The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-04

l of Alabama toward the railroads twens I ty-fiva or thirty years ago. an I speaking from memory. but l think ths 1 foregoing statements arc substantially | correct The State then was enthu- l siastic in the matter of getting raii- | roads, and this friendly spirit of ,ouI l people and State government towards
 the roads doubtless had much to dc Alabama up to its present fine propor- l tons.
 But what change do we see. Cap
 ital has come to our state, the money | becoming one of the richest States In the South. The railroads have helped | greatly to make the State what 1t Is | And now we turn upon the railroads 1 other enterprises of an industrial kind. This change of attitude. after the money has come in and made our State rich and great, is hard to un- principles of fair dealing.
 Many things are to be considered Tn connection with the reduction of the freight rate. There are numerous indus trial enterprises in Alabama other than railroads. But we do not expect to treat any of these other enterprises as we are now treating the railroads. We seem to. be proud of every enterprise except those connected with transpor- tation. We wish that pecuniary suc- cess may be achieved by all of them, except the railroads.
 Low Dividends on Investment. I recently asked a gentleman of wide experience in business affairs to give me his opinion as to the dividends that have been declared during the last year or two by various industries in this State. He took the matter under advisement The statement which he gave me of dividends that were be- ing declared by various industrial plants is so moderate and conserva- and every other business man in Ala bama, will. at once, recognize its sub stantial correctness. This estimate Is as follows: Cotton factories. eight per cent; iron furnaces, six per cent; saw mills. eight to fifteen per cent; rolling mills. six per cent; coal mines, eight per cent; oil mills, eight per cent.
 Most people think that these state ments are too low. Our leading citi- zens and our. newspapers have been boasting for years of the great profits that were being made by cotton factor les in this State and in the South gen. orally. In the foregoing estimate, the dividends of these factories are placed at only eight per cent. Intelligent men may be little surprised at this esti- mate of the dividends made by furnaces and rolling mills. The newspapers for years have been parading the fact that this was good time for the manufact- urers of iron. The consumption of iron has so greatly increased that it has been almost impossible for the furnaces to take it from the mountain, smelt 1t. and put it in a marketable shape fast enough to meet the demand. Steel rails have doubled and almost trebled in value. the estimate of six per cent di- vidends is low enough, and what we have just said about iron and steel is equally true of coal. The demand for coal has been so great that we have been in danger, If the weather had been G-,x Is nearly double what 1t was a few years ago. The coal mine that does not pay a dividend of eight per cent is eitehr not properly located or not prop erly mana ged. I submit then that the foregoing estimates are fair and con- servative.
 Gives Statements From Roads.
 Now let us get a few figures as to the dividends of the railroads. The in- formation I have collected Is taken from books and records and documents on file in tho office of the Railroad Commissioner of Alabama They are of f1cial sources. If these estimates are not correct, it is not my fault. I have gone to the proper source of inform ation. I am of the impression that tse people have not been informed as to how little net profit the railroads of Alabama were making. The people have been allowed to assume that the railroads of Alabama were making tre- mendous dividends. and were gobbling up for their selfish greed the fatness of the land. But few persons have seen of the case.
 have In my hand a careful state- ment of the dividends. or want of divi- 6snaS %o%e pertainins the sleaar tsn ralroaSs ST the the HouisviIIe and Nashville, mot not including that portion of it which is known as the South and North Alabama n ,t-H@ . which last year declared dividend of six per cent. This road is one of the oldest in the South. and the dividend is based partly on its earnings in Ken lucky. Tennessee, Mississippi and
 The following is a statement of divi- dends declared, or not declared, last year, on the common stock of the cers tain roads:
 Alabama Great Southern. nono; Alt lantic Coast Line. five and nine-tenths per cent; Central of Georgia, none: Kansas City, (Frisco). one and eight tenths per cent; Mobile and Ohio. (from Columbus to Montgomery, none; South and North Alabama. none; Mo- bile and Birmingham, Southern Rail- way), none.
 l invite a comparison of the divi- dends. or want of dividends, of the foregoing roads with the estimate of dividends of other Industrial plants given above. Why should there be Sucn a UlScTlnllndtlOn Dy law between the great industries of this State? It Is well to rejoice that our oil mills and cotton factories are making six per cent or eight per cent for their stockholders. l for one am proud Of their success. But why should we be- grudge to the railroads the right to make two. or three or four per cent on their capital, if they can honestly do so?
 Protests Against Discrimination.
 Should not all these enterprises stand on an equal footing before the law
 and at the bar of public opinion? If there were no railroads the cotton fac tories. and furnaces and rolling mills
 if they existed at all, would, in order to get their products to market, have to haul them by wagon up hill and down hill. and over muddy roads to a landing on some river, and of course they could not stand competition with factories and iron plants located in other States along the line of rail- road Then, if the railroads contribute so much towards getting the, products Of the factory and the mill to market and thus make possible the existence of the factory or mill. why should these factories or mills, while they are de clarng dividends of seven per cent or eight per cent, make war upon the railroads whose dividends are only two three