Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-12-25
TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF THE
PEOPLES STEAMBOAT

0entlemeD'-1n justice to myself, and
to all Of you, II is my duty to explain as
best can the position In which l stand
relative to the withdrawal of the Sum
beam and Tourist from the Rappahan-
mock river. Ii was shock when heard
II; nothing could have surprised me
more, and for some time could not be.
| lieve 1t. No one could have more faith
in the movement than L had, and I
had reasons to believe everything was
working nicely. Believing It was the
only way to make success l tried 10
get stock among the people, one to CO.
operate with the other. NY travelling
! among you was pleasant, and / tried TO
explain in clear and plain manner the
! advantages opposition would give, and
am sure all of you have realized what
benefit was given the short time the Sun
beam was on. For what cause the boats
have been withdrawn / am cot pre-
pared to say. l have never been in form.
ed. took stock up to the 9Th of De-
cember, and the people were feeling
more interested every day. travelled
from place to place, working for the in
terest OF the company, believing II to be
nothing but success. Had not thought
thus, nothing could have induced me TO
pursue the course l did. NV whole
heart was In the work. ! hope none of
you for moment will think I came
among you to deceive. God forbid that /
should ever stoop to such. l stated
nothing but what was authorized to do
by the company.
shall never feel satisfied until the
happshannock river has competition.
which 1t should have, and I intend 10
work with more persistency than have
yet done In order to get line of
steamers to carry freight and passengers
from this section. The Peoples Line
has thrown up the sponge; there are
others who will be glad to come In, and
in order to vindicate myself and to carry
out my plans, / shall not feel satisS ed
until have accomplished my purpose.
via: to give competition on Rappahan-
mock river. / believe all OF YOU and
many others will stand by me, for you
can but see the good II has given. NV
association among you was pleasant and
will ever be treasured in my memory.
No finer people are in the world than
those became acquainted and associated
with, both ladies and gentlemen.
wish TO state, while writing this ar
ticle, l have just received letter from
Mr.. w. ID. Carter, president of the line,
stating that as soon as the necessary
arrangements are made he will settle all
debts against the company. / am sure
Mr.. Carter will do all that a gentleman
can do and will leave nothing unsettled.
L believe he has done all he could to
give the service, aud will yet give IL. II
the people of fredericksburg had not
gone back on him the line, believe,
would still be in operation. As vet
have never gotten any full information as
to the cause that made them stop, or what
they propose 10 do. The rumor is that
they were bought off. This / deny. 1
do not believe one word OF 1t. In the
fret place Mr.. Carter Is not that kind of
a man. Unless Mr.. Williams or Mr..
Carter tells me / will not believe il. We
gave MIR. Williams some trouble, and
disturbed him In his slumbers, I think
Suffice 1t to say / shall not stop until
the desired service is given to this good
people, for you have been handicapped
for want of competition and outlet to
northern and eastern markets. / would
be pleased to hear you express your
views.
And now, In conclusion, let me ex-
press to one and all Of you my sincere
thanks for the kindness shown me while
among you. Hoping some day In the near
future we may again greet each other In
smiles, with brighter prospects than we
have ever had in the way of competition,
and hoping ali Of you may have a pros
porous and happy new year, / remain,
Yours very truly,
j. T. PAYNE, Solicitor.
r. o. White Stone, Va.
All local papers please copy.