The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-05-11

been subjected by the same railroad
| crowd.
The ninth and last piece in the batch,
| is the above referred TO notice to show
icause," or summons which Governor
| Russell intended to issue to the Wilson's,
but instead OF which he issued another
one differently expressed
| The public will hardly believe that tho
| above is the whole of the Clark }us-
| sell correspondence, abont which t.,ere
| has been so much noise But 81 IL is.
| according to the above certificates of f.
H. Busbee and w. Fl. Day.
I have been thus lengthy because the
| only resource of the other side has been
| to confuse the public by vOciferous
| charges, and my aim has been t. make
| the matter as plain and explicit as pos
sble. When the letters are understood
| fully and the attendant circumstances
| the public will be amused al the efforts
| OF the corporation lawyers to hunhug
them.
The whole effort on the part of the
political management of the railroad cor
porations has been TO create an impress
| sion that there was political affinity or
| intrigue between Governor Russell and
myself. The above correspondence
shows plainly that there was nothing OF
| the kind
| To understand the reason of the cor.
respondence and it's purport an inteli-
gent public has only to recall the cOndi-
| tions as they existed at that time. now
nearly five years ago. Governor Russell
came into office with load of unponu-
| larity which had been labOriously accu-
mulated by him. He came in by the
votes of 100, 900 negroes and a few thou
sand white allies. The great mass OF
the white men of the State bitterly re-
scented this reversal of the proper order
of things which demands Anglo Saxon
supremacy. Governor Russell seemed TO
think that then was his chance to redeem
himself by an impartial execution Of the
duties Of his office. The Sodthern Rail
road thought, as a matter OF course, be-
ing a Republican adminstI alton, that
they were to be in control. It's officials
gave him a grand reception. Russell
surprised them next day by declaring in
dependence He found the Southern
Railroad effecting a ninety-nine year
lease of the States best property, six
years before the expiration of IT."
vious lease. He used his power as Gov
ernor to veto it and called in the Logis-
leture 20 his aid. He found that the
statute which forbade the issuing of free
passes under penalty of $4,000 III each
case was openly and VIGOROUSLY Vio-
lated and that influence bought by these
pa steboard favors" was the most pow
erful weapon in the hands of the cor
porations; he found that railroad fares
and freights in this State were (ahd they
still are) sixty per cent higher than the
average in the Union and that the taxes
paid by the railroads were over half
million dollars less, in prooortlon TO
mileage. than in Tennessee and were the
lowest iE the Union. He Yound that two
of the Railroad Commission (Which had
been created to reduce rates and faroS
to a fair basis. and to see that railroads
paid fair taxatonl were partners with
the railroad in running a railroad eating
house.
He thought he ought to remedy this
and may have thought he would remove
some of the Odium against himself by
doing So But he was the last man who
should have undertaken it. instantly
every railroad paper, every railroad law
agent" every influence the corporations
could appeal to were set in motion 10
call up the odium he had acquired In the
past and to make it party night against
him. He struggled, and struggled, out
he had too much load TO carry. For some
eason, he finally absolutely and unccn-
ditionally surrendered and for tue rest
fhis administration he merely drew the
salary. The Southern Railroad had
made itself Governor and was in the
saddle.
When he FIRST sought to enforce the
law against the powerful criminals VINO
defiantly and openly issued free passes.
when he sought to secure more reason
able passenger rates, when he sought
to make the railroads pay fairer share
of taxation he desired information from
me and I gave it. When h1 decided
to call upon the two Railroad Commits
sioners, who were running an eating
house in partnership with the railroads
and submitted to me the form of sum
mons. or notice to show cause why they
should not be suspended and L made some
slight changes in it, though he did rot
use that form, as it turned out. Know
ING that the Southern Railroad would
got held of it and use and misrerresent
any paper from me, l asked him to &c
stroy that paper. The correspondence
above shows this and it shows nothing
more.
When the Southern Railroad received
Gov Russells submission, they seem
to have gone through his pockets" and
got all he had that they could misrep-
resent and use against me. 1t is all
printed above. Having destroyed Rus
sell by the aid OF the odium against him,
they then sought to destroy me by
printing and insinuating that l was his
ally, his friend, his intimate The cor
respondence shows l was simply acting
as a sworn officer of the law, giving to
him, as l did to his predecessors, any
data or information that would aid in
the impartial execution of the laws.
BY reason of the high freights and
fares in this State, one railroad in North
Carolina has issued to its stockholders
one thousand dollars for every
forty dollars it paid the State for the
stock Cor 80 for y, and some of those
shares are now worth $3.50. Another is
sued mortgage bonds and stocks $4,000
per mile on property they got for 81 900