The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-05


State aid rs to defeat it either here
ur in the Senate. These were gener-
ally voted down; and thus lost US a
few weak supporters. And finally the
third reading was set for the 18th,
when il passed sixty to lifty-uwo, The
Mecklenburg and Rockingham dele
gates still voting solid against it; D..
w. Courts and r. w. Keen from.
the latter and n. l. f1arliSonsa j. n.
Davis and j. j. Williams from Neck
lcnburg.
The Bill In The Senate-A Tie
Speaker Graves.
The chances in the Senate were all
in doubt. That body was Democratic
and up to lhiS ,imc no special effort
had been made to draw the old ship
from its Jeffersonian moorings. Anc
such men Us Henry w. Cannon. John
IL. Drake \. p. Hawkins, John Berry.
George Bower, w. d. Bethel, George
w. Thompson, and John Walker were
hard to lcad and could not be driven.
And above them all sat Speaker
Calvin GraVeS--:l recognized force
from {; county just under the nose Of
DansiIlc, and devoted to Richmond.
The Speaker was tall. angular. and
singuarly ugly in feature; but his
character was high; he was strictly
impartial and with all courtesy in
bearing. From first To last no one
could divine leaning either way. But
now q mighty effort was made TO
teach these born men Of the PloW ana
of the peop.c new tenet of Hepub-
ncan faith. as 10 what the state owed
the public. Judge Romulus NJ. Saund-
ers, and W. w. Holden, both stepped
forward and made strong appeals for
the new departures. But all to no
purpose. And then some of the
Wings, left out by the Ashe BILL stood
aIoof. From these and other causes.
il was seen from day 10 day, that in
all the preliminary sllirmishes, as
also in the final struggle. the result
would be very close, and That all
might hang on the Baptist Enigma"
Calvin Graves
BY consent the first and second
readings were chiefly formaI---to get
the measure in shape. and to secure
all sides and parties a just showing.
This was after the old style. quiet
North Carolina way, when, as n hun
drcd Years before, Dissentcrs and
Churchmen We're alike 1onoring king
queen and royal governor by naming
towns, counties and mountain peaks
after them: but at the same time,
Solemnly resolved to hurl them in
stantiy from power. "'if they did not
80 exactly the fair thtng.' So, here,
every courtesy was shown opposing
parties and interests, until January
18th when the bill! came regularly
up, after full debate, and was put OH
its third and final reading. The
Senate Chamber was packed with
visitors and strangers from all quar-
tiers to see the fate of the momentous
stlugGlc-nOw so full of veal or woe
Ia the dear "Old North state; and
which might settle he:e once for all
The mighty effort 10 awake North
Carolina from the long sleep of her
death-liile Rip Van Winhleism'
Speaker Graves calmly announced:
The Bin to charter the North Caro-
lima Railroad Company, and for other
purposes. is now upon It's third read
ing. Is the Senate ready for the
question ?" Feeble responses said
Question" The roll call began; and,
as feared nearly every Democrat
voted NO" The tally was Kept by
hundreds--and when che clerk an
nounced twenty-five yeas and twenty
Two nays--thcre was an awful silence.
The slender form of Speaker Graves
stood up. and, leaning slightly for
ward. with gavel in hand, he said:
1.-THE vote on the bill being equal--22
yeas and % nays-the Chair votes
yea. The bill has passed it's third and
last reading
have seen and read of many
memorable and famous contests. and
have Witnessed many outbreaks OF
popular applause; but never anything
like, that then following. Even the
granite Capitol seemed to shake for
JOY. But this was not all. There was
:hen 40 electric telegraph in North
Carolina; no express lines; no mail
delivery; but Immediately, every man
and woman, every boy and girl, be-
came Il sort of message bearer. News
was FASTENED iii every possible way
20 every nook and corner OF the old
Commonwealth, and the one phrase
was: Speaker Graves has saved the
State--The Railroad Bill Has Passed.
After Contests and Incidents.
Here really ends the Historic
Struggle" for the North Carolina
Railroad. All subsequent events
We're incidents in the development of
q modern transportation system. And
some of these We're: The Decu lar can
vass for raising the million of private
stock; the efforts To repeal the char
ter at the next session of lS50-'l;
the grant of another million of State
alG; the spread OF the spirit for i'm
provement AL over the State: the ex-
tensions both east ana west. the re-
newal of the application for a char
ter Tor the I)dnNllle connexions
lis refusal in 1858. and its grant and
building 1914; the effect OF the
Richmond and Danville SYSTEM and
the lease 10 that ystem.-These were
all import nt features and invoked
sharp contests. But they are all conf
mon place compared with the long
sectional struggle that kept North
Carolina poor and powerless for near
ly three fourths of q century, and
then suddenly came TO an end in the
historic epoch Of 1S4S, by the grant of
the charter of the Great North Caro-
lima Railroad and which has had
the effect of making us one people,
anu started US, at last, on the sure
ground OF industrial progress and
commercial success. The extension of
the lease Of one great central line may
now be an open question, To stand
on its own merits. But its clear effect,
originally. was to give North Carolina
a leading North and South through
line; and now we have no less than
four North and South through lines:
and virtually three East and West
lines, making n real network OF
roads: and reaching almost every
corner of the State. In my judgment,
IL. oil hi f,,I