The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1908-02-14
WIS., Tor tnshselvest md 1l1eir state
II te's EHEf1;e. ths.f aeg1fs e favor Sss

1 p~~
preservation and sefety--It-w was In this
meaning Of the two last words that
it was employed when after the civil
war, democracy" being yet adious to
the body Of old Wings, the word
conservative" was, at the instance OF
Governor Graham; bestowed upon the
party in North Carolina which cor
respprHas1t tolthe !~aeFrefJ5atic party OF
the nation; and 1t was the "Conserva-
tive partition as It was later called
the national name, the conservative
democratic party, wK1ch became the
savior, the preserver, Of the state from
the.fhorde of dmeign .hdVenturers aud
natfyeI apestatea whishnAsd -despoiled
1t and d9ade ats nafrfQFoach, In
memory ,of5the association of. the word
with the restoration OF, safe and hon.
est government no North Caro1inian
needs to disown the name "Conserva-
tive" or feel, himself aggrieved by it's
application to him.
Unless the quality--the conserving
force Of the world-for which, this
word stands, control in our legislation
and administration hereafter, the ben
efts of the legislation, which has iust
been enacted Will be lost and the
state be the loser. It is undoubtedly
true that" 4iHr" Georgia; and Alabama,
especiallyCthn Iiatter,Ait has within re-
cent times lost caste lin the sight of
outsiders; and whileuW may we'll
boast of Qua aprDduetiveness and iprog-
ress it will not do to say that I'VE are
Independent of the world for we lack
much of it. The investment of out
side capital has done a very great
deal to put the state where it is and
its continued Investment is necessary
to the states continued development.
To make the meaning clear we need
refer to but three great enterprises,
the Southern Power, company, the
Whitney company, and the Blewitt
Falls Power company. The money for
these undertakings, amounting to mil
lions. all came from without and has
been distributed in North and South
Carolina. principally the former, to its
vast advantage. Had the legislative
temper Of this state been ten years
ago what it was last year, think you
these investments would have been
made here? Not a dollar of them! But
from the time after the civil war that
the people of North Carolina came
again to their OWE down to a very re-
cent period, the states policy was tt
afford protection to the property of
its own people and to give outside
capital an equal assurance of safety.
The effect of it's later policy, recently
happily reversed, has been to foster
u~neasiness in the minds of citizens and
to rebuff outside investors. There is
no guessing what the events and the
threatenings.o of the past two years, and
especially the last, have. cost North
Carolina. Wrong in. itself, it has been
.repellant in it's influence upon capital
abroad, as we, have shown. from time
to time by citations from letters and
newspapers, and many investors here
have no doubt cursed the fate which
fmpelled them to plant their good mon
ey in North Carolina and 1onged for
an opportunity to unload their hold
irgs. '''~-@~H 2--
But the state can retrieve itself and
last month it started on this way.
How may it? 1t is the simplest thing
in the world. It has only to do right.
It has a safe judiciary. For the rest,
it mas only to eject safe legislators and
executive officers, men OF wisdom and
of Justice, who have no vengeance to
wreak upon any particular corporation
or corporations but who will e safe
gard the property of all the people and
be friend and patron to every leg1-
innate interest, individual and cor
porate: conservative men; conserva-.
tive democrats; let the party be what
it was forty years ago, not in name
but in fact-the "conservative-demo-
crative party"
We will not be misunderstood ex-
cept by those who prefer to .misun-
derstand. We do not mean that rail-
road or any other class of corporations
should have special privileges or be
allowed to III away with the state.
They should be regulated with a firm
but not hostile hand and be compelled
to pursue the course which we are.
recommending that the state pursue
compelled to do right if they will not
do right voluntarily. What every citf-7
zen should be ambitious of Is that his
state return to5its immemoriaI Gus
tom OF fair-dealihg with rich andepoorg
whether their homes or only their in-i
vestments r here; that every indi-
yiunaiI and every interest be given q
living chance; that the burden OF tax
alton be distributed eauitably and that
mall particulars, property, private or
corporate, beqdealt, out eEen-handed
Justice. This IS not; only apropero but
itisepolitthc With the re7establishment
Of this policy the broken Confidence in
the state will return and the pride
Of its, own people, sadly shaken by