Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1913-10-02

ted that the policy OF the State
has been to aid in the construc.
tion of railroads to develop the
resources OF North Carolina, ever
since the first railroad was con.
structed within her borders; t
aided in the construction of the
Wilmington and Weldon, the N.
Carolina, the Western North Caro-
lima, the Atlantic and North Caro-
lima and the Cape Fear and Yad-
kin Valley Railroads.
Thesegreatimprovementsha have
made the State rich and powerful.
This aid was granted by public
taxation of the people Of all the
State, and the State would have
been richly paid for it's outlay il
it had never got one peny for it's
stock. 1 make the futher asser-
tion, having been a close observer
of the business OF the State for
the last 40 years, that the State
has never lost one penny by rea.
son of taking stock in the various
railroads which have been com.
pleted, except by the scale of her
stock in the said roads.
The declaration t h e Colonel
makes regarding the stock of
these "alIeged" railroads has no
fcrce, because the stock OF n o
railroad has ever been salable un.
tilthe railroad was put into op.
Grafton; but it is a fact known Of
all men that the development of
the country through which any
road passes, and tina result ofim.
provement and institution which
springs up alongits line will event
ually pay the State in taxation
| many times for all it has given
them. But the president OF the
Good Roads Association h a s
stored in his great mind, as set
forth in his keynotespeech before
his association on the seashore
a speech he has lately had repub
lished, to emphasize the meeting
of the Good Roads Association
at Raleigh, on the very day O
the meeting OF the extra session
of the Legislature. What is this
great and vaunted policy thai
he is going TO lauach forth tC
overwhelm the Legislature live
are to take his speech for his pol
lev, it il to abandon the work OF
the railroad, abandon the STATE
farm, and put the conyicts
work on the public roads. Thi'
scheme means that the whole ex
ppnse of the States prison is tt
be borne by taxation, so tina
J the convicts shall be benefit tt
all the people alike. Now, to b.
just to all the people, according
to his own allegation, he mus
distribute them throughout al
| the counties. understand iron
the authorities of the penitentla
ry that there are about 600 abl
bodied convicts able to perform
, hard labor; now there being TO-
. counties. in the State, 1t wonl
F.. give each county six conylcts
. and it would take about two me
? to direct and guard these con
!! yicts, and if there were no repair
) ing to be done to the roads, the
3 would probably get our road
p done about the year A. D. 5000
4 Now it is easy to see that thi
!, policy is a pipe dream of t h
e most absurd and irredescent VI
= riety. As to the Colonel's "allee
I ed" railroads." he rode on one {
] them, the Watagga 4 Yadki
J. River for 21 miles. The road ha
n first.class new engines, new Ell
r gines. new freight and passel
n ger cars. with heavy rails, is no
running on regular pchedule, an
as | understand, is making MOI
= ey over and above regular e!
:. penses. We were afraid he woul
p. not see further than the end ,
II the rails, SO some of us sent hin
together with the entire force I
q the penitentiary Board, an iny
j. tatiOn to visit this country an