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

atlsm and JuStlCe OF TIC
South, in Its Treatment OF
Capital and Corporations -
Time We Have Done With
Hysteria and Injuece and
Reckless and Destructive
Agitation, and the World Put
a Notice that the South is a
Safe and Profitable Field for
the Investment Of Capital.
in New Orleans recently Mr.. Richard
II. Edmonds, editor of the Baltimore
Manufacturers Record, gave out an
interview which was published in the
Atlanta Constitution together with
this editorial comment:
There are terrific indictments
brought against the sanity and the
conservatism and the Justice OF the
South, by "a man back OF whose every
word stands study, poise. calmness.
His are deductions, his is counsel that
it would be suicidal to belittle or ig-
more.
Ii it is true, as he charges, that we
have of our own accord perhaps III
the heat of prejudice, perhaps in tn.
over-zeal of righteousness, penallzed
the capital that is needed in each i'll
dividual line of business, the remedy
is clear as the day.
1t lies in return to the principle,
the equity, the sanity, the conserva-
tism, the unbigoted justice, that pre-
vailed before, and that made the
South the eagerly sought mecca OF
the capital Of the world.
How is that to be accomplished
There is but one way. BY putting
| the world on nOtice-in a manner
that is emphatic, that needs no e!u-
cidation, that is beyond bubble or
peradventure-that the South is IL
safe and profitable field for the i'll
vestment OF capital; that we have
done with hysteria and injustice and
reckless and destructive agitation
that we have turned our faces to the
light, absolutely, 1esOlutely. beyond
the hazard of IL return to folly.
Sanity, Justice, conservatism
| They mean n settlement into the
normal OF each intrrrplated business
| fartOr.
| They mean such regular conditions
that cotton mills will all resume iul
time to supply customers. and that
the farmer, with the world for his
market. will get Il fair price for his
| cotton.
That means, in turn. that every
commercial and industrial interest il
the South will mount again with cot
ton, prospecting in new proportions
That men now idle will work fol
their Old or better wages.
| That rapital. treasured. will pOu
| its vitalizing stream into every
county in the South, bringing tina
prosperity and development we have
own hands
| Are sanity, Justice, conservatism
too high a price to pay for our birth
right?
The statement Of Mr.. Edmond
follows:
| Low COTTON AND IDLE THOUS
| ANDS THE PRICE OF DEM
AGOGUERY.
The whole world is developing ii
such a rapid pace that capital nc
longer has to seek investment. Thu
most tempting opportunities will
every possible safeguard to security
as we'll as to profit, in other section
and in other lands, are now pressed
upon the attention of capital. An
one familiar with the situation vii
recognize that it is much more diff
cult to induce large capital to inves
in the South to-day than it was fiji
teen or twenty years ago. At tina
time English capital was pouring into
the South, especially into the coal
iron and timber interests, and into
the building of railroads. Northern
capital was likewise seeking invest
ment in the South, while to-da,
English capital cannot be temple,
into the South under any conditions
and Northern capital can only b.
secured by the han dest kind of work
''The reason for this change is tina
the South has not treated capita,
with entire fairness. The wave o
political Mysteries Which has swep
over the South has made the mon
eyed people of the world afraid tt
invest here, and SO we are not gettin:
one 1.-THE as much of outside none,
as we need for legitimate develop
ment and which we could readil,
command under wiser and sane
recognition of the right of capital t.
thorough protection.
Instead of coming here as former
ly, English capital has gone int,
other countries on an enormou
scale. 1t is said that England ha
$4,000, 100000 invested in the Ar
gentine Republic, and the scale OF
which Argentina is doing things i
indicated in the fact that Bneno
Ayres has spent S4O,OOO,OOO on it
wharves and docks and is preparin!
to spend $2S,OOO,OOO more.
at may not be generally know
that Bueuos Ayres is growing NOR
; rapidly than any city III America, eX
ceptlng Chicago and New York tina
it has the most magnificent theatr
in the world, the largest club in tn
world, the most expensive Hewspape
plant in the world, and other thing
on n similar scale of cost and splen
dor, as compared with other lands
The foreign trade of the Ar@entin
is about S1O0aper capita annually
: while the South's, with all its vas
cotton exports, is about $50. Ell
glish capital is also pouring int
, Canada, and since January LIST
over 500, 100000 of English mon
ey has gone into Canadian railwa
{ and development enterprises.
: PRESUMING ON OUR ADVAN
r TAGES.
+ Many of our Southern people TN V
thought that our advantages wei