The Columbus weekly dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1902-1905, 1904-05-19
The Standard Stove Works.

Standard Stove Works of Fort
Payne. Ala. a plant which will
pay nearly 800. 900 each year in
wages to its employees, will be re-
moved to Columbus. While the
freight rate question prevented
the company removing to this
city and carrying out their orig
inal proposition, they have made
to the people of this city a new
offer and it is based upon the
schedule of rates which the road
assures. The offer is that instead
of bearing s per cent. the $50, :
900 of preferred stock which the
people of this city are to sub
scribe to in consideration of the
removal of the plant here
will bear 6 per cent. This is one
thousand dollars less than the
original offer and Mr.. Sanders,
president Of the company, es-
Inmates that the difference in the
rates guaranteed by the South
ern and the rates asked for in
his original proposition will be
about this amount.
Mr.. Sanders appeared before
the people of Columbus last Mon
day afternoon at a mass meeting
at the City Hall and completely
indicated himself and his com
pany from any charge of double
dealing with the people of this
city. 1t was a charge which was
generally circulated throughout
the city soon after the visit of the
Southern's officials here last
week and it is alleged that it was
started by them and was injected
here in the hope that it would
discredit Saunders and relieve
the road of some of the censure
and condemnation which it was
from the people of this
city for it's refusal to grant
freight rates in equity with other
points. AS soon as this rumor
upon the streets it was
widely circulated and the officers
of the league and Mr.. Saunders
friends here felt it their
duty to inform him of the
position he and his company had
been placed in. Immediately
upon receipt of these letters Mr..
Sanders wired that he would
reach Colum bus on t. e first train
and he arrived on Sunday morn
ing.
He came to vindicate himself
and his partner from the charge
which had been insinuated
against him and he appeared be-
fore the people for that purpose
Monday afternoon. Mr.. Sanders
said that the charge was untrue
in every respect; that ever since
the removal of his plant to this
city was taken into consideration
by the people of this city that
no other place was even consid-
cred; that they had no counter
propositions pending from any
towns although they had been
repeatedly beseeched to make
offers to cities anxious to secure
the works. He stated that he
decided upon Columbus because
he had fallen in love with the
town; that he liked our broad
minded, liberal, generous and
hospitable people and that he
wanted to come here because he
was satisfied that he would like
his home here and would like to
become a citizen. He explained
that the road had not met his de-
mand for rates and he showed
the great disparity between the
rates at present in force at Fort
Payne and the rates offered to
this city. He was extremely
earnest, impressive and sincere
in all of his remarks, and-no man
who heard it doubted it's genu-
ineness and upon its com pletion,
Mr.. John T. Wood moved that he
be absolved from all suspicion of
double dealing in the matter, a