The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-14
The CONVENTION
HAS ADJOURNED
Senator Morgan Principal Speak
er of the Day.
STAHLMAN'S STATS TICS
Expresses Surprise at Action of Bir-
mingham Freight Bureau and Com
mercial Club in View of What
the Railroads Have Done

Huntsville, Ala, October 13-The South
ern Industrial convention, which has been
in session here four days, adjourned sine
die this evening. Governor MacCorkle will
select place for the next meeting to be
held six months hence.
The principal speaker of the day was
Senator Morgan, of Alabama. The sena-
tor reviewed his work on the Nicaragua
canal He said that until recently congress-
men from Maine, Pennsylvania and Massa-
ehusetts had given him more support than
southern statesmen. Recently the south
had undergone complete revolution in
the matter, and all now favor it. If the
work of the comie sion headed by Rear
Admiral Walker, recently appointed 10y
congress, shall bear any relation to the
Importance of its duty year will not have
passed before work on the canal will be
commenced, said Senator Morgan. He pre-
dicted that the canal would be completed
in six years The convention will memo
rialize all senators and congressman to
support Senator Morgan in his work.
paper was read by Colonel V. w.
Grubbs, of Texas.
Major e. B. Stahlman, of Nashville,
Tenn, discussed railroads of the south. He
presented some statistics relating to the
operating of southern railroads SO far as
1t applies to earnings and rates of trans
ponta ton as compared with railroad earn
ings and rates of the other sections of the
country. Making deductions from these
figures, he showed that the number of pas
sengers per mile carried 10y the railroads
in the northern group of states was nearly
600 per cent. greater than carried for the
southern group, and yet THE rate charged
by the southern roads was but 10 per cent.
greater than that by the northern roads.
He demonstrated uhat the rate realized
per ton by the roads OF tie south was %
per cent. less than the rate realized by the
roads of tine north. Further, it was SHOWN
that THE operation of the southern railroads
was on a basis of Il per cent of their
earnings, while the northern and western
roads was 6S per cent. Tie total earnings
per mile of the New England group of
roads was shown to be 10 per cent greater
than the southern group.
He expressed surprise at the recent ac-
ton of the Birmingham trade, freight and
traffic bureau and Commercial club in de-
manding the creation of a state railway
commission, with arbitrary powers to make
rates, rules and regulations for the rail-
roads. He said this was especially surpris-
ing in view of all that the railroads had
done for Birmingham.
Addresses were made by Governor At
kinson, of West Virginia.; j. NJ. Nix, of
Texas; f. S. Shepard, president of the
Montgomery chamber of commerce, and
Lewis NJ. Coleman of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Resolutions were adopted calling upon
the southern states to establish committees
on industry and immigration, under direc-
ton of a merchant marine; to remove the
race question from politics. And that
every reasonable means be adopted to
maintain the best relations between the
races of the south.