The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1898-04-14

osts BACK out Vi Tie party VINO suC~
eeds 10 the suit; and that too, without a
he surrendering to the Southern Rail- Il
way OF any one thing OF substantial t
-alue. C
The Biblical Recorder also says that 8
he Governor has lost to the State its {
opportunity 10 appeal from Simonton's (,
court. But it must be remembered q
hat Governor Russell did not start Z
this suit. He would never 60 TO the Z
Federal courts->to settle this lease
question. His plan has always been
and is now TO have the legislature to {
settle IL. The next legislature can dea. ,
with this question effectively regard
less OF what Simonton may decide.
The suit was started by the Southern
Hallway and DOW they want TO stop by
to pay all the cost.
our contemporary further says, "iD
his bitter denunciation Of Simonton
he (the Governor) went toa degree to
which no one could follow him"
There is no one who knows the facts
in this case who does not also know,
thst this statement is wholly untrue.
The anti-monopOly people, SO far as We
know, have stood squarely by the Gov
ernor in all the utterances he has
made in the pending controversy. 1t
may, indeed, be that the Biblical Re-
corder cannot go as far in its denun-
citation OF corporate greed as the Gov
ernor has gone, but, il so, 1t will be
for the reason, that, after all its pro-
tes.atlOns TO the contrary, it has
stomach which has become clamorOus
for monopolistic ailment; and not be-
cause it believes the Governor has gone
too far in his defence of the people
against corporate power.
However anyone may honestly differ
on this point or that with the Cover
nor in respect to the late arrangement,
it yet remains true, that the Governor
has secured for the State and its peo-
pie exemption from heavy burden
of costs without surrendering the right
of the next Legislature to deal fully
with the whole lease matter. Indeed
he has given up nothing he was not
likely to be compelled to give up any
way; and he has saved the State some
thousands of good sound dollars. While
We would have pursued a different
course, yet his action does not deserve
the critisicisms to be found in the
columns of the Biblical Recorder.
But the most remarkable thing in all
the Recorders article is found in the
two sentences following:
, "FOr our part We are not regretful
that the long agitation of the lease of
the North Carolina Railroad Is over
and DONE"
"But in the interests of all concern
! cd, and for the sake of justice we did
hope that the test of the lease would
be carried out fairly to the end"
In the last quotation the editor of
the Recorder says it was for the inter
, ests of call cOncerned"-for the inter-
ests of the whole people of the State
Certainly for the interests of the " hole
, tax paying body of the State-that the
test OF the lease should have been made
And yet the editor says, in the very
, next sentence above, that he is not re-
7 gretful that the agitation concerned
, about the testing of the lease "is over
and DONE" That is as if he had said
VI know the lease was procured by
fraud; and l know it ought not to
stand. But l am not regretful that 1t
is to be allowed to stand after ALL"
We put our contemporaries position
thus fairly before our readers, in order
that they may see, that a man who
writes thus carelessly about matters SO
important is not competent to teach
the people upon a subject involving
such difficult matters of law and pub
lie policy as those involved in the nine
, lynne year lease litigation.
The article in the Recorder quietly
| assumes all through that the Governor
, has brought suit to test the character
of the lease of the North Carolina Rail
road-to determine whether the lease
was fraudulent or not. OF course all
people, who know anything whatever
about it, know very well that the Gov
t ernor has brought no suit at any time
D to test said lease. The suit, now pend.
D ing, and yet to be decided, was brought
by the Southern Railroad Company tt
0 restrain the Governor and the direc
f tors OF the North Carolina Railroad
e from bringing suit in the courts Of
e this State to test the lawful and fair
n ness Of said lease; and all the Govern
t or has done in the matter up to thi,
e present time, he has done as one of til,
f defendants in that suit This is tn,
e simple truth, and the editor of the Bib
e lical Recorder ought to have known it
: The Biblical Recorder further say
t that the Governor charged that tn,
e nlnety-nine year lease was fraudulent
! In this the Recorder is right. Th,
: Governor did charge that the lease Of
e the North Carolina Railroad was fraud
d ulent, and he has proved it to the sat
t isfaction of all fairminded men. H,
y proved it when he made it perfectl,
y plain that the directors who made tn,
e lease entered into that contract with ,
r full knowledge that the Seaboard sys
tenn would give larger percentaa,
e upon the valuation of the property. H,
y contends that 1t is fraud for trustee
e acting wholly for another, to leas,
II property to one party, when there il
: another party who is willing to pay .
d better price for it. He proved it wher
y it was shown that many of the Trus
e tees for the State who made the leas,
r were largely interested - privat,
stockholders; and as such held the In
: terestadversary to the State. And We