The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-06-04

: Itb IHr fHttU titdb '''i'' t''' i''''''
/ ton and anti-raiIroad le2islation
and the effort to chang. all trade
conditions based on years of expert
ence which was sweeping over the
South would not only affect ever.
busire.s interest. hut would cost he
South at least 500, 100000 on the
crop Of 19O7-0S. The prediction has
already been fulfilled. 1t did not
require any great mental ability, or
any gift OF phrophecy to know that
| it's fulfllment was inevitable.
I'VE have been living for several
wears in what in the future will be
known as the undertaking age. Pol
iticians of high and low degree from
the highest to the lowest-yellOw
journals and still yellower magazines,
have been filing the land with false
| hoods about the management OF
business corporations and the effect
OF the development OF great business
organizations upon business affairs
| We have been told that " all street
and the spectators i'll stocks and
cotton were IL curse to the country.
We have the cheapest railroad freight
| rates III tic "oIiNis oui idtSN bCi''S
| less than Oue-third of the rates in
England and about one-thirl of con-
tinental rates Our traffic is spread
over IL vast territory, while Europe's
is crowded into II compact region;
but, Notwithstanding these di>sid-
4 vantages against the American rail
roads, they have been carrying freight
at IL rate absurdly low as compared
with European lines. Still our peo-
pie have been made to believe that
railroads were destroying the pros
perity OF the country, and men who
were never in ured in any possible
way by railroads were made to feel
by the undertaking pen that the rail
road managers were simply the earth
ly representatives Of Satan him |e'f,
and that it was his bounden duty to
do all in his power to DESTROY their
influence and their prosperity.
PRICE OF DIVINE PROPHETS.
I'VE are paying the just penalty OF
our own sins. AS Il people W. Needed
the teachings of false prophets, and
like those OF old who accepted the
teachings of the false prophets, who
claimed to be divinely inspired, but
proved not to be, we have had to pay
the penalty. The penalty has been
one Hggrrgating hundreds OF millions
OF dollars of loss to the South: it has
meant the impoyerishHient Of thO1-
sands who are without rnplOymrnt
while twelve months ago there WAS
more work 10 be done than there
were workers to do it.
The undertaking system is well
illustrated in II case which came l'e-
fore me several Years ago. Alta time
when the cotton mill development OF
the CarolinHs and Georgia was Just
beginning to attract great attention,
and to frighten the cotton mill peO-
pie of New England, there appeared il:
one OF the most rpputnhle-m onthlv
magaZin.S Il story about cotton mill
conditions in Georgia. IT was Written
by Il most excellent Southern woman.
1T was 50 thoroughly unfair in
that it presented every dark side OF
the ri .ture without one single redeem
ing feature, and | criticized it very
strongly us wholly unjust. 1'h- writer
> OF the article was very much hurt and
offended at my criticism, and shortly
afterwards when in Baltimore r.
Questnil an interview to discuss the
sub rct.
81 pointed out 10 her that she had
picked out every dark side ofthe case
that she had pilot ographei only the
most sicklv looking operatives, that
she had presented everything which
could by any possibility b. used &c
the discredit OF the cotton mill bust
ness, hut that she had not presented
, a single statement us to the many
!, advantages which had come tOruttou
mill operatives through tllep>tablish.
ment of cotton mills: that she had
failed to til OF the wretchetl poverty
lii the mountain regions from which
these Operatives largely had bee,
drawn; hat she had fale t. call at
tention to the fact that the cot ton
mill village and cotton mill employ
, ment were the first steps in the evolu-
ton of q people who for century
had starved mentally and physically
and that the cotton mill employment
was the first opportunity which they
had ever had OF getting a square
; meal. She admitted all of this, and
said that she had written that side o.
the case as Il part of her story, but
, that the editor OF the magazine r4
: fused to publish it until 81 bad cut
.. all but the dark side. told her that
further discussion seemed to me- us =
less. since size had admitted all nv
criticism had said.
MEN WHO BUlLDED. -
'This story simply illustrates the
7 whole undertaking spirit. Lacking
r i'll appreciation of the marvellous
, work which has been done by the
great leaders in American industry
by the great railroad developers ot
, the age, the people have been made
) to believe that these men have beer
; working only evil, and that nothing
: good could possibly come out Of
l them. Z. H. Hartman was pictured
5 as one of the arch fiends of the day
5 and yet, whether E. H. Hartman be
; the great SPECTATOR claimed 10y his
: enemies or not, he is unquestionahly
one OF the greatest railroad upbuil l.
1 ers which America has produced
2 possibly the greatest outside of Cas-
SHtt.
Seven Years ago, when Cas- .att
saw the coming OF American progress
he undertook the whole PENNSYLVANIA;
railroad system at an expenditure OF
several hundred millions of dollars
and some Philadelphia papers seri
. ously questioned whether he was not
g mentally unbalanced.
-. Next to Cassatt, Hartman has
t probably been the most farseeing an,
daring railroad operator, expanding
} S2oO,OOO,OoO to reconstruct stlit
, Union Pacific and 100000. 900 OF
the Southern Pacific Few men in til,
railroad world-probably none have