French Broad hustler and Western Carolina Democrat. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1915-1916, 1916-03-02


South America, coupled up with a
mail line contract as far West as
Winnipeg, Canada. These ships car
rying the mail and taking freight at
once makes Wilmington and South
port rate-basirg ports. Coal deliv-
cred at the naval coaling station At
Southport, and sold to other countries
on through rail and water rates makes
Southport a North Carolina rate-bas=I
ing port. So either the coaling sta.
ton Or tie mail line will give the state
a rate-basing port. And with a little
more work, make Wilmington and
Southport a double rate-basing port,
like Tampa, and Port Tampa, Fla.
The Cape Fear river is North Caro-
lina's greatest asset with Southport
Harbor, for commerce, and without
their development, there is no hope
for the successful development and
outlet to the markets of, the world
for the vast products of the Tenth dis
trict of Western North Carolina. 1t
doesn't take much to do this; S.
100000 will fix the port and make the
Gaze Fear river the greatest inland
safety harbor, from the dangers of
Cape Hatteras, south of Norfolk.
Work to accomplish this originated
and has been going on in the Tenth
: for the relief and upbuild of the Tenth
for nearly ten years. Year by year the
member of the Tenth, both democrat
and republican, knows that state by
state in the northwest has been won
by the writer, to cooperate with North
Cardinals delegation in Congress to
secure u relief and upbuild. Not
one word has been uttered by a men,
Der from the Tenth to help this work
on. What does it mean to the Tenth I?
Not less than one dollar to one dollar
and a half saved on every 1000 feet
of lumber going to the seaboard. It
means not less than from $1.00 to
$500 per ton saved on every ton of
ore mined in the Tenth that goes to
the seaboard for foreign shipmen, OF
{! domestic consumption. It means from
so cents to $1.25 per ton on the 4,O00,-
600 tons of coal coming annually into
North Carolina. It means the saving
} of from so per cent to 1000 per cent
freight paid on every pound Of goods
! coming in and going out of Western
carolina. Does this mean anything tt
the Tenth, and to the people through
out the State is that any issue
do the people want it? Believing they
do, believing Tennessee wanted it
believing it possible, and knowing i
possible, ever my old home state
Florida has been lending me a hanc
tc help North Carolina for what
have done for her on these same lines
I asked the Legislature of NORTH
carolina, Tennessee and Florida tt
adopt a joint resolution to Congress
to be adopted by the Legislatures Of
10 other states, to aid the North
Carolina delegation i'm Congress tt
secure the passage Of laws for ou1
relief. That resolution passed these
Legislatures by unanimous vote, and
I was commissioned under the adop-
ton Of fthat resolution to secure its
adoption by the Legislatures of 19
other states; and l have not lost one
trail have been to visit. The resolu-
ton has already been adopted by
states carrying over 100000 900 popu-
lation by unanimous vote Of their Leg
islatures. I haven't visited many Of
the Southern States, for they are all
in sympathy and in favor of the work.
The bills of this work was laid in
Senator Simmons hands, May S, 1914;
the day I addressed the U. S. Senate's
Committee on commerce in the interest
of these bills and this work, Senate
Simmons had been acting chairman
of the committee in the absence of
Senator Clark, who had returned the
day I appeared before the committee.
I prepared my address and it was Or
dered printed in full by the committee
in its report to the Senate in part Z,
the Senate's committee on commerce