The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-01-04
ATTENTION DRAWN
 ID WORK IN SOUTH Railroads Have Brought Many Manufacturing Plants IMMIGRANTS ARE COMING IN Land and Industrial Departments of Southern Roads Are Great Factors
 In Developing This Section
 of the Country.
IMMIGRANTS ARE COMING IN


 l velopment of that section of the country | is afforded by the last annual report of President Spencer, of the Southern rail- way, and by some figures presented to the | Senate committee on interstate commerce | by MT. Robert Gates of the land and in- dustrial department of the Louisville and Nashville railroad.
 ! In his report Mir. Spencer said: "Along the lines of the Southern Railway com pany during the year ended June 30, 1895, there were completed and put in operation 4s textile mills, S4 furniture factories, 3s iron industries, tanneries T stone ouarries and coal mines 15 cotton seed oil plants fertilizer works, and more than | 800 smaller industries. Over 25o industries were under construction at the close of the year. Immigration to and the invest ment of foreign capital in the territory served by the Southern Railway com pany's lines during the year exceeded any previous year in the history of the com pany"
 Work of L. & N.
 MT. Gates said. "The records in the of | flee of the general industrial and immi- grafton agent of the Louisville and Nash vile railroad, in Louisville, present the following facts and figures as to indus tries located during the year 1904 through the efforts of the industrial agents of the road: In Kentucky, 50 industries repre- senting $2, GOO capital; in Virginia, industries with a capital of sSS5,OoO; in Tennessee, s9 industries, with total cap ital of S1, ,776, 700; in Alabama, 1S indus tries. with a total capital of $S,4o2,lOO; Tn Florida. IS industries, with total capital of s6l5. GOO; in Mississippi, industries, with A total capital of sl15,0Oo; in Louisiana 1 industries, with total capital or szSe,Voo- A grand total of 90S industries and $l5,- 491, 300. Most of these industries are To- cated on the tracks of the Louisville and Nashville. Some are on the tracks or other roads, but with which the Louisville and Nashville has physical connecticut 1 The other great systems of the south the Southern, the Illinois Central, the At lantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line' the Frisco, the Nashville, Chattanooga ond Ct I.ouis-oan all make as good com parative showings.
 'I desire to present briefly some figures and facts as to immigration. During the year 1904 the Louisville and Nashville located immigrants as follows: Alabama 7O4 families, of 2Ss4 persons who pur- chased 29l42 acres of land; Florida, lSl families, of 512 persons, who purchased 17.7g acres of land Mississippi s lam flies of 992 persons. who purchased o6c | 1S families 6l nersons who purchased 1l16 acres ot land; at points on the line in other states three families of fourteen persons, who purchased 49O acres of land. A total Of | 115o families of 4110 persons and Ss'S2i acres of land"
 Important Developing Factor.
 The figures presented by MT. Spencer and MT. Gates show that the land and in- dustrial departments of the railways oi the. south are probably the most import ant factors in accelerating the develop ment of that section of the country Through these departments the railways expend large sums of money every year in advertising the resources of the south ern states and in bringing business op- nortunities in that section to the atten- tion of capitalists and investors in other parts of the country. A capitalist or group of capitalists looking for an op- portunity to establish a cotton mill, ar iron and steel plant, furniture factory or any other industry in the south can always find representative Of southern railway with complete information as to the best localities in which to establish the industry as to the sources of supply or raw materials of all kinds as tc markets and as to the supply of suita- ble labor If the owner of an industria, establishment of any kind, of farm, or of any other property in the south wishes to sell he finds the land and industrial department of the nearest railway line ready to undertake to find a purchaser for him. All this work is done at the pense of the railways though the prl. nary benefit goes to southern individuals and communities. The railways profit from it through the rc-N'opment of the communities along their lines and the gradual increase in the density of pas senger and freight traffic.
 Strong Argument Is Made.
 One of the strongest arguments that has been made against the proposition tC give the interstate commerce commission authority to prescribe transportation charges Is that 1t would seriously in. terfere with the work now being done for the development of the industries anc the natural resources of the south. There is close cooperation between the land anc industrial departments of the railways anc their traffic departments. One of the in. ducements that can now be held out tc prospective investors In a southern indus. trial enterprise is a scale of freight rates to competitive markets that will enable the products of the southern industry tc compete successfully with those of other localities. A governmental commission would have to make rates by some uniform rule approximating a uniform charge pei ton per mile. The making of rate by al southern railroad for the purpose of de veloping traffic along its lines would lead to complains from those interested in sim liar traffic in other parts of the coun- try and the commission would have to or. der the Southern road to make it's rates in conformity with the established rule. FoI instance, there is now complaint on the part of New England cotton mills thai southern mills enjoy relatively more ia vorable rates to competitive markets thar those from New England. If the inter state commerce commission had power tc fix rates there is no doubt that there would be formal complaint of this rela- tive adjustment of rates on cotton goods and an order of the commission fixing rates on uniform basis would Ncertain- ly be injurious to the southern mills
 Discussion of the railway rate problem | dt,riro fha mast year has convinced many