The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-12-21
& MOTHER oPRN LETTER TO
GOVERNOR RUSSELL.

Esoal Dr.. John r. Ford, S~tatesVilIe, N. c.
Your Excellency will pardon, doubt
less. astranger for addressing you in a
public manner, when / tell you I was
with you in the Peter Cooper 'Green
aacEn when that grand old unselhsh
patriot predicted that the demonetlE
alton OF silver in 1873 and the destruc
tl3a of our paper currency would bring
ga 10 (Which predictions are now be-
ing realizsd) and that I am also with
you in this contest with the railroads.
DR.. Mott and / have not been political
friends heretofore, though personal
friends, of the same profession, and
both (tormalIy1 railroad men, we are
together now, and he was right when
he said In his letter in the Mascot OF
the 4ih instant: THAT the people
would be with you'll. e., when they
understood the stu 3tion Of aft airs full
~. Itmay be we'll TO state ONE facts
historical facts-Rs to u railroads,
and also that / have never beena poll
tician, and it is too late to enter that
arena now, asI have passed my three
cor and ten," yet / have ever tried to
keep up with LIES current and do
something to make is run straight. In
ante bellum days the people Of the
United States were divided between
the Wing and Democratic pOlitical
parties; the Wings advocated the build
ingof railroads hy- State and Govern
ment aid and with the proceeds of our
public lands, while the Democrats
taught the people that those persons
who wanted internal improvements
should build them by private subscrip
tions. And ae the latter mode alone
was then almost impossible our legis
lative bodies were often called upon for
help.
When Governor Morehead and
friends determined to carry out d..
Hawks idea Of building q great trunk
line from Beaufort harbor to the Ten
nessee line, the Wings being in power
In the State, save the Senate, they
asked for two millions Of dollars to
help build the Central road, the people
or private citiz Ems to take one million.
This is the road now leased tt the Gen
trail" and now in litigation. The Hon.
Calvin Graves was Speaker Of the Sen
ate, and it was believed he would de-
feat any bill asking for an appropriation
OF such magnitude. After the bill had
passed the house, the Senators tied,
thro wing the responsibility on the
Speaker, believing he would kill it, as
he was q Democrat and lived in Cas-,
well off of the line of the road. But to
the establishment OF almost every one
he voted for it, which killed him with
his party aver after. Though a great
statesman he never held any other office
higher than Chairman Of the County
Court of CasweIl county.
A. T. Jenkins, of Cayen, and my
brother, o G.. Ford, of Rowan, we're
very active in passing it through that
body, and after taking stock literally
in their respective counties with their
friends, attended public meetings held
IN other counties at which many Of the
best takers of both parties in the
State had spoken, the project was about
to fail, and at Hillsboro, the last meet
ing of the kind, and after a hard days
work thee remained to be taken one
hundred thousand dollars of private
subscription. The friends Of the en-.
terprise were go discouraged that some
one moved to ad 1urn sine die. Where
upon A. T. Jenkins arose, asked that
the motion be not put for a few mo
ments, and asked If nine others would
join him and take ten thousand dollars
each to secure the stock to build the
road. My brother who had stood side
by side with Jenkins, was the first to
respond, others followed and soon the
entire amount was taken and all par
ties went to their homes rel 0icing.
On the return Of my brother Iagreed
TO join him, relieve him of half his
Hillsboro subscription and we would
become contractors and help build the
road. Two years later the Western
Extension wss chartered, and we had
to go through the same experience, be-
coming one of eight to take a balance
of eighty thousand in addition to for
mel and smaller amounts taken in the
7estern extension. These with otEer
nblic enterprises gave US and some
oners heavy burdens to carry, until
tb civil war came on, which resulted
iutha l0as Of tho artiPo okonk to no IN