Newspaper Page Text
THE VALDOSTA TIMES, SATURDAY, MAY 16, T908.
Why Foreign Capital Left the
State of Georgia Last Year.
(From The Gainesville Eagle->
Then- Is no dispute over the act that no one Is Investing
capital i„ any Georgia enterprise at the present time, end therefore
would It not he wise to Inquire calmly and fairly into the reason
way'!
Governor last
When Governor Smith took the oath of office
year, cori»oratioii8 were paying four taxes, viz.
1 Advalorem tax, which means taxation on all visible property,
*ucb as Individuals pay. .
2. A franchise tax, which means taxation on the right to do
buniness In the state based on the amount of the not Income the cor
poration may make and aB a general rule It doubles the ad valorem
Ux. ' , 4 .
Z. An occupation tax, graduated according to the capital stock
of each corporation.
4. Registration tax, which Is a small tax on each corporation for
the purpose of Increasing the salary of the Secretary of State..
To the average Impartial mind, this looked like a very heavy
fax. Tnc corporations were paying it without complaint.
When Governor Smith assumed charge, he at once Insisted that
the corporations were not returning their property and franchises at
their full value, and Insisted that the Comptroller-General should a -
•ess them much higher.
The result was that the Comptroller-General did raise the as
sessment on all corporations which amounted practically io a doub
ling of both ad valorem tax and franchise tax.
The cori»oration In some Instances resorted to arbitration and In
good faith abided by the result and while they were considerably dis
turbed and alarmed they showed no signs of withdrawing from th"
jtate.
However, Governor Smith was not satisfied with this great in-
tToaso^ln taxation but sent a special message to the legislature on
August 7, 1907, Insisting that nn Income tax of not less than 1 per
cent of the gross earnings of all transportation and street car com
panion of Georgia be passed.
This tax was not to be levied upon the profits that a road might
tuzkc but was to no levied upon the gross income, or, In other words,
upon every dollar that the road received from Its business during
the year, even though It made no profit and even though all the mon
ey It received had to be paid out to employes and general expenses
of operation.
Acting upon this message, a bill ■wii Introduced In the 1egl»)a-
tnr* to tax companion In the state 2H per cent upon their cross In
come. rocardloss of whether they made any profit or not, and this
tax to bo In addition to tho other four taxes above enumerated.
Would Have Bankrupted Georgia.
Had thla bill been passed, It Would have bankrupted every cor
poration In the state of Georgia. {o. .
,$ucb a bill to bo constitutional would have to apply to all cor-
dotations. i
It would have cost the N'ew Holland cotton mil! 180,000 per year,
In addition to the tnx they now pny.
It would have cost tho Gainesville cotton mills over $25,000 a
/car In addition to the taxes they now pay. ’
ft would have cost the corporations In Georgia |nlllIor.s of dollars *
per annum, in addition to their present taxes, an<t would have prac
tically wiped out their entire profits. jf
This bill did not pa s but it was sufficient to grouse the intense *
fear of every man In tho United States with money to Invest. It was
, published In tjie leading newspaper® of the United 1 States and in £
Harope, and what was the result? Tho tyilroads that'had been pro- i
. JeMod wore abandoned ■BJ^iouble tr»ckin* of thelBouttera Rill- ^
km4 from Chijflotle 'to AtlnH? ni abandoned.
The Anthony Shoals Power Company, which had $12,000,000 In
<hc bank to develop the Immense water power In Wilkes County,
wtthdrew their money Into South Carolina, stopped all work In Geo»»
t‘* and went to developing water powers In our sister state. South
Carolina, which was wise enough to offer inducements to foreign
capitalists to pend their money In developing her resources.
The North Georgia Electric Company of Hall County had been
•pending over I25.0U0 per month for several years, but had to stop
aH Improvements of every sort nnd has been unable to obtain a sing
le dollar cf foreign capltnl since the introduction of this income tax
WIL
Many Other Enterprises Were Abandoned.
Before this hill was introduced, every snw mill In Georgia was
rtii'nlrg "f fail speed with more orders for lumber than they could
fill at good profitable prices.
Now nearly every saw mill has shut down. There is absolutely
ao sale for lumber to amount to anything, tho price has dropped fully
-half and many of the companies are now in tho hands of receiv
er*.
Wlirf Ik true with lumber Is practically true with brick and all
bufM’n*? •’•s’ter al and bankruptcy stares their owners In the face.
Tlrtnuranif* rf laborers have boon turned out of employment and are
ctjw sufir.iig nrd ur able to find work at greatly reduced rates and
t!v# stirpes cf unemployed labor has the effect of cutting the wage. ,
frt many Inrr.v >•* «s, of those who are fortunate enough to retain their
pc itlcr::. T'.u i rice of labor has been cut In over/ buslne s in Geor-
«**•
Broke Cotton Markst.
Besides this, and worst of alt to the farmer, with a short crop
of ertten. which should have brought 15 cents per pound. It never
reached over 12V« cent:, and Is now below 10 cents. All this, with
the active efforts of the admlnistratlorn to flood Georgia with low-
prfeed Immigrant labor to further depress the price, brings us face
to face with the most serious danger In our history. .
Gotten goods are down below the cost of production and every
cotton mill in the South has been running for the past nine mouths
at a dead loss and nave millions of dollars worth of goods stacked
•p which they cannot sell for enough to pay for the making.
Merchants realize this condition and know that the price of
goods l* bound to fall and are only buying from “hand to mouth.**
■ Jast enough to supply the local demands.
This state of affairs cannot last tong and unless there Is some
reaction !- the cotton goods market the cotton mills will be forced
to that iLwn.
Hostile Attitude of Smith Responsible.
These are the facts, and Governor Smith’s hostile attitude to
foreign capital Is largely resj’onslble for It.
Hnbe Arnold, of Atlanta, special attorney for the whiskey ring,
iMyo that inly “dura fools" are opposed to Hoke Smith.
The above cause and disastrous effects are so plain that "a way
faring man. even though a ’darn* fool, may not err therein.’'
So long ns thi.: menace to foreign capital exlstb In Georgia just
io long will toe door of progress and improvement be locked and
capital kept out of the State and the development of our splendid
resources retarded.
A* long as Hoke Smith is Governor our saw mills and brickyards
win bo Idle, our factories closed, our railroads at a standstill and
mechanics and laborers out of employment
The Inman Failure.
81nco writing the above. Inman A Co., a Arm composed of James
F. McGowcn. of Augusta, and James R. Gray, of Atlanta one of the
largest cotton firms In the South, have failed for over one and a
sruartcr mlllirn dollars, and have been placed In bankruptcy.
Mr. Jnme R. Gray, who Is the editor of the Atlanta Journal,
the leading Hoke Smith organ of the State, gives as a reason leading
i?P io till* failure that it has been caused by the long and continued
4eprvsilrn In th» cotton market.
Mr. Cray has cur sincere sympathy, fot; he Is a fine gentleman,
perseonny. and we wish him success In every business undertaking.
Bst. it I n true as the law of the Medes and Persians, that one
business cannot fall without affecting others, and that the war upon
capital lias broight about a chain of disasters.
When the Pins Began to Fall.
When the Seaboard Air Line went Into the hands of a receiver.
the Hoke Smith boomers sold it was already broke, and that It was
placed in the hands of * receiver for political effect.
When the Tallulah Falli Railway failed and went into the hands
of a receiver, they* said It was politics.
When the ElbeffliL Air Line Railroad, between Toccoa and pl-
berton, failed, the/ sfid it waa politics.
When two or th?£$ big cotton mills In Middle Georgia failed,
they Wlj, R was politics.
When^the Neal Bahk of Atlanta failed, they said It wa3 bad
Investments.
When saw mill after saw mill and several brickyards shut down,
they said it was politics.
When cotton kept dropping, they said It was due to speculation
Told Gray Wouldn’t Lend Money While Smith was Governor
We understand that Mr. Gray visited New York about two weeks
ago and made every effort to raise money, but received In reply that
Just so long as Hoke Smith continued his war on capital In Georgia,
just so long they would refuse to advance one single dollar for any
enterprise whatever In the State, and falling to raise the money,
there was nothing to do but to go into bankruptcy.
It Is stated that the estate of Walker P. Inman Is involved as
endorser to the extent of $450,000.
The assets are represented almost by cotton and futures. Much
of them were bought at prices far higher than those prevailing now.
The failure Is admitted to be the severest blow that has struck
the Southern cotton Industry In a decade as It was the biggest
Southern firm and probably the world’s greatest exporting concern.
HOKE’S SPEECH
a Vote Changed by the 0;
ical Efloft cf Governor
j mistaken the purpose of the gath
ering. A man had been killed by a
freight train a little while before the
Governor’s arrival, which sad fact
was the cau-e of tho congregation of
citizens.
Governor Smith made reference in
his speech in this city shortly after
wards to “the Louisville and Nash
ville Railroad causing hoys and men
to congregate at the depots and hol
ler for Joe Brown.”
People Have Car
A DEMOCRATIC APPEAL.
‘-ry Democratic member of the ;
?e of Representatives has sign-'
fully Canvassed the Situation and cd a petition to the Spoftker request-
Fences are in Good Shape—How lng Wm t0 recognise some member
to move to discharge the Committee
Ralph Smith Tried to Work up an „n Ways and Means from the further
Ovation for the Candidate and
Failed in the Attempt
Cartorsville, Ga.. May 11.—Care
ful work upon the part of the Joe
Brown men, who have spent several
days maxing a canvass cf their for
ces, show that the visit and orator!
con; ideration of, and to suspend the
rules, and to pass the Stevens bill,
or any other bill, having the effect
to put wood pulp and print paper on
the free list John Sharp Williams,
the Democratic leader of the House
goaded the Republican leaders to
fury by beseeching 30 Republicans,
at least, to come forward and add
expected to sadly deplete the Browd
ranks, has not changed one of hit
followers. On the contrary, a largi
number of people have voluntaril;
asked that their names be placed up;
on the Joe Brown Club lists. Twen
ty-three Hamas were added In this
city alone two days after Mr. Smith
made his address to the voters at
the tabernacle.
The Brown men wore willing
concede a large number of convi
that were expected when the
ernor talked to the voters, but,
none have been reported, the day,
with Its Ijirge crowd and
eift enthusiasm U*-teoked
Smith defeat
Information that has been coming
In to the Brown headquarters clf&rly
Indicates that this county will go for
Brown by a large majority. Tho city
of Carter, vllie Is mixed, and the
Smith men claim that It will be a
show down, but the opposition la con
fident of winning a complete victory
at this box.
A number of statements made by
the Governor when he spoke In this
city have caused feelings bordering
upon anger. He declared that he
was willing to concede that a few
good men were against him. but that
they were too good to keep the com
pany they were in. This was taken
cal effort of Gov Smith, which WM j^helr signatures to the petition. He
led on tho.^e who had Introduced
[or free print paper to sign, but
>e came forward, not even those
fl made speeches In favor of
leasure. Mr. Williams made
.st for action facetiously, he
knew no Republican would come for
ward to the mourners bench, and
repudiate the hide-bound partisan
ship that hangs like a pall over the |
deliberations of this Congress. He 1
told them that:
“While the lamp holds out to bqrn.
The vilest sinner may return.”
And added:
[ [f you have lately been, or ex-
to he, in a ay manner bull-dozed
'or boss-ridden, why, think for a sec
ond; think what a short life we live!
here and how necessary it is that we
should do things.”
But Mr. Williams’ prayer fell upon
standpat ears, and not one Republi
can sinner of them all came forward
to show that he really -was for even
this small measure of tariff reform,
even to curb a trust that is plunder
ing every newspaper publisher in
the United States.
How can the voters expect that
"after election” Republican Congress
men will be any more willing to un
dertake the greater task of tackling
hundreds of trusts which are pro-
d by the tariff when they refuse
pt to reflect upon the to take the tariff pap from this in-
railroad and working men. and has | f a nt that Is eating up the substance
been re ented by a largo number of i 0 f newspaper proprietors. Every Re
people who heard the statement. j publican Congressman is now on rec-
Candldate Smith also said that Joe ord as either opposed to tariff re-
Brown buttons would be found on L. j form, or afraid to disobey the orders
ft N. R. R. depot agents, ex-barroom ; 0 f the standpat leaders who are wed-
keopers and negroes, and the evident ded to their alliance with those trust
intention in this statement of class- magnates who furnish the main part
lng the whites and negroes together
has caused much Indignation.
A serio-comic Incident that has
caused some amusement, and goes to
show that at least some of Governor
Smith's mistakes are attributable to
his foolish friends, Is being told in
North Georgta since the Governor’s
reoent oratorlcai tour.
When on his way to CartersviUe,
where he spoke last Wednesday
morning, the train on which the
chief executive wi
of the campaign funds that keep the
Republican party In power. Turn the
rascals out and elect Democrats if
you desire reform.
“SINCE COTTON WENT DOWN/
Here la a piece of campaign dog
gerel that strayed into The Time*
office this morning.
Rufus Rastus JSfwaon Brown
What you going to do since
passenger j Cotton went down?
stopped at Kennesaw, where a large ; What you going to say,
crowd was gathered about the depot.; How you going to pay? x
Ralph Smith, the Governor's man j You hold tor higher price, they say,
“Friday,” and lnkslingor General, j You ought to be beat,
was rubbering out of the car window you out to be bound,
and wnen he saw the people prompt- 1 Holding for flfteeen cents a pound,
ly ran to his chief with the news Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown
that another ovation was on foot. What you going to do since
Tho Governor smilingly followed his Cotton went down?
scribe out upon the platform of the
coach, where he doffed his sombrero. Liza Linda Johnson Brown
assumed his campaign smile, and Handsome Hoke has got us down,
graciously nodded his august head. ! I’ve nothing to say,
Not a cheer. He was an unknown j How can I pay?
hero. I guess we’ll get eight cents in May.
Realizing that tho crowd did onv | I’se Just as sick os I can be.
recognize the "Big Gun” with the I For the retail merchant is down on
nod and the smile that was rapidly i me,
wearing off. Ralph dropped from the J l.iia Linda Johnson Brown,
train and circulated among the crowd I Tse hoping and praying for
telling the glad news that the “Gov
ernor had come,” but stil no cheer*.
Ralph was nonplused, but not dis
mayed. He saw his chief turn from
the “ungrateful rabble" and march
back to bis seat. Then some one te
the crowd informed the organ cor
respondent that the Governor had
"Little Joe” Brown.
No further criticism of the house
for Idleness l« possible. The other
day it posed over 1,000 pension bills.
Most of these were introduced by
the Congressional Fence Builders’
Union.
Lawyer Met Death in House
Provided for his Sweetheart
. Rome, May 12—Last summer’s ro
mantic traqecj at Venice, In which
the murdered Russian Coifnt Kama-
rovsky was the principal, has been
followed by another similar sensa
tion in the same city.
A prominent young lawyer named
Giambattista Munari, son of the pres
iding judge at the Venice law courts,
had been missing for three days. His
body was at length discovered in the
house of a former sweetheart. It
was lying In a pool of blood, and was
horribly mutilated, with a stiletto
stilt sticking In the throat.
in a bedchamber immediately
above the apartment in which the
i lawyer’s body was found lay the
• corpse of the woman. In whose case
death was due to asphyxiation. When
the police burst Into the house the
'> gas jets were still full on.
The crime was the outcomo of jeal
ousy. The murderess, Teresa Valin,
thirty-six years of age, was widowed
early In life, and afterwards lived
with a rich Englishman, who appar
ently secured a good berth for her
eighteen-year-old son in Canada. The
lawyer, Munari, became her lover
seven years ago, when he Installed
I her in the luxurious apartments
'where He met his death.
About three years ago Munari for
sook Teresa Valin for another wo-
man, and this led on several occao-
ions to humiliating scenes in var-ous
public resorts. Finally a report that
Munari intended to marry her rival
aroused the Valin woman to ungov
ernable wrath. Shortly before the
tragedy she met Munari In a fashion
able restaurant at the luncheon hour
and Insisted on an immediate Inter
view. The result was that the har>
assed lawyer pledged himself to pas«
the evening In the Valin woman’*
apartments.
According to the police theory,
Munari was from that moment a
doomed man, the woman having ar
ranged to drug the wine of her vic
tim and stab him to death. The apart
ment showed traces of a terrible
struggle, and there were several
slight wounds on the woman’s body.
The woman, who afterwards retir
ed upstairs and committed suicide,
had. according to her maid’s testi
mony, often threatened to take the
lawyer's life should he decide to mar
ry another.
Delegates to Convention of
Locomotive Engineers Report
Columbus, O., May 13.—About 750
i delegates, representing a member
ship of 70,000 locomotive engineers
j employed by the railroads of the
i United States, Canada and Mexico,
I were present here today at the open-
I ing of the biennial convention of the
) International Brotherhood of Loco-
: motive Engineers. The women's aux
iliary of the brotherhood is likewise
holding its convention here and the
meetings combined have attracted a
total attendance of several Jiousand
visitors.
The reports prepared by Grand
Chief Warren Stone and cvher offi
cers of the brotherhood show the or
ganization’s affairs to be in a highly
satisfactory condition.. During the*
past two years it has steadily gained
strength and membership until now
it has contracts governing wages and
conditions of labor with 107 railroads,
including all of the trunk lines and
! most of the smaller roads. Since its.
J organization the brotherhood has dis
bursed as death and accident bene
fits a total of $18,500 000.
In 1900 the city of Cleveland was
selected for the international head-
nuarters of the brotherhood for at
period of ten years. This term will
expire two years hence and th% pres
ent convention is called upon to take
action In regard to the matter. Cleve
land desires to retain the headquart
ers, but half a dozen cities are ready
to contest the honor with her. The
cities putting up the most vigorou*
fight for the headquarters are Indian
apolis, Chicago, Minneipotis and De
troit.
Pitiful Story of Girl's Fall and
Unusual Meanness of a Man.
Atlanta, Ga., May 13.—A pitiful!
story of a girl’s fall, and man’s du
plicity came to light here yesterday
in the arrest of L. D. Cheek, of Grif
fin, while arranging at an undertak
er’s to have Pearl Toland burled in
a potter's field. Last October Pearl
Toland took $400 she had saved from
the bank, and disappeared from Grif
fin. At the same time Albert Cheek,
married and with three children,
also disappeared, and it was com
monly reported that the girl and
Cheek had gone to Texas together.
Nothing was heard of either until
Pearl Toland died Sunday night in
Grady hospital here. The woman
with whom she was stopping wired
L. D. Cheek, a brother of Albert
! Cheek, who had secured the girl a
boarding place here. While here tho
girl had small pbx and was sent to>
the pest house. She was taken from
the pest house to the hospital, where
she died in child-birth. L. D. Cheek
came to Atlanta, and breaking open
the girl’s trunk, burned her letters,
and took her jewelry. Information
had gone to Griffin however, and yes
terday the chief of police from there
and the girl’s brother came to Atlan
ta, and had L. D. Cheek arrested. He
declares that he Is Innocent of any
wrong towards the girl, and that he
only met her on the streets here a
few weeks ago. He will be held pen
ding an investigation of the entire
matter. Nothing has ever been heard
of Albert Cheek who disappeared
when the girl did. She went under
the name of Vr . Pearl Cheek here.
Emperor and Empress Attend
Pageant on old Medival Lines
Berlin, May 13.—The Emperor and
Empress, attended by large retinue,
today were present at the mediaeval
pageant held to mark the opening of
the reconstructed fortress of Hoh-
koenlgsburg. The ancient keep,
which lies in the heart of the Vosges
Mountains, was first built by a prince
of Austria, changed hands many times
during the Thirty Years’ War, and
finally came Into possession of the
neighboring town of 8chlettstadt,
which gave it to Emperor Wiliam.
The latter had It rebuilt In Its origin
al condition under the direction of
the Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt
Today’s ceremonies reproduced the
formalities used at one of the changes
of possession when the three son*
of a knight of Slckingen were Invest-'
ed with the estate. The chief feature
of the pageant was a procession up
the winding road leading to the for
tress, with th# three knights In full
panoply riding at Its head and a
splendid retinue of equerries, banner
bearers, men at arms, archers and
varlets In the coetume of the time
following them.
THE MINUTES
Of the Last 8esslon of Wright’s
Capet Singing Society.
The Wright’s Capel Singing So
ciety met Sunday morning, May 10,
1908. The house was called to order
by the president. Then Mr. J. B.
1 Corbett led the opening song, and
( prayer was offered by the president,
i The committee reports singing as
1 follows:
Mr. Roy Prine accompanied by
Miss Eugenia Zlpperer.
Mr. Crawford Corbett, accompani
ed by Miss Eula Clayton.
Mr. Gus Scott aocompanled by
Miss Emma Kinsey.
! Mr. Thomas Prine accompanied by
Miss Zora Clayton.
Then a recess of twelve minutes
was given. The house was again
called to order by the president .Mr.
Corbett also announced that they
would meet at Sardis church next
Sunday afternoon for the purpose of
organizing a singing society. Every
body Is Invited.
Then the minutes of the last meet
ing were called for, presented and
read. The bylaws were also read.
Mr. J. A. Kinsey and Mr. J. B.
Corbett led a short lesson and prayer
was offered by Mr. E. F. Zlpperer.
The society was then dismissed un
til the second Sunday In June, 1908,
at nine o’clock sharpe. Come one
and all. J. A. KINSEY, Pres.
R. M. PRINE, Sec’ty.
Beautiful 8ouvenlr Post Cards.
The souvenir post cards Issued by
the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlan
tic Railroad are proving exceedingly
popular. They are printed In col
ore end represent attractive scene*
along the line.
A set of seven of these cards can
be secured .by sending ten cents to
W. H. Leahy, General Passenger
Agent, Atlanta, Ga. 2-37-dtf.
Mr. W. H. Morgan, of Tampa, Fla.,
was In the city today.