Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1851-03-07
For the Journal.

Al EssRs. EDIToRsSonle use one, writing over the
signature Of StocEholders,' IN the Wilmington Com
1aerciI of 9Th February, has made an assault upon
myself and others who have dared to express an
opinion upon the subject Of freghts, the injustice
and gnity of whose remarks are only equaled by
the falacy of his assertions and the impotency OIL
arguments to sustain them.
He opens his destructive fire, as he supposes, under
the following general orders
We have noticed with little surprise the several at
upon the President and Directors of the Whining
ton and Raleigh Railroad Company in the Commercial and
particularly by Dstiler, in the North Carolina
Telegraph By their showing, these gentlemen whose in
terests are intimately identified with the welfare of the Road
the of Wilmington pursuing course diametr
cally opposed to the prosperity of both"
! From the above it may be seen that this plural
gentleman Mr.. Stockholders set out to induce the
impression,n if possible, that had in my article
in the Telegraph of 31st January, made an attack
" upon the President and Directors of the Road"
challenge him to prove, from the article, that have
done any such thing, by implication, unless
they are de .facto the Company. had supposed the
Stockholders in general in special meeting repre-
senting constitutional majority of the stock, alone
had the right the porer to authorize such changes
as calculated to affect seriously and preudcially
the interests of the Road and if this superstition is
not correct why should the President, in his
port to the last annual meeting of the Stockholders
have sad this article Rosin is carried at less than
the actual cost of transportation to the Company "
It is clearly evident from this statement, made By
the President to the Stockholders at their {" last
nual meeting that he the President, then believed
the power rested solely Nth them to make the change
or not and friend {" Stockholders must l think,
Lo-, loo,, IL
he would have withheld this part of the Presidents
report, which is proof positive that such not
only the Presidents views and understanding of the
whole subject but that he had officially brought it
to the notice of the Stockholders in their legislative
capacity, and commended it, as strongly as he could
: to their consideration and action.
! Now can any be so dull not to that, af-
ter charging me particularly" with having attack
ed the President and Directors of the Road, Stock
holders" openly and wantonly assails them himself,
by bringing forward the Presidents report to prove
that the subject of increase of had been
properly laid before the Stockholders at the proper
time, and showing that they passed the recon-
mendaton, and the whole subject, without respect
full notice, by informing the public that e they the
President and Directors fit to increase the rates
on Rosin 2? He first proves, if he proves anything,
that the President and Directors had no right to
change the rates Of and then shows that they
done it upon their own responsibility, after the at
tenton of the Stockholders had been called to the
subject, and after they had refused to authorize the
change or increase recommended
And now, Mr.. Stockholders" who is it that has
made the " several attacks upon the President and
Directors of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad
Company?' By whose ''showing' is it that e these
gentlemen, whose interests are Intimately identified
with the welfare of the Road and the town of Will
mington, are pursuing course Numerically oppo-
sed to the prosperity of both % And whose testi-
mony is it that the public to believe the Stock
holders attached little Importance to the state
ments of the President in reference to carrying Ro-
sin, to regard them with the consideration of
perfect silence and inaction ! Well may the Presi-
dent and his incompatible advocate and executioner
Stockholders exclaim qOho hath believed report
This gentleman insists that one class of custom
ers should not be taxed for the benefit Of another
while hensinuates that the friends of reduction
not willing the freight should be reduced on any
other article save Rosin. Except upon the same
principle by which he arrives at all his other false
deductions cannot conceive how he came to this
conclusion in reference to my views, after read
ing my article in the Telegraph, and on account OF
which he lavishes me the unqualified praises of
his stereotyped epthets which, by the way comport
most admirably with his dignity and position.
He says, "we cannot conceive why Distillers on
the line of the Road should be highly favored
than all others of its customers-or why other spe-
cies of freight should be taxed to enable the Road to
carry Resin at rate which it could not otherwise
afford" He does not show nor can he even show
that g Dstillers the line of the Road have yet
been thus highly favored y he prove that
"species of freight" or for less than paying rate
His figures prove as conclusivey that the is
made of green cheese as that the Road ever lost mo
e ney by carrying Resin.
II | saw it stated in the Commercial and | have an
idea upon whose authority the statement was based
that the average cost of transportation Railroads
in the United States, about q cents per ton pei
mile. This estimate, of course includes all kinds
freightthe cost of heavy freight is, therefore,
tainly much less per ton than light freight The
of carrying Naval Stores this Road cannot exceed
" cents per ton per mile; yet it is fact, that from
Stricklands Depot, 474 miles from Wilmington
within very small fraction of cents per ton PEE
mile is charged for carrying Spirits Turpentine AMI
o about cents per ton per mile for Rosin. On tn
l. Western Railroad, from Albany to Boston, distanc
of 22O miles, 184 cents per barrel is charged for
e ryng -four the freight having been reduced tina
!; article from 81 cents