Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-03
NC Rate War.

Editor Morning Nel1S: quite agree
with you that the Georgia Central should
promptly accept the gage of battle ten
dered by the East Tennessee, Virginia
and Georgia Railroad. The fact that the
latter is ''owned in blocks by capitalists
affords no evidence of it's superior strength
and ability to carry on the war. On the
contrary, that very fact has made the war
necessary on the part of the East
Tennessee, virginia and Georgia
Road. Its entire line is understood
to be heavily mortgaged, and
its stockholders, seeing that it
was not likely to improve in financial
status while it remained under restric-
tiOns of pool, have decided in fit of
desperation to break the pool. take the
chances, and run the risk of loOsing more
at present in the hope of Gripping its ad-
yersaries for greater gain in the future.
Do Georgians know what this really
means! North Georgia, perhaps, is not
so much interested in the contest. and
hence leading journals in that section
may be found to champion the East Ten
nessee, Virginia and Georgia, but the
great force of the blow will fall upon
Southern and Southeast Georgia,
1t means no less than the commercial
capture of all Southern Georgia by the
port of Norfolk in Virginia, and. if sue
cessful, will ultimately reduce and i'm
pOVerlsh the southern ports of the At
lantic. Let the East Tennessee. Virginia
and Georgia Road but gain the advantage
over the Georgia Central, ands what will
keep it out Of Southwest Georgia and
Southern Alabama? Itmay be said to be
already on the way there, through the
completion of the Columbus and Rome
Railroad, and the prospective
Columbus and Albany Road.
If the Georgia Central should
find its Southwestern branches a
burden in the future. could it be expected
to hold on to them? Has not the Bruins
wick and Western just passed into the
hands of its more powerful neighbor? The
after 1nures to the benefit of the Georgia
ports, and was therefore highly proper
acquisition, but could the same be said of
the gobbling of the Southwestern Road at
Macon or Fort Valley, by the East Ten
nessee, Virginia and Georgia? The
recent complaint of the HaWkinsViIle
people and their arrangement with Sa-
Vannah for a line of steamers on the Alta
maha and Ocmulgee rivers will
soon be put to a severe test. The
very facts alleged by them will be
action of the East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia, and the same will equally serve
for the early destruction of their hopes
from the new arrangement, unless they
have more pluck than is generally eX-
hibited on such occasions. If the East
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Road
has made up its mind to ''cut under" az
we think, it will not so readily yield the
stake it is evidently playing for. AS
the pooling machinery was designed
to preserve the equilibrium of rates
and do justice to competing lines,
withdrawal from its equitable
adjustments cannot but mean ali injury
to competitors that may be found possible
under the laws of trade. Taking this view
of the case, the people of Southern Geor-
gia will have to consider whether they are
prepared to have their own home lines of
transportation crippled or swallowed up.
and their ports to lie idle, while they be-
come tributary and their trade drifts
away to aggrandiZe the port of foreign
State. The temporary advantage
of ruinously low rates ALWAYS
resorted to in securing the
confidence of the people, is not to be
weighed against the perpetual disad-
vantage that must follow the triumph of
power and destruction of all competition.
What is the advantage of to-day worth if
1t brings greater disadvantages to-
morrow? Does not every sensible man
hAOh POoibANOlg budb AOsluB IdLGS can De
maintained by any railroad or other insti-
tuition only very short time, and that
what is lost in a rate war will be made
up after the war is over by increased
rates. If the East Tennessee, Virginia
and Georgia Railroad is to be a
bic sing to Georgia, as the Legis-
lature must have designed when it grant
ed the charter to Mr.. Seney, and not a
mere drain upon her resources, to fatten
Northern capitalists and build up other
States, it must be held in check to legiti-
mate competition alongside of our other
great railway lines, which have been
found quite as useful to the people as il
can ever hope to be. To do this Georgians
must stand by their home ports and their
home institutions, assured that all the
advantages of transportation they hope
for or can ever desire will come in the
near future through legitimate COMPETE
ton, the only channel that can ever be
made permanent and satisfactory.
Tnn1yrIS