Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-03-21

says about me personally, and about th
house Of Rhea, Smith q Co, and th
steamer Laura L. Davis, although u
Major stumbles as to facts, might pass uI
answered but for the fact that be seeks i
his article to prejudice a great publ
measure by trying 10 make the impression
that it is merely a private affair. Thi
species Of debate, however, is the usual on
adopted by men who are in q tight plac,
and who have the facts and figures agoinS
them.
But to his article. Mai. Anderson ha
been told time ami again tina
the house Of Rhea, Smith s. Co
have not, nor ever had, a dollars interes
in the steamer Laura L. Davis. Tn
statements then made were true, and ar
sill true. He was told, and it is true, tina
the boat was built by Capt. o. W. Davis
myself and two sons, but the firm haC
nothing to do with il, nor have they We
any interest in her. L am not writing anC
never have written entirely in the interes
Of the Grangers, but l insist that the dis
examinations practiced by the railroads
against Tennessee products, and in favol
Of foreign producers, does terribly and ruin,
ously damage the prosperity of the agricul-
tural interest of the State. 1 believe most
| Changers are agriCuiturists, but, at the
same time, this injury attaches more OF
less to all other interests Of the people,
whether Changers or not.
So far as the charge that l am
willing that the farmers along each
line Of the railroad should pay
local rates, etc, is concerned,
the record is against the Major. While
had the honor of being a member Of the
Legislature in 1S69-7O-71, 1 at the first
session introduced a bill in the House Of
Representatives upon this subject, which
passed that body on final reading by a near
ly unanimous vote. II went to the Senate,
but never reached its third reading in that
body. At a subsequent session, / hunted
up the bill among the Senate papers, and
introduced il again, the Judiciary Commit
tees Of both houses having decided that,
inasmuch as the new Constitution had
gone into effect, all unfinished business
was dead matter. The bill again passed
the House and was sent TO the Senate, but
il was late in the session before it reached
its third reading. Barely q quorum was
present, aud although a majority Of the
Senators in attendance voted for the meas
ure, it did not receive the thirteen
votes required under the Constitution,
and consequently failed. This bill can be
found in the old papers Of the Senate, if
not destroyed, and will show that ] then
provided for and protected local shippers.
have always insisted this should be done.
Maj. Anderson does not, nor can he, dis
pute the substantial correctness Of the
figures given by me as 10 rates. His long
lists are not facts OS they eIiSt but merely
SltppOSitiOUS cases, except so far as he gives
the rates from St. Louis to Atlanta as IS
cents and Nashville to Atlanta &c.; St.
Louis to Macon Csc, Nashville to Macon
4Tc.; ST. Louis to West Point 65c., Nash
vile to West Point 47c.; st. Louis to
Montgomery SOC, Nashville to MOntgOme-
ry BE; st. Louis to Opelika Csc, Nash
vide to Opelika 47c., and their respective
differences. All the balance are imagina-
r, have no existence, and can have, Is a
whole, no existence until the railroads are
forced 70 carry Tennessee and other grain
from Nashville TO those points as cheaply
as they carry St. Louis grain from here to
the same points.
Maj. Anderson has certainly made an al
most fatal mistake in his argument, when
be lays down this proposition: "a Southern
buye-, before purchasing Western produce,
takes into account the price in the various
Western markets, then the rate to each
point, and~buys 10 the market from which
he can lay it down in his store at the low
est figures" Now, here he adopts exactly
our own views, and we have insisted all
the time on this principle. Then, does it
not follow that, il It costs from to S cents
per bushel more 10 get our Tennessee grain
to any given pOin5 south than the railroads
over which it passes charge on grain COM
ing from other places and carried over the
same road from here to the same
point, the value Of the home grain
is lowered the . to S cents per bushel?
Now, remember, the cause Of complaint is
that the railroads charge more freight on
our own products from here South than on
foreign products coming here and going
over the same road South, provided it
comes from and is going to any Green Line
point.
Maj. Anderson has, think, made an
other mistake in stating that the steamer
Laura l.. Davis has brought grain from st.
Louis TO Nashville at 125 cents Ter 100 lbs,
while she charged u cents per 100 lbs. for
grain along the Cumberland River; or, at
least / understood him to mean that she so
carried grain. 1t is true she brought grain
from st. Louis az l2a cents per 100 lbs, but
so far as l know or can hear the rate on
Cumberland River grain was 10 to 125
cents per bag, the bags weighing usually
from lis to 100 lbs. At the very same
time, Maj. AndersOn's road, instead of try
ing to preserve the difference in favor Of
Nashville, was, in connection with the
Anchor line Of boats, running from st
Louis to Memphis, and perhaps below,
bringing or Offering to bring freights from
st. Louis to Nashville for only 10 cents per
100 lbs, though this was in order to crush
out the boat, the railroad getting 5 cents
per 100 lbs for receiving and loading
the grain at Hickman, KY, and
hauling it a distance Of III miles, while,
if it had been grain raised on the line Of
the Northwestern road, he would not have
hauled it twenty miles, perhaps, for that
price.
do not want to annoy the public with
much further personal matter. MAJ. An
derSOn spent much more Of his time upon
me than was necessary. His deductions
generally Of the personal character are
useless and mistakes. might perhaps retail
late and say that he, because it is understood
that he owns stock in the elevator at John
sOnville, was sinking every other interest to
make his stO-k in it valuable, but / don't
propose to do so. don't even know that
he owns such stock; and if he did, l still
would not be willing to believe that he, a
high-minded, honorable man, would be in
fueUCed by such an interest to do damage
to the public TO the promotion of his
private welfare. | might urge that, al
though he is the owner Of a farm, vet he is
a railroad agent, being employed and paid
by the railroad, and as such, bound TO do
what his superiOrs desire, right or wrong;
but will say no such thing. / have talked
with him time and again, and while 1 think
him very much mistaken as to the tact as to
whether his road is discriminating against
our own people, yet l will do him the JUS
tice to say that be appears to be in earnest.
l have no charge, of a sOrdid or hyperTiti-
cal character, 10 make against him.
One more point andI believe have done
and that is that Maj. Anderson gives us
the best reason perhaps that has yet been
given why the Legislature should take ac-
ton in the premises, He insists that he
has been standing up manfully in all rail-
road conventions, etc, for home interests
and has done all he possibly could for our
protection. Now, it is well known that he
is an efficient railroad man and has indOm-
table energy and industry; and, if with all
his talents, energy and industry he has
only succeeded T. preventing grain from
Mount Vernon, Indiana, reaching Macon,
Georgia, at - 1-2 cents per 100 lbs less
H. aa.aH-