The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1907-04-11

ty could only be afforded by means Of
transportation that would admit them
into these world markets under condi-
tions of fair competition. No broken
lines of transportation, interrupted at
state lines or stopping at nearby mar.
kets, would have. met this necessity.
Systems Of transportation, strong and
continuous, from the point of produc-
tion to the most favored and the most
favorable markets of the world was an
essential requirement of their situa.
tion. In order for the energies of the
south to apply themselves to the man.
ufacture Of cotton goods, the railroads
were obliged to put their manufactured
cotton products, not into the home
markets, but into the markets of the
north aud west and into thse of Europe
and the Orient.
In order for the iron furnaces of the
south to be established, transportation
of their product was necessary, not to
neighboring cities nor to nearby mar
kets, but to the markets of the. world.
It was thus q condition precedent TO
the successful expression of the enerl
gies and intelligence Of the southern
people that continuous lines of trans
portation reaching on favorable terms
the markets Of the world should be es-
tablished. twas an economic necessi-
ty Of the age. The fact that the rail-
road managements of the south have
seen and met this necessity should, l
submit, be always remembered to their
credit, and whatever may have been
their shortcomings, this great achieve
ment, so essential to the public welfare,
should never be forgotten.
The south's industrial development
could not have proceeded SO far nor SO
fast without extensive systems of rail
way in the southern states under man
agements in thorough sympathy with
the business needs and aspirations of
its people.
You are all more or less familiar with
the history of this railway development.
You know that before the war the roads
of this section compared favorably with
those in any other part of the union.
You also know that there was no class
Of property that suffered more during
the war than did the railways of this
section. Alternately used and destroy
ed by first one army and then the other,
when the war closed they had little
eft but their debts and their rights OF
way. The task of rebuilding and Of
connecting these feeble, disjointed
lines with different gauges into exten-
sive standard-gsuge systems capable Of
giving efficient service was stupendous,
but there were southern men Of cour-
age and ability who did not shrink
from the undertaking, one of the chief
among them being that splendid citizen
Of Georgia, my lamented predecessor,
Sam'l Spencer. But for the work done
by these men and that being carried on
today by their Successors, with the aid
of the energies and efforts of thepeople,
the industrial development of the south
on anything like its present scale
would have been impossible.
For carrying out this work large
amounts Of capital we're required. The
south needed every dollar in this sec
tion for the rehabilitation of its farms
and factories. Capital for the railways
had to be raised in, large proportion
elsewhere. This was done through the
ability of southern men to convince the
investors of the future of the south. BY
far the larger part OF the capital thu:
raised has been paid out here in the
south, along the lines of the roads, il
the employment OF labor, in the pur
chase OF timber for ties, bridges and
buildings, and in the purchase of sup
plies of ell kinds from southern manu-
facturers to the extent to which they
have been able to supply them. 81
that, In addition to contributing to th'
advancement Of the south by providing
better transportation facilities, the rail
ways have drawn large amounts of out
side capital to this section and, b!
their disbursements, have started j
flowing through the channels of south
ern trade. This process is still goinl
on and should continue for years Il
come, for the pressing need CT the soutl
today is for better and more extensiv
transportation facilities.
If the railways are to secure the larg
amounts of new capital required to en-
able them to meet the rapidly increas
ing demand for their services, thei
credit must be such as to assure invest
ors of a reasonable return upon thei
money. Credit, in turn, depends upo
income, and income depends upon til
charges made for transportation-th
only commodity railway has for sale
The south now has rates that enabl
southern producers to market thei
products in widely separated home an
foreign markets on such terms thu
they can compete successfully wit
similar products from other localities
but it has not the means of movin
those products to market as prompt
asris desirable. Every shipper wan
low rates, but when rates are SO low |
to enable him to reach cOmpetiti'