The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-18
THE SOUTH'S GROWTH
WORK OF RAILROADS A PRoMr-
 WENT FEATURE.
Industrial Departments of Great sys- tems, Wfth Thefr Inuegatignbie Bureau Labors, Have Done
 Splendid Service.

Senis York spn, Is of unusual -n.erest to the south. MT. Baxter deals wiln she work
 tremendous srowts e of 5Sshsra pEss oh, indus uss | tries in the past ten years under the
 impetus imparted by the efforts of the
 land and industri Il bureaus Of the iafl-
 roads.
 MT. Baxter shows that the present | great industrial development Of the
 south has been made possible only by
 most modern and enlightened methods | for the exploitation os the territory | tributary 10 their lines. In tho ante bellum days Southern railways were
 broken up into numerous fragmeE tary | sections controlled by hi,lep endent
 companies There was. therefore little
 possibility of action in unis,n as de- | But wIth the development of great | transportation systems like the South
 ern and other leading lines created by
 the movement toward consolidation 1t
 has become possible to undertake on 9 large scale the work of attenticn to the
 resources and possibilities of ;he South
 cultural section. That the interest of a community and its railways are identi- cal and not opposed to each other Is
 ssssrrikingly ssr. illustrated by the results .9 of and spfndles of the great workshops going up all over the Southern States Largely in consequence or the efforts or the industrial departments of the
 Southern roads a great movement of
 capital. industry and population has taken place toward the South.
 How extensive has been this work
 may be seen from the fact that the Southern Railway Land and Industrial Agents Association now represents six
 teen different I railway companies IS obe whose
 ing every part of the ten great States which they penetrate.
 MT. Baxter proceeds to describe the
 manner in which the work of these de- partments is carried on by the employ ment of district agents to report the
 openings for new industries in the
 SPng sstf fpSS essr pants
 the country to sections of the South to
 which they are adapted, through publi-
 cations devoted to the commercial and industrial interests of their territory
 and through the friendly assistance ex-
 tended to new industries to enable them sto become firmly established. He says
 that the marvellous increase of new i'm
 vestments in the South, amounting in
 the past three years to the tremendous
 sum of ss4o, 100000, is due in large
 measure to this systematic. intelligent and concerted effort
 While ali this work of course, is not
 philanthropic, says Mir. Baxter, the
 tion being to do good without refer
 ence to financial returns, it has. the
 same results. It is an enlightened self
 interest in the line of policy; productive
 of good to all concerned. The millions
 upon millions of dollars that have been
 added to the wealth of the South by
 such work are beyond comprehension.
 cilities has been the schief factor in the
 phenomenal development of the South
 in recent years. 1t is evident that but
 for the work of these land and indus trial departments the process of growth 1t has been.'
 Mir. Baxter. to depict the railways as
 raging monsters, devouring the sub- stance of the land. delighting in the de-
 struotton of industries and blighting
 ties. While there have been and doubtless still are not a few instances of injustice to individuals and cornmu- mites, it is. evident that the self-inter- est of railway system lies in building up the territory along its line without favor or discrimination to its patrons. The ways in which the railways have built up the South in the past few years and are stifl building 1t up in steadily accelerating degrees find probably their best illustration In the great work and industrial departments of the vari- ous systems and companies"
 There was recently a meeting of the Southern Railway Land and Industrial Agents Association at Asheville, N c. In relation to this occasion It was said at the time that until the Southern for promulgating information concern ing the South there was very little per ceptible development in comparison with the newer sections of the United fective work that has been done, a great movement of capital and industry and of population toward the South has
 Altogether the South is now regarded as the most prosperous section of the United States, and this fact appears to development which has been carried on by the railroads. How extensive this is may be seen from the fact that the as- sociation in question represents sixteen bined mileage is over 10000, covering every part of the ten great States which they penetrate.
 The pioneer in this work of industrial development was M. V. Richards, the land and industrial agent of the South ern Railway; When that great system merous smaller lines scattered all l through the South from the Potomac to | the Gulf of Mexico and from the Allan Samuel Spencer. called Mir. Richards to | him and asked him to undertake the | organization of great land and indus pany. Mir. Richards had had long train ing and successful experience In rail l way work in the far West, and later on tho Baltimore and Ohio Railway in | similar capacity under Mir Spencer. He | was told that there would be no disap- | pointment should not results be evident | from ms Worh lnF ot least year, TOT | the management was we'll aware of the | difficulty of the problem that lay with | an old and most Conservative section of | the country, entirely unused to such | 
 In the work of the department thus we have one of the most evident benefits from railway consoli- there is economy in the increased ef- | thus achieved, for the exten- sion of enlightened efforts thereby set F on foot for the improvement of commu- nities Is thus made applicable to every
 The department has it's representa- tives throughout this country, in the | North as well as in the South. and also In Europe. Therefore. if any demand i agricuitarsi or in relation to ihI11StFla ImmiFra ton. the parties making 1t are referred to the point where 1t can best be met In the opinion of those who are best in- formed upon such matters.
 For instance, representative of the l department happens to make the ac- of some person who is occupied by a certain line of woodworking industry This fact Is communicated to the central 1 department, and the matter Is placed on lle. Suppose 1t to be the making of bobbins for. use in mills. Perhaps the 'ormed of piece Of woodland that has come upon the, market somewhere where the growth Is specially adapted 70 the making of bobbins. All possible concerning this property md the opportunities for manufacture md marketing in profitable way are to the man In New Eng and. The result Is that he sees a good