The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-30

The fact already stated will bear repetl- tion in the present connection, that the capital stock of the 743 miles of railroad in Alabama when the Southern Confed- eracy was organized was all owned in Alabama. Not only so, but the many combinations, freight and passenger steamers that daily piled the Alabama Bigbee and Warrior rivers and unloaded in the harbor of Mobile an export coni- merce which gave to that port the third place In the value of that trade in all America. The rank of the exporting cities was New Orleans first, New York second and Mobile third, followed by Charleston, S. C., and Savannah, Ga, in the order named.
 In less than 20 years from the organi- zation of this railroad company, hardly a dollar of railroad stock was owned in Ala bama The entire scheme of internal inn provement intended to increase Mobile upon the increase of enterprise in the resources of inestimable wealth in the interior was wrecked, the spirit of it re- versen and the people despoiled of their inheritance.
 Hc early Ol tnt Nidbohio ehiN' Chattanooga railroad challenges the rec ognition of the student of the career of the state and in no other object is to be found a more succint and conclusive tes- tinony.
 The stigma of African slavery The narrow and mercenary mind of Uncle Toms Cabin" nor yet the vicious sol emnity of our school ana university his- tories are not to be disposed of for some time, possibly for some generations in the future.
 Let us endeavor to get glimpse of that unparalleled truth in southern life. the self existing process of African slavery.
 Every feature of the history of the south for the last half century of slavery attests the empiricism or the policy of bringing the sword to the aid of manu- mission.
 The Alabama and Chattanooga railroad had to tSe built because the accumulated prosperity of the cotton plantations re- quired a wider measure of enterprise. The originators of the project proposed to build the road by laborers whose ascer- tained value on the market at that time was not below S1000 per capita. We need not here pursue the argument to prove the ilusive nature of such property as q railroad laborer that cost a thousand dol lars of the capital stock. Suffice it to be said the institution of siavery had all ready reached the crest, when the mar row mind of Uncle Toms Cabin" en- gagged in a world wide sacrilege. The cal low yaporings of our current school and university histories ignore the honor due the African of the plantations. When the authors omit to flnd nls opportunity well employed, to use the simple routine of the plantations to prepare himself to rise from the elementary status of servi- tude to the surly economic sphere of wage earner When the planters of the western counties of Alabama resolved to build a great railroad, by slave labor. they. to that extent, gave impetus to the ripening economy which demanded wages for railroad labor and all other descrip- tions of labor suited to modern develop ment. The coming of Mir. Lincoln arrest ed their unconscious and certain move ment to emancipation by means of nor mai industry.
 Following months of sporadic discussion among themselves, a considerable mum Der of cotton planters agreed upon date and place to hold railroad convention. The convention met in the old capitol at Tuscaloosa in the fall of 1858. The meet ing was composed of the more solid men of Tuscaloosa, Greene, Sumter and Jeff ferson counties, and the object of th,. meeting was explained to be to fix upon the ways and means to build railroad from Meridian to Chattanooga. No other method was In any mans mind but that each planter must take a prescribed length of road bed. to be assigned to him by the chief engineer land this he would make ready for ties and rails. The la bor and the teams to be used would be called from his plantation. The cash 10 be expended in known or contingent uses would be from common supscriptioh fund in the hands of the corporation.
 In this initial meeting sharp conten- ton arose. Planters in the fork or the Warrior and Little Bigbee rivers de- manded that the road should pass through that territory. If so, the town of Tuscaloosa would be left to the east of the road. But Tuscaloosa demanded to be placed directly on the line. Hon. w S. Mudd of Jefferson, circuit judge, with jurisdiction that gave him intimate knowledge of the character of the coun- try, it's population. products of farms, etc. was summoned as arbiter and In his familiar wisdom restored peace. So Judge Mudd located the western line of the great road.
 The excitement of untimely disputation having been subdued. the initial meet ing at Tuscaloosa adjourned with the un- derstanding that the stockholders would assemble at Eutaw on January IS of the next year. 1854. to choose directors. The charter had already been secured from the legislature under the title. The Northeast and Southwest Railroad com pany' The counties of Tuscaloosa, Greene, Sumter and Jefferson were again represented Capital stock to the amount of S1. .200.OO0 had been subscribed already, pyaable part in cash and the remainder in road bed building.
 The stockholders first passed a resoli- tion practically of instruction to the di- rectory to be chosen. This was their comprehensive line of policy laid down. It was prepared and read to the meet ing by Prof l.. C. Garland of the faculty of the Alabama university:
 Resolved, That this company will neither. hazard it's credit nor put it's enterprise in jeopardy by beginning the construction of the road before they have secured the means in hand to prosecute it to successful issue. and the ground of such assurance shall not be less than sub scription in work CD adequate to grade and prepare the road bed for the ties and iron it's entire length. including subscrip- tions in money to the amount of six hun dred thousand dollars ($60o.000 for the erection of shopsite. that until these con ditions are compiled with the directory sbai1 mt ba vo "a mower call in any