The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-12-10
GOV. RUSSELL ON
The SO YEAR LEASE.
Ne GIVES MS OPINIONS ON THAT DEAL
AND ALSO ON TINE A. AND
n. c. STEAL.

Ne GIVES MS OPINIONS ON THAT oeA,
AND ALSO ON THe A. AND
n. c. STEAL.
Some Raeis aud Figaro Ihs, Ar. Mot an d
1stsr~ssiES-Is His Opisisa IA. state q.
Gsssing Bss el- 600 . N..r on. rnr,.
Anlios ID D,ilsr IEs.sfm.ns
Governor, elect Russell was iu,.r.
viewed by the Wilmington M.,s.u.
ger last week on some inpor'su,
questions. HIS opiniors ar. her.
prest nted:
They say you changed your grou nd
on the silver qas sfion alter tie =, +.
Louis Convention
Il do not claim sbsolut. cor is
teucy on that. However. isaid time
ard time again IN the campaign that
| did not agree with the s.. Louis
declaration in favor of the gold
Standard"
Will you give your views with re-
gard to the lease of the North Caro-
lima Railroad and the Atlantic and
North Carolina Railroad ?
"Yes, l have opinions as 10 both,
but they are not the result Of clos.
examination and mature thought.
lfsnybody can convince me tha, they
are erroneous will change or mod
ify or confess error. The State owns
three millions out of four millions Of
the capital stock Of the North Caro-
lima Railrood. Unlike mcst rail
roads there is no mortgage or in
cumbrance on it. To raise this three
millions which the State paid for
this stock, it issued its own 6 per
cent bonds and pledged the stock as
collateral TO secure the boz dholdeis
There are now outstanding Of these
bonds about twenty-eight hundrt d
thousand dollars. In 1872 thus rail
road company leased itself to the
Richmond and Danville (now the
Southern) Railroad Company for a
rental of per cent on the four nil
lions of stock. BY this the State got
6 per cent on its three millions and
the private stockholders 6 per cent
on their one million. 50 that for
twenty years the State has been re-
ceiving $3.50 900 year for its stock
and paying out $lGS, 900 a year to
the bondholders, leaving say $l2 200
year, out of which. l presume.
there have been some expenses paid
by the State; so that substantially y
the State has been collecting this
rental with one hand aud instantly
paying it out with the other, leaving
little or nothing for its treasury
This North Carolina railroad is, OF
ought to be, one of the best railroad
properties in America. The lease
expires shortly after the year 1900
The Southern Railroad Company has
Its main stem in Virginia on oul
north, and thousands of miles OF
railroad to the south of US. Thi.
concern is capitalized for an enor.
nous amount of money and hun
dreds of millions OF its securities ar,
held by mllllonaIres in New Yorl
and London. When these million
aires reorganized the "Richmont
and Danville" and conve rted it into
the Southern" they knew that thei
lease on the North Carolina Railroad
was about to expire and they tool
their chances of buying it, or of oh
tanning new lease, or of making
themselves Independent by parallel
ing it from Greensboro to Charlotte
They have not paralIsled it and, i
our legislature is equal to its duties
they will not be allowed to do it
Soon after the adjournment of tn
last fusion legislature, these railroa,
kings obtained from the presen
Democratic Governor a renewal o
this lease for ninety-nine years
agreeing to pay some lnconsidera bl
amount in addition to that whicl
they had been paying. If l hat
bsen Governor, l would have said t,
these princes of plutocracy a fey
plain and simple words. Now, gen
tlemen, you own the Southern Raj.
road Company. You have got un
counted millions in it, behind it. Tn
North Carolina Railroad is indispen
sable to you. You cannot live with
out it unless you parallel it. Mort
Carolina is the owner of three fourth
of this property. In this case, it S
happens that the owner is a sovel
eign power to protect and enhanc
the value of its property which bs
longs to its people. You shall nc
, parallel it. If you try it l will hav
q legislature here in this c.pit'
which will stop your operations b.
, fore you ever lay a rail. The Stat
does not want to operate this raj
, road. We do not want politics. "
, need money for the schools aud
lower our taxes. We are willing
sell three-fourths of it to you. B.
you have got to pay for it. Yt
own this great cham extending fro
the waters of the gulf to the Potom'
and the Chesapeake-all of it exec
one link in the middle. That link
3 ours. 1t is the golden link. Wit
out it the rest of your chain is not
ing but iron and some of it old ir'
at that. Your crowd is full Of gol
This is one time when the peoI
have got a piece of gold. You ne
it. You have got to have it. Y
cannot live without it. You can b
1t at our price. If you do not b
: It, We will bre ak your chain q
then you can sell your part of it
old iron. Now take your choit
:, Buy or "bust." Here are the tern
You retire the States obligations
it's bonds to the amount OF So, 5000
and give rs about two and b.
? millions in cash and our three-fOuri
of this property is yours. AS to
'e other one-fourth (Which largely
Ilongs to rich people, many or m
ofwhom are non-residents) it is nc
of my business. When you
three-fourths you get control of t
mi a