The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-02-15

| ly Intensified. Any gentleman familiar WIFI
| railways knows that dividends are easily pre-
duced, II the president and superintendent
will overlook the wear and tear OF the rolling
stock and the condition of the roadway. II
those gentlemen propose TO operate this
road on lease, and the product OF the road
| fairly stated enable them TO pay The promised
dividend, then the intrinsic business OF the
road must furnish the surplus means, as the
gentleman who addressed you yesterday II
this intent frankly admitted that the road was
in fine order, and had been well man
aged. If, however, the money Is moi
made from the fair net earnings of The
business of the year, you have plenty o.
examples before you that your property Will
/ be returned to you minus In value at least
| the sums you have received for the lease, and
minus also the loss of business which may
have been diverted from your road to the cor.
poration which you were stupid enough to en-.
| trust with your interest. The celebrated Fisk,
of New York, engrafted this system on the
Erie Railway, and whereas heavy losses and
frauds have been the fruits of such policy
to the stockholders of That road, the loss 10
the other parties connected Herewith are
equally disastrous. Indeed, Capitalization in
railway property, with some exceptions, Is
as disastrous to the public Interest as political
Capitalization has proved to Il -iVll rights o1
the people. On one hand bloated railway
| kings over impoverished stockholders. and
| corrupt demagogues over disfranchised
people.
We were actually threatened yesterday by
| the gentleman from Georgia, that unless we
calmly submitted to have our property put into
| the custody of persons adverse TO the interest
of this State and city, 10 be controlled even by
an adverse railway, that Mr.. Moses Taylor, q
citizen of New York, would coerce the meas
ure by the use of fortune of thirty millions.
! Now, Mr.. President, have the honor of know
ing Mr.. Taylor; he is gentleman OF high char.
acter, and worthy of his good fortune. am
glad he has seen ft to invest In the stock OF
this railway, or in any other property In our
State; but I protest against the use of his
name by any one, In so vulgar threat, that he
would SO far forget his own generous feelings
and bis native modesty as to Haunt IN the lace
of our poor people, In this time of their ad-
versity, this thirty millions as medium
of terror to compel US to surrender the Gus
tody of our own property and the franchises
from our own State. [Applause.] God knows
our people have enough to encounter at home
from the corruptions and frauds of State
government, beggaring them by taxation
and overthrowing their credit paralyzing
their industry, by an administration which Is
without example among civilized people.
All this say, Mr.. President, ls quite enough,
without the threat of humiliation from the
concentrated capital Of our wealthy sister
States. And I cannot refrain from adding
that we hardly expected this raid made on our
interest by our brethren of Georgia, with
whom we are 30 intimately connected, and
with whose citizens We are In such lively SYM
pathy, not only In business relations, but
under the burdens of common political su(-
fering.
Suppose, Mr.. President, few gentlemen Of
Broad street, In connection with millionaire
of the North, should g. over to Savannah and
propose to lease their leading bank for term
Of years, promising their stockholders diVi-
dend of five rer cent, at a time when that
bank, for prudential reasons, had omitted
divident because of some heavy loss In ex-
change? Would not the stockholders express
as.onlshment at even the proposition Would
they not fear that the Charleston interest
might discriminate against Savannah in their
discounts, and after having used the bank TO
direct business to Charleston, hand 1t back to
the stockholders shorn "of lis best customers,
and ils field of operation denuded of Its best
Interests"
Railway and banks are the instruments Of
commerce, and should be managed primarily
for the interest OF their respective fields OF
whose chartered franchises they enjoy. And
this duty, honestly and intelligently dis.
charged towards the locality in which they
are respectively located, will produce ample
profit to the stockholders.
1t is not true, as many would fain suppose,
LnaG even lUulV1QudS Cdu uO dS lucy pIcao0
with their own. am no business dreamer or
poet, but recognize still that this right is
limited to man's duty as citizen, and his
capital cannot properly be used adversely to
the community in which he lives. 1t Is true
one has some difficulty in defining the exact
line of duty and Interest, yet the extreme is
easily found. In case of war no personal in
terest justifes aiding the enemy; and have
confidence that no Carolinian will aid In any
attempt to overthrow the commercial interest
of this city and of the reflex advantages of the
State. The Erie Canal, that great original
artery Of the commerce Of the City OF New
York, first established the commercial su-
premacy of that city, and the accumulation of
capital there created the Empire State OF New
York.
Charleston ia the metropolis of this State,
and the South Carolina Railroad, trust, will
ere long Justify our hopes that the commercial
prosperity of the one will but be the product OF
the agricultural wealth Of the other, and that
our great artery of transit from the sea to the
mountains will be as profitable to the stock
holders as Its judlcious management Will be
productive of success TO the Industry Of our
people.
Mi. President, have but word to say, and
I close. Compare the City Of Savannah with
Charleston after the war, and the field OF the
Georgia railway with our own.
Charleston was mass OF ruins, and her
peoples population almost literally without
means to avert starvation. Savannah came
out of the war In better condition than 1t
went In, because filed with cotton, which was
sold!at enormous prices. Her aggregate capital
for commercial purposes was practically In
creased, aud commercial men and their capi-
tal and interests gravilated towards Savannah,
as they always do where these are found.
The Georgia railway, not only equipped but
in order, was ready to reap the harvest which
these advantages presented. we'll recolect
when your president fist called on me In
New York on the subject of financial Degotia-
tions to reinState the road, which hardly ex-
listed as means of transportation, even the
road, in great part, almost obllterated; and
the bonded debt, with twenty per cent. gold
interest due on IT, was we'll calculated to ap-
pal man Of even more energy and hopeful
ness that we all know he possesses.
His honest aud enthusiastic statements I'M
pressed capitalists in his favor, and his skill
and economy In rebuilding the road and ope-
rating 1t has relieved 1t from financial embar-
rassmen,, so that to-day you have valuable
property almost created out of the energy and
good Judgment of your president and his able
board OF directors; and you must, as do, re-
gard them as tar better custOdians OF your
property and the directors of your interests
Than any bedy of men who would approach
YOU In the way of mere speculation. There
fore, when the rich way faring stranger, with
his thirty millions, visits our friends In Geor-
gia, let him be financially entertained by food
oil their own providing; but beg them to spare
our pet eve lamb which has 90 long been nur-
tured in our bosom. Loud applause,1