The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1906-07-19
Dream OF life Time.
Great Railroad System to Connect
the Three Americas Pet Scheme
of Hinton Rowan Helper, North
Carolinian.
Charlotte Observer.


Charlotte Observer.
Our attention is attracted to n
somewhat lenghthy editorial article
in the New York Sun of Monday, on
"Mr. Helper and his Railroad" The
Sun says that Senator Cullom did
his duty by the nation and the Hon.
Hinton Rowan Helper the other day
by presenting to the Senate that dis
tinguished septuagenarian's latest let
ter on his projected inter-continental
railroad through the three Ameri-
cas-" Mr.. Helper is a remarkable
man in some respects, and as he is Il
native of this State it is interesting
to follow up his efforts to interest the
country in q railroad from one end
of America to the other. This has
been his hobby for many years, and
OF late the scheme has been broached
by others and one of those lately re-
ported as interested is Andrew Car
negie. This fact, or something else,
has apparently caused Mr.. Helper to
become suspicious that his plans are
in danger, therefore he writes:
"Yet the time is near at hand when it
will become my duty TO the comprehen-
sive public of the whole Western Hemis-
phere and to my own minute self (and my
manifest duty is always my sincere pleas
ure) to amass, personally all by valid
and absolutely usequivocal and binding
affidavits, as my lawyer, not yet selected
may determine, in Circuit Court in the
United States, a whole clique OF cunning
and conniving and contriving and canny
and crafty and cladestine conspirators.
and other criminals who, after the grow
cling manner of insanity crooked and
chiseling cheats and towards, have
sneakingly leagued themselves together
with the evident design of watching their
opportunity to thrust me completely
and permanently aside from my project
ed and superexcellent inter-continental
railway through the three Americas.
Shall this merely mercenary and pre-
sumptuous and facinorous horde of
would be trespassers and freebooters and
usurpers, viler in their natures than the
degenerate and drunken driver, a savage
horse-beater, whose proper arrest and
incarceration and additional punishment
| brought about in New York nearly
thirty years ago, be left free to perpe-
trate the turpitude which in disdain OF
reason and in contempt of right they
have so insidiously and so UNANIMOUSLY
plotted against me? 1t is my candid and
and continent opinion that the exception
ally efficient and upright and honorable
Congress of the United States, paying
little or no heed to it's spite-diseased
slanderers, will never countenance nor
tolerate such a gross and graft-extend-
ing iniquity.
Mr.. Helper further states that il
the courts, as a result of the above
trial, shall see fit to award "the rea-
sonable and adequate sum of $3, 900
600, under the designation of actual
and exemplary damages or other
wise," he shall 'be disposed to ac-
cept it with fair degree of satisfac-
tion;" but if the award shall fall be-
low the Equitable sum" he will
probably reject it at once, regard
ing it as an obvious defeat and fail
ure of Justice Mr.. Helper contin-
ues: "In the event this is contem-
plated, though it is scarcely possible
for me to anticipate or expect it, !
shall lose no time in turning over to
the mayor of the city of New York
the full value of the verdict, whatever
it may be, requesting his honor to
distribute the whole amount equally
between two or possibly three scien-
tific institutions of learning, which |
will then take the liberty of indicat-
ing to him as worthy recipients and
beneficiaries OF the money. To say
the least, this is the course am no "
thinking of pursuing; yet, bearing in
mind the many unseen and unseeable
vicissitudes and mutations in human
affairs, my somewhat premature and
indefinite decision shall remain un.
fixed until after the final decree Oh
Judgment of the court shall have been
pronounced"
There is something pathetic about
this-an old man and his hobby. Mr.
Helper has written books that have
in years agone made his name fam
Gus for time, and he has held posi-
tiOns under the government, being
consul to Buenos Ayres in the COS
AIc mas Hol idheu W uIoi utC tue dC
tention OF prominent men and must
therefore have possessed considerable
ability. His day of usefulness, how
ever, is gone, and like the men who
spent their lives endeavoring to ''per
feet perpetual motion''-a thing W.
used to hear much about-he nov
admits defeat and is seeking to pun
ish those who in his hour OF discon
tent he believes are to blame. Som,
day there may be a railroad bull
through the three Americas, and whel
this is done the name of Hinton
Rowan Helper should in some man
ner be coupled with it, for he ha
given larger part OF his life to ex
plotting the scheme.