Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1908-06-19
PRESIDENT FINLEY's ADDRESS

President w. w. Finley, of the
Southern Railway, WAS the orator of the
day at the VIRGINIA Polytechnic lusti-
tute at Blackburg on the l7lh instant,
aud in his address to the graduating
class outlined at some length the in
dustrial opportunities open to young
men of the South.
Advocating a specialized edncRtion,
he said that the call of the world IT,
day is for the man who has mastered
the sum of human knowledge in some
particular line. President Finley
traced the agricultural development OF
the South as a psrellel to its wonderful
development in manufacturing, naming
as the three chief agencies in building
up diversified system of southern agrl-
culture: First the building up Of
manufacturing communities: second,
the improvement of the transportation
system, and third, the development
of agricultural education.
Alluding indirectly to rate legislation.
President Finley said:
"I believe that your study OF the
history of human institutions will con-
vince you that the greatest and most
widely diiused prosper ty may be ex-
pected In those nations in which in
diyidual industy and enterprise have
been given the widest scope, and in
which the functions of government have
been limited most nearly TO the pre-
yenlion of crime and the preservation OF
order.
fortunately, we have in the history
of the world examples of almost every
conceivable variety of governmental
regulation affecting busin6s, enterprises.
1t is not Necessary for us to embark on
untried experiments. l believe that the
history of the world teaches that the in
ter-reiations OF all human activities are so
intimate that any policy which would
tend unduly TO restrict those engaged in
any occupation which is not in itself i'm
moral must inevitably react upon all the
people. 1t is one of the fundamental
laws of economics that capital tends to
aow into those lines of employment as
srriug the largest and most certain re-
turns. The object OF every business Is
profit. II is Of especial importance in
our section that capital should be en-
couraged to flow into the business OF
transportation.
"The common view of the public in
terest in railway is exclusively as a
csyrier. The Importance of the Pur'
chasing power of the railways and ol
those employed by them as factors in tht
general prosperity of the country is often
Iost sight Of The railways are not only
carriers. but are themselves large :on'
sumers of q vast variety of the products
of the country.
"I brlieve that our system of govern
ment is the best that man has Jet de-
yised. and have faith in the American
people. Therefore, l believe that these
problems, perplexing as they hasy De-
will be so solved ss to insure our ad
vsncement even 10 higher plane oil ma
tional prosperity and happiness than We
have vet attained. Not the ieast OF the
advantages of Virgins is its relative
proximity to large consuming centres
and it, favorable conditions for the DE
yelopment of water and rail transporta
ton. With its ideal location, Us vas
variety and richness of natural resources
and inhabited by people which pro
| duced Patrick Henry and Jefferson,
| Washington and Lee, the future o
] Virginia is assured"