithin a mile of the outlet.

ENTERPRISE
The residents of Cedarburg are all apparently well-to-do - have fine business places,as well as residences and gardens. A gentleman, an old resident, informed us thatthere was not a poor man in the village, and showed us a handsome farm, with a finestone residence, and a new one in course of construction on another lot, all theproperty of a carpenter, who arrived from Germany, without more than his clothing,ten years ago. With thrift and temperance, the Doctor said, the village affordedgood mechanics the advantages of a comfortable home and liberal return for theirlabor.

As an evidence that the town has a metropolitan air, we have but to mention the factof having seen Grecian bends and late style coiffures displayed by the ladies,and a youth of thirty summers propelling a velocipede through the streets at 2:40speed.

NEW CHURCH
On the outskirts of the town, along the line of the Milwaukee road, the Roman Catholicsare erecting a handsome stone edifice in the Romanesque or mixed Gothic and Italianstyle of architecture. The cornerstone was to be laid with appropriate ceremonieson the following day.

TURNER HALL
The Cedarburgians have created a fine Turner Hall of material from the quarries justmentioned which has room for eight hundred people, and is fitted up with galleryand stage. The proscenium of the latter is very creditable. A gentleman informedus that the society has twenty five active members, and that they varied their exerciseswith musical, dramatic and literary entertainments, affording the residents suitableamusement. We are pleased to learn that the endeavors of the society are liberallysustained - a fact telling, well for the taste of the burgers.

THE MEETING
The meeting took place at the fine hall of the Cedarburg Turners, at three o'clock.The Hon. Fred Horn nominated Joseph Vogenitz for chairman, which was unanimouslyratified, after which P. K. Gannon, Esq., was appointed secretary.

Mr. Vogenitz, on accepting the position, called the attention of the audience tothe object of the meeting, and invited a discussion upon the importance and valueof the proposed railway, in order that they might vote understandingly on the followingTuesday.

SPEECH OF THE HON. O. H. WALDO
The Hon. O. H. Waldo, being called upon, addressed the people at some length uponthe importance of a railway connection with Milwaukee. American citizens had learnedthat no one thing has so much to do with building up a country as the provision ofmeans for the ready transportation of its products to market. Experience had taughtthe people that under the old system of carriage a large portion of the profit onproducts was lost to the producer because of the loss of time and expense in gettingthem into market. Having learned this it followed that millions of dollars have beenexpended in canals and railways, and people everywhere through the length and breadthof the land were interested in enterprises affording them ready channels for thetransportation of their commodities.

He was pleased to say that the people of Cedarburg had already given evidence oftheir desire to keep step with the march of improvement, but was sorry -- extremelysorry -- that their confidence had been shamefully and disgracefully abused. Theyhad already given money enough to have given them the railway facilities they somuch desire, had it been honestly applied by those entrusted with its disbursement.The speaker said that this circumstance was a source of great embarrassment in hisadvocacy of the importance of the early construction of the Milwaukee and NorthernRailway.

Since his arrival in town he had heard it remarked “that the railway men were allscamps.” Railway men were like other men, and experience had taught him that theywere not all scamps. Cedarburg was not alone the loser by the failure of the formerrailway project. Milwaukee had issued bonds in aid of the enterprise, and has nowto pay a tax of $200,000 as the result. But because our people have been overreached,can they afford to lie upon their backs without ambition to retrieve their losses?If cattle get into a farmer's field and destroy his crops, would it be wise to refuseto plant another? Great men never say die - brave men work truer and harder whileunder the cloud of adversity.

Very few of the citizens of Milwaukee, he was surprised to find, had a knowledgeof the thrift, wealth and resources of Cedarburg and the surrounding country. Withthese advantages it would be unwise in the people to refuse to cooperate in a projectthat would advance their interests and enlarge their common wealth. The opening ofthe railway would have substantially the effect of moving the village within threemiles of the city of Milwaukee. With prompt cooperation the company would have itsroad completed to the village by the Fourth of July, when its opening might be celebratedupon the banks of Cedar Creek in connection with the anniversary of American Independence.We intend that the road shall carry the residents of your section to the city andback on the same day at less expense than they could hitch their teams and driveit and back. The people of Janesville, Berlin, Ripon, Madison, Monroe and Beloit,and intermediate stations, can visit the city in the morning, and, after making theirpurchases, return in the evening, and it is highly desirable that the residents ofCedarburg should avail themselves of the same facility of travel and transportation.

A few years ago Ripon was asked to contribute $50,000 to aid in a railway connectionwith Milwaukee, and then Ripon was far from being the place it is today. The peoplevoted the sum, and the result is, she has become one of the important places of thestate.

With a railway, the magnificent waterpower would be of more use and value than ifit lay within the boundaries of the city of Milwaukee, and this because rent is cheaperand insurance less than in the city.

The city desires to reach you as much as you the city. Milwaukee loses nearly allthe trade between Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan. She desires your trade as wellas that of the cities, towns and country north of this place. To aid the projectthe company asks Cedarburg to subscribe $16,000, and Milwaukee $200,000. The latterit expects to get by an overwhelming vote, say of four to one. The company did not,as at Ripon, ask Cedarburg, to vote $50,000, although there is no doubt that youcould subscribe that sum if you chose to do so.

The citizens of Milwaukee are deeply interested in the project of this northern railway.When it was first agitated, the business men of the city formed a Committee on Commerceand Manufacturers. Under its auspices during the past session of the Legislature,a very liberal charter was secured, under which a company was organized with suchmen as Tweedy, Ricker, Ober, Pfister and Mann at its head. These, together with othersubstantial citizens, men not given to railway scheming, have been asked to takepart in this railway enterprise, and will see that every cent subscribed for thepurpose will be properly expended. It was not the part of wisdom to trust men whohad overreached us, and for this reason Milwaukee asks the residents of Cedarburgto trust the men in whom she has the utmost confidence.

The charter authorizes the company to build as many branches as they may deem advisablebetween the Lake and Fox river valley. They will therefore so build a road that itwill draw a large portion of their trade now carried around Milwaukee to Chicagoby the Northwestern Railway, and that this road can successfully compete with thatrailway, lies in the fact that it will be sixty miles nearer Chicago. Calumet cannotgo to the lake shore, nor can Sheboygan and Manitowoc go to a road on Lake Winnebago.Therefore each must have its own road, and the Milwaukee and Northern Railway isso planned that it shall accommodate both sections. Could a better plan be devisedto divide the business of this country? From the point we purpose to go to the S_______road, and tap it probably at the Falls and north of that to have the road fork, onebranch to terminate at Manitowoc and the other at some point on the Fox river.

One year from next Christmas we intend to have the road or system of roads completed.To get out of Milwaukee the company will make use of a portion of the old grade tothis point. We expect to get to Cedarburg within forty days from the time the firstshovel is put into the ground.

Voice - “When the road gets to Cedarburg, we will pay, and not before.”
Mr. Waldo continued - “Next week the people of the town would be called upon to voteaid to the enterprise, and he knew of no better way to regain a portion of the moneylost by the former railway scheme, than to give the proposed road a hearty endorsementby voting the aid it solicited. The proposition of the company was a long stridein advance of the plan by which corporations commenced to build railways twenty yearsago. Then they called for individual subscription, by which liberal men gave toomuch, and mean, little or nothing. He had himself lost from six to seven thousanddollars in the road on which the residents of that section had staked so much. Theplan adopted now-a-days was that of Indiana, Illinois and other states. Roads arenow built by bonds in small amounts given by the cities, towns and counties to bebenefited by their construction. All new roads were built by bonds or land grantsissued by the localities through which they were to pass.

The speaker gave his hearers the assurance that he would not hesitate to vote forthis issue of bonds if he were a resident of Cedarburg. The sum called for wouldnot exceed thirty-five dollars on each farm in the town. For so wealthy a town asCedarburg the tax would prove a very light one. Any one who would take the troubleto find the number of eighty-acre lots in the town and figure how much the tax wouldbe would be surprised at its insignificance, and he was sure upon learning it nofarmer would spend a day to oppose the project. The village of Cedarburg was wealthyenough to vote aid to the railway.

The speaker in conclusion urged an earnest consideration of the proposition, andcalled particular attention to the proviso stating that no money shall be calledfor until the trains of the road reached the Cedarburg depot.

COUNCILOR HILBERT'S SPEECH
H. J.Hilbert, Esq., President of the Board of Councilors, was next called on fora speech. Mr. Hilbert said that when he started out with the party of distinguishedcitizens of Milwaukee he did not expect to see so large and intelligent an audienceas that before him. He was much interested in the proposed railway to the north throughCedarburg. He had been engaged in the work of surveying the route between Graftonand Milwaukee; and was so favorably impressed with the country and its advantagesthat he took every opportunity at home to advocate the interests of the road. Thesection of the citizens of Milwaukee as well as the press showed the interest manifestedin a railway through the country north of the city. Congress for the past few yearshad shown its interest in railway projects by granting lands in aid of the constructionof important roads. Millions of acres of land had been given in aid of roads throughnew or sparsely settled sections of country. In older sections of the country aidmust come from the sections to be benefited. Railways cannot be built without thefriendly cooperation of the people, and this cannot be obtained until the matteris fairly and squarely placed before them, in order that they may see the benefitsto their community. Gentlemen are here to show you the benefits of a railway connectionwith Milwaukee, and it remains for you to decide whether the road shall be builtor not. The people of Cedarburg are asked for aid enough to build but three-quartersof a mile of the road. This is asked more as an evidence of their sympathy and supportthan to secure means for the work. By your endorsement of the project, Eastern capitalistswill see that the residents of this section really desire a railway. We of the Councilof the city and the County Board all feel that we are to have one of the finest railwaysin the country in that proposed through this section, and want your endorsement ofthe project. Railways are forerunner of civilization. On the completion of this railroadthe cars will reach the city in half an hour, enabling the residents of this placeto send their children to the schools of Milwaukee daily. If the residents of Cedarburgdo not place themselves in track of civilization they will miss its advantages.

The speaker said he had been engaged in many railway enterprises in the Northernstates, but had met few places enjoying the advantages of Cedarburg and its vicinity.It was not fair that so much wealth and so many natural advantages should nat havethe benefit of a railway. While coming out with the Mayor he pointed out the weather-worngrading of the track of the old road, when gentlemen remarked that it was a shamethat it had been idle so long. Cedarburg held the key to this northern line, andit was hoped that it would not hinder the work by refusing to vote the paltry sumof sixteen thousand dollars.

MR. HOLTON'S SPEECH
The Hon. E. D. Holton said he had no expectation of the beautiful ride he had enjoyedto Cedarburg when he left home in the morning - having accepted an invitation tofill the place of a citizen unable to come because of illness. He was very happyto be at Cedarburg, and was agreeably surprised at its growth since his left visittwenty-five years ago. he then became acquainted with Messrs. Horn, Hilgen, McElroy,Thomas and others, and since that time, while engaged in business at Milwaukee, hadoften conversed with them, but never dreamt that they had built up a beautiful town,with substantial residences, stores, banks and mills. Here is Mr. Hilgen, with hisfamily of nine children, hale and hearty, comfortably settled, and the proprietorof one of the finest woolen mills in the state. The speaker reiterated that he waspleased to be with this old friends, and stated that his first visit to Cedarburgwas on invitation of Col. Ben. Moore, with whom he had business relations. He madehis way on horseback and spent a very agreeable evening. The mill of Mr. Moore, heunderstood, passed into the hands of Mr. Wells.

The speaker informed the audience, though not directly interested in the enterprise,he was a hearty supporter of the project. To reference to the old road he said thathe was a friend of law and thought it was a great mistake that the assignees or creditorsof that road were allowed to take up their iron and ties. We have slept for fifteenyears, and think it about time to forget disappointment, and carry the work to asuccessful issue. the party was not here to take money out of the pockets of thepeople. Yonder sits the Mayor of the city -- there the Supervisors, and here therepresentatives of the press. They are here for business - none of these men arethieves.

The business of this section should go to Milwaukee, where it belonged. Milwaukeedeserved it as the metropolis of the state. When Governor Randall returned from Europehe visited the residence of Mr. Holton, and during his conversation on matters connectedwith his tour on the continent, remarked that after all Milwaukee was one of thefinest cities on the face of the globe. During his late visit to New Orleans thespeaker met Jonathan Taylor, formerly a contractor in the city, and asked him wherehe lived. He replied, “Mr. Holton, I live in Milwaukee.”

As he had said before, the citizens of Cedarburg ought to have had the road fifteenyears ago. He was amazingly astonished to find a road graded almost fifteen mileswithout taking advantage of it. The people must take this matter into their own hands- must, in fact, have such control over the road that they can govern the timetableand send in a number of rapid trains every day. The of sixteen thousand dollars wasa mere trifle to vote in aid of so important as enterprise. There were residentsof Cedarburg who could give fifteen thousand dollars without injuring themselves.Mr. Holton said he was well acquainted with Mr. Hilbert, engineer of the road, havingknown him since the early days of railroading in Wisconsin. he was a prominent citizenof Milwaukee, and one whose statements of the advantages of the road could be fullyrelied upon, because of his great experience in these matters. Cedarburg is calledupon to endorse the project so that capitalism may become interested in the enterprise.Because we were once the dupes of designing men was no reason why we should allowa golden opportunity to pass us, especially when the enterprise is in a measure subjectto the control of the people, as in the present case. He would not detain the audienceto argue the advantages of the Northern Railway, more than to say that in case ofits completion, Cedarburg will have a population of five thousand inhabitants, everyman, woman and child adding wealth to the community. the company had a fine depotin the Second Ward, and the use of four miles of track, which was a glorious beginningin a new railway enterprise. Mr. Holton gave the people an inkling of the difficultiesexperienced in the first railroad enterprise, the Milwaukee and Prairie du ChienRailway, in which he was one of the prime movers and subscribed five thousand dollars,half of his fortune at the time. How he went from house to house to solicit aid,how they fought the sheriffs who were after the company on their short time mortgages,and held them at bay until the indebtedness of the road was met. He also drew a pictureof the enterprise of the people of mountainous Switzerland.

In conclusion the speaker urged the people to lay aside their prejudices. The businessmenof Milwaukee were to be met - and they meant business. The men who are at the headand front of the project are strong and worthy citizens, who will see that everydollar put into their hands will be spent in the interest of the railway. It remainsfor the people of the town to say whether it shall pass through the village or uponthe other side. Sixteen thousand dollars could not be invested in a better or moreprofitable way than in subscriptions to the stock of a good railway. The Prairiedu Chien Railway, which cost $8,000,000, now stands on the books of the Milwaukeeand St. Paul Railway Company at $16,000,000, and pays good dividends on that amount.The speaker thanked the audience for their patience, and urged them to remember andponder upon what had been said by the gentlemen who had preceded him.

REMARKS BY MAYOR PHILLIPS
Mayor Phillips was introduced to the people by the Hon. Fred Horn. He said that hehad received rather an unexpected call to visit Cedarburg while engaged at his officein the morning, and was glad to be present to enter his hearty endorsement of thegentlemen who had preceded him. He had not as thoroughly posted himself upon themerits of the route as he should have done, and introduced Supervisor Walters asone more conversant with the project. Mayor Phillips spoke in German.

SUPERVISOR WALTER' SPEECH
Supervisor Walter gave the audience an outlines of the proposition to the CountyBoard of Milwaukee. Here the subject had been referred to a special committee ofwhich he happened to be a member. They held a meeting on Friday afternoon, withoutarriving at a definite conclusion. The committee would report at the meeting of theBoard. He did not feel authorized to state what the decision would be. Mr. Walterspoke in German, and closed his remarks with an anecdote, in which he was an actorin 1839. He had been out hunting, and while sitting on a log to rest, heard a mancrying as if his heart would break. On investigation he found a countryman sittingby the roadside blubbering because his team was bemired. Laughing at so ridiculousa scene, he stirred the countryman to action, and, with the aid of a sapling as alever, soon had the fellow on his way whistling at his good fortune. He asked theaudience to apply the moral. If they desired to prosper they must put their shouldersto the wheel. the happy manner in which Mr. Walter gave the anecdote, and his quaintway of stating its moral, elicited great applause.

CONCLUSION
Upon the close of Mr. Walter's remarks the meeting broke up, the party adjourningto the hotel, where a short time was spent in social intercourse, after which theyrepaired to their carriages, which were seen speeding on their way to the city. Allexpressed themselves heartily pleased with the trip and their kind reception by thepeople of Cedarburg.

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(The Milwaukee Sentinel, 6 February 1865)

RAILROAD MEETING.
According to previous notice, a large number of the business men interested in thewater powers on Cedar Creek and the Milwaukee River, met with other citizens, fromthe the southern part of Ozaukee county, in the village of Cedarburg, on the eveningof Wednesday, the 1st day of February inst.: and on motion
Frederic Hilgen was appointed Chairman, and P. F. Kaehler, Secretary.
The chairman and others having stated the object of the meeting, a committee of three,consisting of Messrs. J. W. Horn, Wm. Vogenitz and James Boyd, was appointed to reportresolution, who brought in the following:

Resolved, That the citizens of the southern part of Ozaukee county do herebyrecommend, that if a railroad should be built from Milwaukee to some point northwestof our portion of this county, that the water powers at and near Cedar Creek andMilwaukee river be made a point through which said railroad should go; that the waterpowers about here are second only to those on the Fox river, in this state, and avery large business would be done on said road from this neighborhood; that the railline to Fond du Lac from Milwaukee strikes only one mile west of the village of Cedarburg,and that a better or profitable route could be found to make it a paying road.

Resolved, That we most respectfully and ______ request the Legislature goto dispose of the Land Grant given the State of Wisconsin _____ ____ as to benefitthe State and especially the lake shore and northwestern counties, who are as yetwithout railroad facilities, and when we take into consideration, that the northeasterncounties through which the Chicago and Northwestern road now runs, will be underthe control of a monopoly, unless that road is intersected at some point leadingby another route from Milwaukee, it becomes their duty, and is the interest of theinhabitants of that portion, to assist ___ in building the road from Milwaukee.

Resolved, That our Representatives in the Legislature are requested to actin conformity of the views expressed in the foregoing resolutions.

After a short discussion, said resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the meetingadjourned for further action until Monday evening next at seven o'clock at the sameplace.

FREDERIC HILGEN, Ch'n.

P. F. KAEHLER, Sec'y.

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