The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-01-03
CORPORATION COMMISSION.
IENCAL REPORT SENT To THE
GOVERNOR YESTERDAY.
/ Shows 3,SO3 Miles Of Railroads I'm
Operation-During the Year 100
Persons Were KiIlcd-15,2O5 Per-
sons are Given Employment-Tow
Ship Meetings of Cotton Growers
Adopt Resolutions.
Especial to The Messenger }

AsN*A~ASaAs 1-s Lf@NSiiAbIA AI va
poration commission this evening gave
out it's report to Governor Aycock. for
the present year. The report says that
during the year there We're $500 oe miles
|of main line of railroad in operation.
Gross earnings s2o.3s7, $40; operating ex-
pense $1254S.929; net income from op-
Grafton 81 ,539, oil; net increase 81, ,Os5. .173
over last years operations. The rail-
roads employed 1925 persons. One
hundred and twenty persons were kill
ed in the movement of trains, of these
two We're passengers and thirty nine
employees. 4,930,095 passengers were
transported. Three hundred and thirty
five complaints were made to the COM
mission, nearly all of which were dis
posed Of
North Carolina is the only state in
which railways are required to permit
first and second class fares for passen-
gers, and il the law were so amended
as to require only one fare. that could
certainly be made lower than the pres
ent-first class fare Of 3 1-2 cents. The
average rate per passenger mile on the
leading roads in the state was about %
creased from 1856 to 1872, four banks were
put in receivers hands.
The corporation commission report
SAYS the earnings of railways during the
year were:
Atlantic Coast Line 1924, ,S69; Sea-
board Air Line 3,721, ,713; Southern Rail-
way 1854, ,053; miscellaneous roads ST.,
S37 .s05; total $40, 3s7 $40. OF expenses
were $12, ,S2S, ,929 OF all roads is 1884,
GAO and capital stock is sos, ,39o, ,35O Taxes
paid were, Atlantic Coast Line $219, ,89f;
Seaboard Air Line s127,940; Southern
halfway s27S,446. Total $636,2S3 and by
miscellaneous roads $51, 1872, making total
all roads s677, 1880. The number of
employees of the Atlantic Coast Line is
4,909; Seaboard Air Line 2,207; Southern
Railway 5,038; miscellaneous roads 3d.,
e51. ValL-tion for taxation is as fol-
Ilows:
| Atlantic Coast Line $24,454,014; sea-
board Air Lille $12,5O0, 900; Southern
/ Railway SIG, ,319,5 $50; miscellaneous roads
saxs, rs 370,- telegraph, telephone, street
railway and express companies s., ,061,-
052. Total $74, ,542,026.
The state charters Maxton Real Es-
tate Company and Fayetteville Real
Estate Company.
A very largely attended township
meeting OF cotton growers was held
here this afternoon and adopted resolu-
ttions recommending active cooperation
between farmers and business men8p
guard against the calamity now threat
ening the south on occount Of the over
production of cotton, by reducing the
lacreage and devising a plan of prevent
ing the surplus from being thrown on
the market at ruinous prices.
| They urge upon the farmers alliance
throughout the entire cotton belt to
call meetings in each township to pro-
| mote concerted action, and get their
pledge to reduce cotton acreage and its
use Of commercial fertilizers, at least
| Is per cent; that merchants and cotton
factories be requested to sign pledge
: not to advance money or other supplies
| to farmers who have declined to sign
the above agreement.
The present crop should be marketed
as judiciously as possible until the acre
age is known by government estimate
Many planters and merchants who fur
nish supplies to planters signed these
J pledges. some planters to reduce the
acreage over thirty per cent.
1--WE the undersigned, on our part as
merchants and cotton growers, pledge
Y ourselves not to advance money and
supplies on crop time to any cottof
planters who decline to obligate them.
selves to reduce the cotton acreage ano
the use of commercial fertilizers at leas
% per cent.
: Signers of the pledge:
, J. H. Robbins will reduce acreage
! from 100 to go, lB. NJ. eating 80 to 20
: W. c. Riddick 95 to 65, r. A Seagrcvs
'2S to Is, L. r. wyatt $50 to 100, F. Fl
Taylor so to Is, J. P. Bobbitt 4S to 81
III NJ Henderson 20 to II, j. r. Durham
: Is to so, W. F. Taylor e5 to As. j. "
Parker 35 to 20. w G. Howell 800 to 200
G B. Norwood rs to so, Thomas Burns
Is to 10. S. E. Bailey 80 to 20, Richart
Taylor Is to Il, NJ. J. Buffaloe so to SO
: Jacob Stancn Is to s. Many Others
signed after this report closed.