The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1904-03-10
JUSTICES LETTER.
In Union Republican
ruptcy.

John w, Hinsdale has broken uI
the Governors play ground, moved
the grass off of the Atlantic and
North Carolina meadows, broken up
the green pastures upon which the
Democracy fed, and Josephus Dan.
iels has flung a fit. This is just
about the size of the situation in re-
gard to the receivership of the At.
lantic & North Carolina Railroad.
But as the State owns II, $3.50 shares,
for which it paid over twelve hun
dred thousand dollars, which was
paid by the taxes of the people this
means that the tax payers of the
State own just that much interest
in the road which is about two
thirds of the whole amount. The
State having this large interest in
this road gave to it the management
of it and the law placed it under the
control of the Board of Internal I'M
provements, which was composed of
three persons, one of whom was the
Governor and the other two were
appointed by the Governor. This
law was repealed In 1899 by the
Democrats by chapter 6S of the laws
Of that session and the power given
to the Legislature to appoint the
board, and they proceeded to elect
nine instead of two to compose the
Board of Internal Improvements,
and they proceeded to elect Mr.. Jas.
Bryan, member of that Legislature
President of the road and during the
yesr 1899, after the Republicans
terms were out, he took charge with
the new board of directors that this
new Board of Internal Improve
ments had appointed. Under the
management of Dan. Patrick, whom
the Republicans had put in, this
road paid the State, and ell the pri-
vate stockholders, two per cent
dividend each year, which meant
something over $25, 900 to the State
and about $4,000 to the private
stockholders. But since tue Demo-
Gratis took charge not a cent divi.
dend has been paid to anyone, but
on the contrary, as is alleged in the
bill of complaint before Judge Pur-
nell, the road has been run down
until today it has neither rolling
stock to do its business, nor iron for
its tracks over which its trains could
run in safety if it had the rolling
stock and on top of all this has a
floating debt of over sixty THOUSAND
dollars. Four years have passed
since the Democracy took charge of
this road and not a cent dividend
has been paid since. AS this amour
ted to about forty thousand dollars
year, this means that the people of
the State have lost more than one
hundred and sixty thousand dollars
in dividends, over one hundred
thousand dollars of which belongs
to the tax payers, and beside this
have floating debt of over sixty
thousand dollars, of which the tax |
payers must pay more than forty |
thousand dollars, and on top of all
this, according to Mr.. Bryan's last |
report, the stockholders must pay
over one hundred and sixty thous-
and dollars for cars, etc in order to |
make good the damage the road has
sustained under this Democratic
manipulation which means another
one hundred and ten thousand dol |
lars the tax payers must pay to save
their property from utter ruin under
Democratic management, all this
having been made plain by the last
report of the President, from which
1 will quote little later. The de-
plorable condition of the road as
shown by that report, the loss of
four years. dividend with a decreas-