Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1881-10-20

We publish below an extract
from Gov, Vance's mastery ad-
dress to the People Of North Caro-
lima:
Railroad companies are charter
ed for the purpose of accommoda-
ting the public by the cheap and
rapid transportation ofthe products
of industry. Their construction
requires vast outlars of money-so
vast as to be beyond the reach OF
individuals, and even many com>
munities. The unequal distr1ou-
ton of wealth causes an accunnlu
ton of capital in our great com
mercial centres. If wisely and le-
ultimately applied, this is one OF
the greatest aids to Commercial
prosperity but is accompanied
with an immense power to intlict
injury. For want of more benefi :
cent channels of investment. this
capital in the present age has
shown a tendency to combine for
purposes of profit in the most dan
gerous and unassailable forms OF
monopoly. Such combination
will purchase all the lines Of rail
way in State or within any given
territory, and by shutting off all
competition hold the people OF
that territory practically at their
mercy: This is as complete mo-
nopoly as any ever granted by the
Kings of France or England, for if
the communities thus endangered
are unable to build competing
lines Of transportation, 70 enact
ment of any Legislature or exclu-
sive grant of any sovereign Oh
ar h could more cffec :
tually forbid them helping
themselves. Such Is now the con
dition OF the greater part of the
people of North Caroline. A cor
poration chartered by neighbor
ing State called the Richmond IL
Danville Railroad Company, hav
ing procured control of the great
artery of our State commerce, the
North Carolina Railroad. have gone
on adding road after road, until
they have secured control of the
Western North Carolina the North
western North Carolina, the Char
lotte, Columbia and Augusta, the
Atlanta and Charlotte Airline, the
Spartanburg and Asheville, ths
Spartangurg and Union, and the
Virginia Midland, and are said 10
be treating for the remainder iu
this region. By these means they
dominate the only remaining road
by which all that vast region west
of Raleigh can find a way to the
sea for It's products And now 6
region Of country, embracing in
North Carolina alone population,
Of more than 100000 souls, o sat
nothing of the region sin adjoinina
States, is under an 'astriction' as
TO everything they sell abroad and
everything they buy from abroad
Three men, or at most p lialf doz-
en-, compel these 100000 by force
Of circumstances as rigid as positive
law, to ship and re- ship everything
by their lines of transportation a
tneir own prices. No smulture,
'tbirlage' or 'thrald M of the Mid
die Ages was more inexora BILE
Everywhere our corn has to bt
ground at the lords mill
A DEAN ON The COMMONWEALTH
Not a bale Of our cotton, not
pound of our tobacco, not a barre
of our naval stores, not a bushel o
our wheat, can be sent abroad tha
these lords do not first sit In coun-
sci and determine how much there
OF shall be theirs. Nor can a sacl
Of salt, or of coffee, or a pound O
iron, or anpthing' else that our peo
pie need from abroad, be broueh
into them without a levy of thei
'multrire. One hundred and sew.
enty Senators and Representative
of the people meet biennially in tn
city OF Raleigh, and under the so.
lemnities of an oath and the respon
slbility of an account to an outrag
ed people if they do wrong, lev,
with the utmost impartiality an,
justice $500,000 annually upon tn
people for the support of the gov
ernment this half dozen mer
without oath and no responsibility
to anybody, in a distant city, with
out the pride of cit1zensEip, fror
time to time sit down and levy
tax of more than three times tia