The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-08
GEN. ALEXANDER EXPLAINS IT.

| 6e IellS why the Mallory Line Was
Withdrawn from Port Royal.
Gen Alexander, who Is usually unrufled
BY criticisms Of the Centrars management,
was in nowise back ward, when a MORNING
News reporter called yesterday, TO speak
] plainly upon the recent criticisms in an Au-
| gusta paper as to the CentraI's attitude TO-
ward the Port Royal aud Augusta road.
Gen. Alexander says that the recent COM
ments in the Angus Nel5s relating to the
| withdrawal Of the Mallory line of steamers
| from Port Royal contain so N Ich of fancy
and absurdlty. and seem to him TO be so
calculated TO injure rather than to benefit
Augusta, that he has no objection 20 state
the plain facts, which can be substantiated
| II Questioned, and which, he sars, ought TO
allay any serious apprehension that Augusta
IS likely to suffer any injury from the with
drawal of the Mallory line.
Gen Alexander says that in the first place
the interest OF the Central Railroad Com
pany in the Port Royal and Augusta is so
large that it would be an act Of buinesss
folly for the company TO fail in any effort
to give to the Port Royal road every posi-
bic pound Of freight which its location and
facilities enable it to handle satisfactorily.
The "surmise that an arrangement has
been made with the Central system, giving
Brunswick TO the Mallory steamers, If they,
in turn, will give up Port r )yal," and the
hint that the Central has already threat
ened to put boats in the Gulf unless the
Mallory line withdraws from Port Royal"
Gen. Alexander says, is equally untrue and
absurd.
And you have made no effort to dis
courage the Mallory line from continuing
its Port Royal serviceT
"Of course not. On the contrary said
Gen. Alexander, ''a special messenger was
sent to New York to endeavor to persuade
the Mallorys to continue the service, and
even to offer a larger division of through
freight earnings, or any inducement which
could be asked by any reasonable person.
What vas their replyG'
"Tho only condition upon which the NAL
lorys would consent to consider the ques-
ton of continuing the service was that the
Port Royal road should guarantee a larger
profit to the line than it bad in prospect at
Brunswick, and the latter being a larger
city with larger back country tributary to
it, it was, of course, simply impossible on
the part of the railroad to give any such a
guarantee IL would have been financial
suicide TO have done So
There Is another reason why it would
have been suicidal to carry out such
policy, and the reason which led to the
withdrawal of the Mallory line That fact
is that the Augusta merchants would not
patronize the line to any considerable ex-
tent, even if it were continued. Proof of
this is found in the record of what they did
during the continuance Of the line For
instance, during the month of last October
the latest returns have, out of total bust
ness from eastern cities of SIS, 1873 u, done
by seven different routes to Augusta, the
Port Roy al route got but 1881 IS, only about
3 per cent, and this" said Gen. Alexander,
is about fair average Of the year: but
about per cent Now do you think the
Central would consider the absurd idea Of
putting line of steamships on tho Gulf in a
retalatory spirit for less than 81, 900 worth
OF business in years and is any further
reason necessary TO explain the withdrawal
Of the Mallory line from business2 and how
much IS Augusta injured thereby? and how
much IS the Central or any one else bene-
titedf II any one is to blame, is it not
simply and solely the Augusta merchant
who has caused the withdrawals
Gen. Alexander, after moments hesita-
| ton, proceeded to answer the main question
after this fashion. He said After oil
the Augusta merchants are not so much to
blame as the Augusta paper may imagine
They are simply wise after their kind. and
prefer to avail themselves of the best service
in their reach rather than to accept an
inferior one in hopes of its finally
overtaking the other BY Port
but once a week, and only to New York,
By Savannah he has had service to New
York four times a week, once a week to
Philadelphia, and once a week to Boston.
BY Charleston ne had service twice or
three times week, and by Norfolk and
rail lines almost daily; therefore the Au-
gusta merchant abandoned the Port Royal
route, and when he abandoned it Messrs.
Mallory naturally did the same, and
neither the Port Royal and Augusta nor
the Central could afford TO keep it up. The
reason is obvious. These two roads are in
sharp competiti with all the other lines,
not only in Augusta but in every city and
town from the Savannah river to the Mis-
sissippi, and even beyond the Mississippi
valley to the Rocky Mou iteins, and it be-
hooves us to waste no strength in vain
efforts, but to keep along with the process
sion and strive to be abreast of orr Compel
TORS