The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-11-09

The daily newspaper is in it's appointed sphere of speciality when it places the same fact ip the minds of many people. in a wide territory, ut the same time. Thus the daily newspaper becomes the standard of the public intelligence and the organizer of public aspirations, without a rival The generation of men that fails to value itself as the connecting link be- tween the past and the future, envious or the fame of the fathers and jealous of its own reputation, forsakes it's inheritance of the right to live.
 We have seen that the Northeast and Southwest railroad was chartered in 1854 in the early years that marked the re- covery of the whole country from pro- longed financial revolution. Severe as the incidental suffering was in Alabama, no state of the Union restored itself to normal conditions with greater display of>energy or greater recourse to tact in administration of civil government This railroad project in it's inception and prosT poets becomes interesting as an illustra- tion of the foundations of the state.
 Tn eobject was to connect the Mobile and Ohio railroad with the railroad sys- lem that, branching out from Chattanoo- ga reached the Atlantic at Savannah and all the principal ports to the north.
 The capital stock was N,2O0DoO, sub scribed part in money, but mostly in labor of construction. For example MT. Al fred Battle of Tuscaloosa took a contract representing S50,OO0 of grading. The work was all dcnc by his plantation slaves under their ordinary overseers. In an nourcing the completion of this contract MT Battle wrote: My (his) grading of inc road has not seriously damaged my fbis) planting interests. He offered to increa se his subscription to the stock by payment of several thousand dollars in money.
 Chef Engineer Robert E. Rodes was in the Army Of Northern Virginia and his place on the road could not be filled. The call of the Confederate government on the planters for corn and for laborers on Notifications was imperative Railroad work was discontinued.
 In less than 90 days after the surrender of the military district of Alabama to General Canby at Meridian, Robert Jerl- ison Jr., president of the Northeast and Southwest railroad, called meeting of the stockholders at Tuscaloosa.
 It will be remembered that Governor Watts was in voluntary exile, to escape arrest and ImDF1HOniltfil m d fort, No civil government existed, but all the towns were garrisoned by United states troops with power of arrest of cit izens. while the Freedman's bureau dis Distributed it's alien agents throughout the plantations to foment discord between the precipitately manumitted slaves and their saut sters. The government was busy with agents and wagons seizing the cotton found on the plantations Except this so1 r,nfa aFfa af able assets nj word, there was total dearth of currency in the whole south and no commodities. present or pros3ec- tive. to throw upon the markets of the world by which currency might Joe re- stored except cotton. At that time the government imposed D tax Of cents pound upon all sold by the producer.
 Ii was uf der these conditions that the meeting of stockholders assembled at Tus- oaloosa in the latter part of May 1885
 MT. w. l.. Webb of Eutaw startled the meeting by proposing that the road, it's franchises and all appurtenances thereto belonging" should be surrendered ahso- 1tteIy to any corporation or person who would complete and put it in opera ton. As the enterprise then stood the corpor- fion owed nothing. Ono million two hun drea thousand dollars in work and money had been expended on the road bed and track. The IA miles from Meridian to York had been completed and cars were running on if. The Wills Valley road from Chatta- uooga to Trenton, Ga. intended to fcrm the northern and concluding section of the line, but built by a separate com pany. about IA miles, was also completed and in operation Two hundred miles of the main ro ad was sraded with all neces- sary oulverts built through the whole length of the line
 Hearing the despcrate motion of Mir. Webb. Capt A. Bozemhn proposed that the subject be left undetermined for later meeting.
 After 20 days the meeting reassenbled ,at Eutaw. as by agreement At the Eu-