Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-05-29

1ouuc0 IL down from what they say we
are not honest. Does it matter wheth-
eT this Blue Ridge I~nterurban Ry. Co.
Is honest or dishonest. What have
you got to do with that? It doesn't
matter with you. The issue is not
Are we proceeding in good faith?"
That was left to His Honor.
There is a great big, argument made
that the Blue Ridge I~nterurban Ry. Co.
had not paid anything for this stock.
That is smart. If the Blue Ridge In
terurban Ry. Co. had gotten over
$500, 900 worth of property without
paying anything they are smart. The
question is have they got it? Mr.. Law.
whose character stands. and whose
character you would say was good.
swears that they have invested over
$500, O00,-but they say the Blue Ridge
I~nterurban Ry. Co. didn't pay any
thing for it. The answer to that is
that the Blue Ridge Interurban Ry. Co.
paid for it in stock. What is stock
Who owns the First Bank and Trust
Co. here? The stockholders. l want
to tell you / have a little stock in that
and / " paid one cent for it.
There is not a stakeholder in that
bank that paid one cent for the stock
in the bank organized, the First
Bank and Trust Co. It has got $125.-
600 capital and a great big surplus
and lots of money. They have not
paid one cent for it. How is that? It
has existed but a little while. 1t was
the first National Bank and the Wan
teska Trust e Banking Co., the two
things went together and the men that
paid money into the First National
Bank and Wanteska Trust & Banking
Co., and got stock turned that stock
over and got stock in the new concern.
They have appealed to you to decide
this thing for Mr.. Oates because they
say Mr@:Oates was the pioneer here.
They say Mr.. Oates started here in
1904, went into business here in order
that he might please the people, might
be an advantage, went and put his
money and time all to help the people,
and the people ought to stand to him,
and you are the people. Oates has
helped you so much at a sacrifice.
What does the evidence show? The
evidence shows that somebody has
helped Oates pretty well. He says he
is getting an income of $4,000. 1
don't know whether that is correct or
not. If he is getting it, | ask you
who in the name of Heaven is he get
ting it from and what are the people
getting in exchange for it. He is sell
ing power he says at $50 a H. p. I be-
lieve that is what they say. To whom?
The people in Hendersonvilel and
around Hendersonville. He brings
Mr.. Knox here, who testiies that HIP
is worth about $40 a HIP. Who is Mr..
Knox? Mr.. Knox is N man at one
end and Mr.. Oates is one man at the
other end. They are milking the peo-
pie without competition, without any
body to stand against them. They say
he is sacrificing himself. Poor Bob
He is only making $4,000 a year, and
I suppose he is giving the people
Sc, 1000. Sacrificing himself!
What next? That he has only spent
$35, 900 to build up a plant he says is
worth $135,000. Poor Bob Oates! He
will starve to death in a few days IN
less you come to his rescue. A great
public benefactor! He has managed
to spend $50, 900; that according to the
way the thing is paying is not more
than half what he has made. He has
made enough to buy his plant, keep
himself and family, and have property
worth $135, 900. He says that and that
this little strip of land there is worth
$4,000.
They say you must take care of the
country, must keep these foul people
from South Carolina from coming up
here and robbing Oates. They say
Alex White-maybe some of you know
Alec White,-Alec White is a thief.
Is that all? Walter Montgomery
maybe some of you know him,-that
Walter Montgomery is a thief. They
say that John Law is a thief. They
say that VIM. A. Law is a thief,Ca
man who is President of the first Ma
tional Bank ever established in the
United States, National Bank No. 1. A
thief! That Geo. E. Ladshaw is a
thief. Who are they? Maybe some of
you know. If you don't, you know
this, your own men say that Mr.. John
Law is all right,-and if he is asso-
ciated with that class of men in this
effort he is not a good man.
They say you must not destroy this
country. That you must not turn this
country over to pirates.
Let's take the history of this thing.
1 won't say Bob Oates is a thief. No,
sir, 1 have known Bob Oates for a long
time; he and I are on the best kind OF
personal relations, if he is honest, If
/ am honest. I am his friend. I have
got no harm to do him. / don't want
to hurt him, I don't want anything
but justice, but / don't want the Hen
Jacksonville Light & Power Co., and
Oates to have a monopoly by which
you have to pay $50 a HIP for lights.
/ don't want one man to have a mo-
nopoly of anything. That is my ind1-
vidua1 preference.
Then come back and see if you de-
eide against Bob Oates,-when l talk
of Bob Oates, remember l am all the
time meaning the Hendersonville
Light and Power Co., because he says
Miss Peden has only got n share and
his wife has only one share, and he
gave that tt them. Everything else is
his, then there is nobody concerned.
In organizing a corporation you have
got to have at least three stockhold-
TIC "a Lo5~SA Lar0 hAan for fhof 4