The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-11-24

ress in agriculture, the last quarter
of a century has witnessed remark
able industrial development. A gen.
Grafton ago manufacturers in other
localities thought Of the South only
as a region from which raw materials
were to be drawn by the manufacture
erS Of other sections and other coun-
tries. They did not then give serious
consideration to the possibility OF ef-
fective competition from this section.
You had a climate favorable at o,:c.
to the efficiency Of labor and to low
cost Of living proximity to sources Of
supply Of raw materials the posi-
bility Of cheap power development,
and last, but not least, a population
capable Of being trained to high de-
gree of technical skill. The essential
conditions for an industrial develop
ment were all here. It needed only
the faith and courage Of such men as
your own D. E. Converse and John H.
Montgomery to set in motion a move
tnent which has convinced Fall River,
Manchester, and other manufacturing
centers, that Southern competition IS
very substantial fact. The growth
of Spartanburg, from the village Of
1880 to the splendid city Of today, is
typical Of the development Of the in
dustrial communities which abound
in all our Southern States, from the
tide-water counties to the mountain
towns, and which stretch in an un-
broken chain along the entire length
Of this Piedmont section.
"It is not mere accident that this
industrial development has been con-
temporaneous with an Improvement
in the transportation system Of the
South, and with the amalgamation in
to through systems Of the disjointed
railway lines which had survived the
Civil War. Without this railway de-
velopment your industrial progress
would have been impossible. Those
advantages Of climate, Of natural re-
sources, and Of the industrial adap-
liability Of your people, which are des-
tined to bring to this ection supre-
macy in many lines Of manufacturing,
would still be lying dormant had there
not been provided the means Of plac-
ing the products Of your factories in
markets where there exists an effec-
tive demand for them. AS your indus
trial progress in ths past has been
made possible largely by your rail-
ways, so, in the future, the carrying
capacity Of your railways must keep
pace with your industrial progress. ,"
Mr.. Finley spoke of the Importance
Of the people Of every community CO.
operating with their railways, within
their proper sphere and along practi-
cable and reasonable lines, in econo-
mic educational movements. In cou
clusion he said:
"We have seen that, in very real
sense, the railways by which Spartan
burg is served are, in, the language Il
you toast, your railways They are
your highways to market. They have
made your past progress possible, and
they must be important factors in
your future prosperity. You are de-
pendent on them and they are o.pend-
ent on You. The people Of any COM
munity can not afford to stand apart
from their railways. Out Of this mu-
tual dependence grow reciprocal ob].-
cations. The obligation rests upon
Your railways to give to you the most
efficient transportation service in their
power, without unjust discrimination
between individuals, localities or COM
moGities. and at rates that are not pn.
reasonable, when measured by the
service performed. The obligation
rest upon YOU to see to it that your
railways are not subjected to unjust
or unduly restrictive public policies,
and to recognize the fact that if they
are to be efficient factors in Your
social and material progress, and if
they are to be able to increase their
facilities so as to keep pace with
your increasing demands upon them,
their earnings must be such as to
yield a sufficient margin over the
costs Of operation to induce new capi-
tai to seek investment in railway Ell
terprises.
"There has been criticism at times
Of what has been believed to be the
no1itical attitn?n of railway cOno-