The Tipton Advertiser

The Wilton Railroad. A late number of the Muscatine Daily Journal contains a communication on the subject of the Cedar Valley. After speaking of a railroad up the valley the writer says, "The citizens of Muscatine are deeply interested in this project, and should the citizens of Old Cedar complete their connection to Wilton it will give us easy access to a large portion of the best territory in the State. We wish speedy success to this noble effort." This is decidedly cool, and would be refreshing in dog days. The citizens of Tipton and vicinity undertook to build a railroad from Tipton to the C. I. & N. road, and Muscatine undertook to build from Tipton to Wilton. We commenced, last winter to raise $50,000 to help Muscatine to carry out her undertaking and we could and would have done it, but the Muscatine folks would not do anything at all to complete the road. They illustrated the fable of the dog in the manger to perfection, and we fear they will meet a dog's fate. They now ask that "the citizens of Old Cedar" complete the road to Wilton, while they hold the road in and refuse to complete it themselves or let anybody else do it. Surely they are "deeply interested" but not desperate enough to get into their pockets.

As the writer of the communication referred to says, the people on the proposed line west of us are at work. If they succeed where will Muscatine be? The natural advantages of Muscatine are first rate, but if her citizens have not the sagacity and enterprise to improve their present facilities other localities will step in and reap the harvest which they might have enjoyed.