The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-02-13
It Ought to be Annulled and
Annulled Early.
WAS LEASED TOO SOON
ROAD OUGHT NOT TO BE SOLD OR
LEASED FOR 80 YEARS.
OUGHT THE STATE GIVE AWAY
To the Southern Railway $4,000 An
nuaIly For Nirety- Nine Years
That is the Question
at Issue.

To the Editor: The lease of the North
Carolina Railroad to the Southern Rail
way ought not to be allowed to stand, il
there is any power in the Legislature to
upset ii, or in the courts to annul 1T.
A ninety-nine year lease is equivalent to
sale and is going long ways towards
creating perpetuity. Surely, the Legis-
lature never intended, when it said in the
charter Of this road that the directors
might farm out the right of transporta-
ton over it, to give or delegate the power
to lease for THE period of ninety-nine
wears or to sell the road hedthe rails,
the depots, cars. engines and tie fran
chises. The object must have been TO
farm out the right of any transportation
company or companies to carry their
freight over this road. 1t was intended
as a great highway through North Caro-
lima from the West to the seacoast, over
which all transportation companies could
rent the right TO pass. 1t was never
designed to become monopoly, but to
prevent such a public calamity. 1t was
never supposed that the States agents
to manage this property, would so manage
it as to defeat the very purpose the faith
ers had in its construction, namely, To
create competition and keep down mono-
poly. No man in that age and generation
imagined for q moment that board OF
directors, appointed by a Governor OF the
State, elected by the people, would ever
assume the right and commit the wrong,
such right and crime, as to take this
piece of property from under the control
OF the State for SO long a period as
ninety and nine years. and place the same
in the hands and under the control and
direction OF powerful corporation, whose
object and purpose is TO destroy, not only
in North Carolina, but in the entire North,
competition between the transportation
companies, by gobbling up a majority Of
the stock in each and every company
And we all know that Drexel, Morgan &
Co, of New York, own, in substance.
and control the Southern Railway, and
that the Rothschilds, Of Europe, are at
the back Of Drexel, Morgan a Go. This
is an effort on the part of the Southern,
Drexel, Morgan & Co, and the Roths-
childs, OF Europe. to control the entire
transportation Of the South, and as soon
as possible of the Northwest and TO de-
stroy competition and build up the most
earth.
I am informed and believe the firms
referred to in this country and Europe
either own or control half or nearly half
OF all railroad bonds in the United States,
and that hundreds of millions of these
bonds are worth less than their face
value, and that hese firms and their cor
respondents and agents are determined,
If possible, to get q controlling influence
in all the transportation lines from North
to South and from East to West, so that
they can destroy competition in trans
portation on the American continent,
create an absolute monopoly, thereby en-
abling them to collect sufficient revenue
from the traffic of the country to pay the
annual accruing interest on the railroad
bonds. And it is a notorious and his
uorical fact that the railroad bonds or
the railroads in the United States are
more than twice the amount Of the ORR
ginal cost of all the roads in the country
And it is also known at this time, with
the present depreciation in property and
general shfnkage in the value Of all COM
modities that every railroad in the United
States and Canada could be paralleled
with new roads and outfits for one-half
Of their original cost
North Carolina could surrender to the
Southern Railway-the entire outfit and
rails of the North Carolina Railroad to
be removed, and then the right Of way
along this line would be worth more than
the Southern has contracted to pay an
nuaIly for the entire property.
The sharpest competition exists between
fhe Seaboard Airline from Washington
TO Atlanta but beyond at each end, the
Seahoard Air Line cannot go, and the
very object of the Southern il to freeze
this line out and compel a sale This
would place the whole State at the mercy
Of the Southern and the Atlantic Coast
Line, and then the Southern would begin
a war on the Coast Line, and that line
would be forced to yield or drop into the
pool.
Now, with all these lights before us,
the directors OF this North Carolina road,
deliberately and with malice afore-
thought, it would seem, leased the North
Carolina Railroad to the Southern Rail-
way, six years before the present or the
then existing lease had expired, and that,
too for a term of ninety mine years,
which is equal to a sale, perpetuity, n
surrender OF the property to powerful,
soulless corporation. This lease takes
tliS property difu JtN fDHIfUI dubolulSjy
out OF the hands OF the people, or the
Legislature, or the directors for the term
of ninety mine years.
And this was done without the consent
Of the people or the Legislature, at time
when there was no demand or necessity
for such action The matter had NOT
been mooted, much less discussed, before
the people.
1t was suddenly sprung upon them and
wild mad protest, before the lease was
consummated, went up from nine-tenths
Of all the newspapers Of 5he State and
the people were indignant at the very sug-
gestion OF lease six years ahead of time
And all this reached the ears OF the Gov
ernor and the directors before they had
eonsummated this wrong, this outrage
this crime against the people And yet
they persisted, in secret, under cover
and away from the capitol OF the State
without notification to the people or adyer-
tisement for bidders, TO sign seal and de-
liver deeds to corporation for the same
And not satisfied with having betrayed
/ n.