Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-10-17
WHOLE NO. 2,59G.


baltimore Manufacturers Record.
|, 1t is intimated that the war upo
: the railroads will be resumed in Mis-
sissippi at the coming session of tl
!, Legislature. We hope this is a rais
take. Surely Mississippi is not in
, position to antagOnize the mighties
power for the development of a coun
try now known. The influence OF rall
roads in the development of countr,
is almost beyond calculation. II i.
utterly useless for any State or section
TO hope fer prosperity, for immigra.
tion, and for the development OF lis
natural resources, be they ever so great
without adequate transportation faciIi-
ties. Natural wealth, however bound
less, whether it be in vast forests of
magnificent timber, in exhaustless beds
OF coal and iron, in a productive soil,
IN genial CLINE, or in all combined,
will be OF comparative little direct pc
cuniary value unless there are sufficient
transportation facilities to open IN
these resources to the business world.
The South has all these advantages
but what will they avail her il, l,y
antagonizing railroads, they cannot bo
utilized. The industrial and agricul-
tural growth of the South since 1880
has been great, it is true, but we have
only made a very small beginning
when we compare the results already
accomplished with the magnificent
possibilities OF the future. But if these
posi- Utilities are to become realities,
encouragement must be given to the
railroad interests that capitalists, local
as well as foreign, will feel secure in /
investing money in new railroad en-
terprises. How can il be expected
that men having any judgment what
ever viii put their money into any
enterprise over which they can have
no control. Surely man would be
lacking in sense who would invest his
money in building railroad in any
oil the two or three Southern States |
which have shown such decided hos
tility to all railroads, so long as the |
iniquitous laws against this class OF
property are permitted to remain on
the otatute books.
"We invite you to come and spend |
your millions in building new roads;
In improving old ones; in opening up /
territory heretofore without facilities
for travel or traffic; in causing the de
yelopment of coal and iron mines; the
building of furnaces, factories and mills
OF all kinds; we invite you TO give us
these blessings that will furnish en-
ploymcnt to thousands of labOrers,
skilled and unskilled, that will enable
our young men to find profitable em-
pioyment at home, instead OF going
West, as in tho past; that will add to
the population and wealth of our State;
that will furnish home market for
our farmers, and thus help to relieve
them from the curse OF the all-cotton
system; these and many other blessings
we ask you 10 give us, is the invitation
extended by the South to railroad capi
.alists; "but we wish you to under
stand" say some OF the Southern States, ,
that, while we ask all this at your
hands, we will do all in our power to
for good; we will take the
control OF your property from you; we ,
will force you to adopt rates that will !
,e unremunerative, and from the de- {
:ision of few politicians, good or bad
IS they may be, you shall have no APP ,
zeal; in other words, we will endeavor
q create hostile feeling against you !
md your property, and to make your {
Investment an Improbable one This
5 really the coalition of affairs in the /
South. Georgia has tried il, and her {
,eople have found out 90 their sorrow
hat their arbitrary laws have kept
Millions OF dollars out of the State.
tennessee adopted the same policy,
,ut soon saw that big mistake had :
,een made South Carolina tried it, !
nd the enactment Of her laws on that q
ubject prevented the expenditure OF
100000 or 50 ,000,O01 that hnd already :
,een secured for building n railroad !
N which work WAS TO have been COM !
supced just at the time her railroad
was established.
Is il not time for the South to see
he wisdom oi offering encouragement
o capitalists TO build railroads within c
Ter b,.rAer5 and 10 regard them MS her Z
TeHcst benefactors. rather than 70 Z
rive them away by uniriendly and !
Unjust legislation 2