The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1915-07-09
BLOCKING PROGRESS.

We call attention to a resolution,
published in this issue of the Jour
nal, that was unanimously passed on
Tuesday of this week by the Board
of Commissioners of Roads and Rev
enues of this County, also an en-
dorsement of the resolution by the
Progressive League of Marietta and
Cobb County, which league is COM
posed of more than one hundred of
the leading business and professional
men of the county. The President
and other members of this league,
with other prominent men from the
country and city appeared before the
commissioners and urged the adop-
tion of the resolution.
The resolution was urged and a.
dopted as a protest against three
bills which have been introduced in
the General Assembly, the purpose
of which is the prevention of any
railroad, steam or electric, from be-
ing constructed which would COM
pete with or parallel the Western &
Atlantic Railroad, or any wise af-
feet its business.
The effect of such legislation would
be to bottle up the development of
large territory in North Georgia, ex-
tending from the Chattahoochea riv-
er to the Tennessee line, thereby pre-
venting improvements or develop
ments that would add many millions
of dollars to the taxable values,
which would not only enure to the
benefit Of the counties and cities
wherein these improvements are
made, but would also add to the tax
values Of the State. The passage Of
this legislation would work a grave
injustice to this entire North Geor-
gia country
1t has been the defined and fixed
policy of the State of Georgia for
many years to encourage competition
and prevent monopoly. 1t is not
only the fixed policy but this prin-
ciple is embodied in the Constitu-
ton of the State, yet we find some
of our law makers undertaking to
place the State of Georgia in the
attitude of creating monopoly and
preventing competition by these pro-
posed bills.
If the State of Georgia desires to
go into the railroad business it
should do so as a fair competitor
and not at the expense of it's citi-
zens in certain parts of it's territory.
A bill could be urged with just as
much force to the effect that no man
ufacturing plant should be establish
ed except on the line of its road.
The W. e. A. Railroad does not
pay any school county or municipal
tax to the counties through which
it runs, yet the burden is upon these
counties to pay all court expenses in
connection herewith which are enor-
nous Two hundred, ten thousand
and six dollars per year is now de-
rived from the rental of this road for
common school purposes. When this
is divided among eight or nine hun
dred thousand school children in
Georgia the result is that they re-
ceive about 25f each year to help ed
ucate them.
The immediate object of these pro-
posed bills is to prevent the con-
struction of the North Georgia Min
eral Railroad, which has been sur
veyed from Atlanta, through Fulton,
Cobb, Cherokee and Barlow coun-
ties, to Wofford's crossroads. We
are informed that the right of way
has been bought and paid for for
most of the road. 1t crosses through
Cobb county about rs miles, coming
up Rotten Wood creek from the Riv-
er by TerrelIs mill, by the Pole
White, Sewell and Delk places, cross
es Soaps creek just beyond the Camp
Ground bridge, then through the Nc
Afee place into Cherokee county.
Unless these bills are passed we
are advised that the promoters of the
road will begin work at once which
will cause the expenditure of sew
eral millions of dollars in this i'm
mediate section within a short time,
and will thereby Immediately add
several hundred thousand of dollars
to the tax values of Cobb county.
Our tax payers are interested in this
enterprise and we feel that the Coun-