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•AYS PRESIDENT HARRISON OP
SOUTHERN IN FIRST PUBLIC
ADDRESS.
MONEY REMAINS IN SOUTH
■went of (So Brow' from the oom
munttles where it to eerpod, to be dtMl-
Now President ol Southern Analyzes
Intimate Relation ef Company
to People Served.
Chattanooga, Term.—Speaking at the
annual banquet of the Chattanooga
Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Fairfax
Harrison, the new president of the
Southern Railway company, made
what may be considered his first pub
lic declaration, since his election to
succeed the late Mr. W. W. Finley.
Mr. Harrison said:
The Southern Railway System in
cludes 10,000 miles of railroad on
irhi<h 53,000 officers and employees
Fairfax Harriesn,
< Railway
President SoudherA 1 , MB* of
Iwa’y ‘ :'twenty
perform public services, In return for
which more than one hundred millions
ef annual revenue Is collected. These
ere big figures and. In a country In
which there has always been a pride
in big things, in which every common
Ry has been wont to boast of that
which It has which U the biggest, such
a big thing as the Southern Railway
System should be, and I believe Is,
a source of pride to the South, but
exactly In proportion as it Is big also
In its public service and talthCul In
its public trust The administration
of such a vast machine, affecting, as It
does, the comfort and well being of
the people of a largo territory, la
therefore. Itself a large public service
The time has passed when it might
be exploited for merely private and
selfish ends. The lawyers used to
tell us that a railroad was a quasi-
public Institution, but today, happily,
It might better he described as a quasi
private Institution. It Is private still
In the opportunity It presents for the
exercise of Individual Initiative and
competitive service, but in practically
every other sense It Is now recognised
that It Is public.
It to a matter of sincere regret to
every railroad manager that railroad
securities are not more generally held,
(fltactly and immediately, in the com
inanities which the railroads serve.
The luck of such holding deprives him
of a powerful and sympathetic ally in
the re'a'ion of public opinion to his
problems. The time was when the rail
:-vad blocks were owned immediately
r. home, and by the people who were
most Influential In shaping public opin-
'on, but today, while railroad stocks
are generally held by the same kind of
people—by those who, through the
erciue of prudence, Industry and cour
age have laid by a competence, and by
the women and children for whom
they worked—such Investors now do
not as a class reside In the territories
hi which they have made their Invest
ment a The explanation of this ph»
nomenoo—so well known to us all, but
still a phenomenon—is part of tbs
financial history of the United States,
but the fact has given rise to a
ing among many of those who use the
railroads daily and come into 1
ate contact with their managements.
that the railroads belong to some mys
terious, remote and foreign power, to
Irresponsible potentates, who bear, la
popular Imagination, the generic name
of "Wall Street" We read la
sines and newspapers of the roman tie
lives attributed to a few Individuals
who are supposed to “control**
destinies of whole communities by
session and exploitation of the Instrw
menu upon which such communi
ties depend tor their necessary trans
portation, who “fix” rates and arbi
trarily determine conditions of sort
ies, and so “tax'* the people they ought
tttssffvt* withdrawing mobey earned ml
pated at a distance la 4xtravarant fol
lies. Buch a vision Is not the result
of pure Imagination—It lias bad un
fortunately Its foundation of Justifica
tion In a few conspicuous Instances
which leap to the lips of everyone who
discusses our present-day industrial
problems; but every Intelligent man
knows that It to no longer, if it ever
was, the nils.
In considering such lamentable Indi
vidual cases, the public, when fomr.ug
Its potent Judgment on the present sit
uation, of the railway industry, in us*,
recognise them as the unhappy excep
tions they are. To him who IobIsib
that the radtoads should be Judged by
their black sheep. It Is fair In answer
to Invite attention to many exemplar*
af high-minded Integrity In the ad
ministration of railroad property. We
in the South can cite ahtnlng examples
of such rectitude. I may be forgiven
proud reference to my late chief.
William WMsoo Finley, whose oppor
tunities were not less than those of
any of the flagrant individuals u>
whom allusion has been made, but who
after years of devotion to a public duty
and the practice of a large private
charity, left an estate the amount of
which, as announced in the public
press, is at once a certificate of can
did character and an Illustration of
Just administration. One who knew
them can add to the same roll of honor
two more executives of railroads In
the South who have recently gone to
the grave 1 -Thomas M. Emerson and
John W. Thomas, Jr.
Despite the hoidlug of railroad stock
outside of the territories the railroad*
serve, and despite the aberrations from
integrity iu the admlnlstratlou of some
particular railroads, I believe that I
am not ctatmlag too much when 1 as
sart that such has been the develop
ment of the rsDogtiitlon in recent years
of the publle nature and responsibility
of the administration of the rullroads,
and each have been the pracUcal con
sequences of that recognition, that to
day In every essential a railroad be
longs to the communities it serves.
In this aspect and in a rcy real
sense the Southern Railroad belongs
to (he people of the South. It Is no:
only their highway tb market, out Its
fiscal operations are part of the Ufe-of
the communiQas along its lines.
At some risk of trespass upon your
attention, I venture to support this
claim with a brief argument from sta
tistics. They record a condition which
Is astonishing and I confess astonish
ed ma when t saw how far they go
along tbs line* ef a tendency * which
1 knew to obtain. Of the one hundred
and throe mllUoba of annual revenut
collected last year by the railways In
cluded 1» the BoeRhem Railway Sys
tern, there was immediately paid ,out
again along Its lines at least seventy-
six millions, an amount not far short
of the .total collections (rote (ha peo-_
tWo r mllUortk v d< '{h’d total riVo>
nues were collected from people out
side of the Soutlieastern State*—a
fact not often taken into considera
tion, the explanation of which Is that
on appreciable part of Die passenger
traffic of the system consists of the
transportation of residents of other
localities traveling In the South, and.
furthermore, that to a largo extent
freight Charges on Southern products
shipped to other localities are paid by
the consignees. e „
What then becomes of those greu*
revenues Collected In the South? Are
they hurried away to sotno cavern lu
Wall street? No. The fact Is that
all the moneys collected In the South
are deposited In Southern banks which
are drawn' upon from Line to time
only oa thuds - are needed for proper
fiscal purposes. The funds of the sys
tem thus become an Important factor
In strengthening the banks of th* ter
ritory and so are at all times at the.
Berrios of the Southern popple.
I have said that these funds are
withdrawn tram Southern banks from
time to time only as needed for proper
fiscal purposes, but even In that opera
tion, to a large extent, the moneys col
lected for transportation service on
our lines are not withdrawn at all from
the Southern communities in which
they axe collected. This can be dem
onstrated by an analysis of Southern
Railway expenditures for the last fis
cal year. Buch analysis Bhows that,
of every dollar disbursed, 41.71 cents
went to the payment of wages, sub
stantially all of which are paid along
the line ef the rood, and so remain
In Southern banka, a disbursement
which, for the Southern Railway prop
er, averages about two million dol
lars a Booth. The purchase of ma
terials and supplies used 23.30 cents,
sad, under our policy of buying as far
as practicable from Southern people,
lP.II cents ot this was expended In
the Sooth aad only 4.11 cents In other
localities. Miscellaneous operating ex
penses required 6.00 cents, all spent
la Use Booth. Taxes, all paid In tha
South, required 165 cents Interest,
rentals and other miscellaneous pay
ment* accounted for 20.83 cents, and
the hstdsrs at the company's prefer
red stesh received 4.43 cents, it » un
fortunately hapractlcable to determine
at Interest end dlvi-
ls Southern 'owners of
South era railway securities B 1 wish
It wse all paM U> Southern people;
but. leattag these entirely out of no-
eeuM, » le soon that at least 70.57
seats out at every dollar expended by
ths Sou there Railway remains in or to
brought lute the South. It may be add
ed that theas figures do not take se-
rauot at expenditure# dor additions sod
betterments amounting Iasi year to
three million* end a half and In ten
years to twenty irYen millions of
which the major part, expended on
roadway and structures, was practical
ly all paid oat.efcJBg the line of the
road. W* may then take It as
tahUthad that what the Seutbem pm>
pie pay the Southern Railway lines for
transportation remains a port of the
Working capital of the Southern peo
ple; but it is interesting to pursue
tlie thought a step further to a reali-
nation of what these disbursements by
the Southern Railway In the South
mean in the life and growth of the
Southern people. 0f the total of sev
enty-six millions paid out along the
Southern Railway lines last year ap
proximately forty-three million dollars
went to the army of 59,000 employees
and thus, on the conventional basis of
five to a family, directly supported
about 295,000 Southern people, or
about six and one-half times the pop
ulation of Chutt-^opa at the date of
the last census
I have spoken 0* our preferred
stockholders, hut the real preierrod
stockholders of the Southern Rail
way System. In the matter of priority
of claim, are the political govern
ments of the States, counties, n-nl
cities along Its lines. Tholr claim
upon railroad revenues comus aheud
even of that of employees, and they
took 23,743,704.39 in the last fiscal
year. It is hard to grtisp the slgnili
cence of figures us large as tin
what our tax payments really mean
to the communities along our lluo?.
can he better understood by an illus
trative analysis of our payments on
account of school taxes eud road and
bridge taxes in the southern states
in 1912, our school taxe3 in these
states amounted to something over
$309,000, or ah average* of twenty-
eight' hundred dollars for each coun
ty traversed by our lines. At the* av
erage annual compensation of school
teachers in the Southern States as
reported by the United Slates Bureau
of Education, this would more than
pay for ten teachers In each county.
It represent,; $2.64 out of every $100
of school taxes paid in these States
and amounts to fifteen dollars or
each sohool building iu the. States
traversed by our lines. Every' dollar
paid to the Southern- Railway lor
transportation charges thus Includes
n substantial contribution to the
mainteaanto of the s/mem- of public
education iu the South.
Payments by the' Southern Railway
System, in the same year of taxes di
rectly assessed for public roads and
UrldgoB amounted to $447,968.83, or
an average of $1,571.81 tor each coun
ty along our llneB. Every dollar paid
to the Southern Railway fpr transpor
tation charges thus includes also a
substantial contribution to the main
tenance of the public highways of the
South and Is an indirect but none the
less* real public support of the pro
gressive movement for good and bet
ter roads. '
1 have referred to the Impractica
bility of determining the amounts of
Interest and dlvtdondB paid to hold
er* of securities living along the line
of the road. We know, however, that
a large percentage 1 of our population,
“ : .par- .
raj** real though Indirect r
arerbst In these Securities even
oujgh they may never have seen a
-railroad bond or Btock certificate!
There are few families in the South
who do not hold* an insurance policy
of some sort; either an assurance on
Mfe' or against the risk of- flrei The
invested funds of the great insurance
companies sre, therefore, matter of
vital concern to the Southern people,
and In large measure, ai-e thoir own
aseots held In trust for their benefit.
Wo* find that the chief insurance com
panies report' their bolding of securl-
tlen of tlie Southern Railway SyBtem.
including terminal bonds on whleh the
Southern Is a Joint guarantor, aggre
gating more than eighty million dol-
larti. In that great fund, the integri
ty of which depends upon the con
tinued- solvency of the Southern Rail
way lines, th» Southern people have
a- vital proprietory Interest, an Inter
est 1 which, as thoy realize It, should
be- to them a constant spur to protect
t&etmilves by maintaining, as they
cah and will, the basis of Southern
Railway credit.
1 assert with confidence that the
facts- to which 1 have colled ycrur at
tention' are lull warrant for the claim
t&et In a very real sense the South
ern- Railway belongs to the people of
the South; no much so that Us annual
report* might more properly be ad
dressed "To the People of the South"
to advise you of the results of the
management of your property, for
today 14 belongs more to you than It
<p*)B to the stockholders. More than
D.is, its management is aud always
has been devoted to the interests of
the South. Its officers are mostly
Southern-horn men and those who
were not born In the South have
been here long enough to become
Identified with our Interests, our pe
culiarities, our responsibilities, our
prejudices, and our aspirations as a
people; they talk the same language
aa the people of the South. 1 look
forward to the time when there may be
more Southern men sitting on our
Board at Directors, where know
that they will be welcome.
As aa organisation then, tUS South
ern Railway, with full appreciation
of; and acquiescence In. the present
tendency of public sentiment as to
what a railway to and should be.
Btandg pledged to the Southern peo
ple, and to proud to declare Itself one
ot their own Institutions. As such It
invites the Southorn people to help
It to become more and more their
efficient servant and at the same
Ume the object of their pride and af
fection. They need have no fear of
Its future If It has their confidence.
I trust you will permit me to take
this occasion to say finally a word
of a personal nature; I believe In the
South end our Southern people with
all my heart and soul. I have given
moat of the year* of my manhood
to an earnest, though subordinate,
part la an effort to realise a high pur
pose at promoting the segeosmOo*.
through Industry, of the prosperity
ot this our beloved motherland. I
have not known la my own experi
ence the horrors either of the military
conflict which left our people
prostrate, or of the dreary years of
political disability and atrophied am
bition which followed that great war
between the States, In one of the
chief theater# ef whleh we are to
night, but I know the bitterness of
these things In the tradition ol my
Immediate family, and 1 have learned
from my parents that there can be
no higher aspiration than to be a
port in the realization of the Ideals
of our Southern people. Facing the
future, 1 have then dedicated my Ilfs
te that duty and to Identification with
the Southern people. Many others
have done and are doing this and I
am proud to be of the company which
has accomplished, through co-opera
tion and sustained effort, so much in
the last quarter of a century.
1 am humbly grateful for the wel
come the South has given me to my
new opportunity for Its service. It
has been such a Welcome as you
have given me tonight, cordial and
with every evidence of good will. My
hope is to Justify this to those who
allow me their confidence, who are
Willing to believe that if we some
times fail it will not be through lack
of good intention or desire to do our
duty as we conceive it. 1 have no
sense of personal elation in the reali
sation today of an ambition cherished
ever since I entered the nervine of the
Southern Railway Company 17 years
ago. I feel most a sobering sense of a
heavy responsibility, bnt I do not fear
ther event. 1 have served under two
great men, Samuel Spencer, and Wll
Ham Wilson Finley, both men of action,
eager to accomplish, conscious- al
ways' of the imperious summons of
today, and of the warning o' Ecclt*
siastes: "Whatsoever thy hand find-
eth tO' do, do it with thy might"
have known that before all they
were patriotic men, faithful to tlie
South, and with their example and
their ideals before me nay hope now
is so to carry on their work as to gain
the kind of public esteem they earned
and to aid in building for the future,
as they built, not only the Southern
Railway, but the South itself. In
this high endeavor, I am one of you,
njy fellow countrymen, who are simi
larly engaged, and I appeal to you
as oo-workers for aid and co-opera
tion.
Don’t fail to read the address of the
President of the Southern Kailw ay in
this issuo.
WARWOMAN LOCALS.
School opened here Monday with
twenty four pupils. Prof. Sam. G. Bleck
ley as teacher. This school will continue
for two month, after which Prof Bleck
ley will reenter the Bleckley School a
Clayton.. , fy
The new Baptist church is-nearly com.
pletsd and the work is still progressing
nicely.
Mr. Thor. Bleckley of Whetstone, S.
C. who has been sick for some time was
able Lr visit h : s mother, Mrs. Arah
Bleckley, last Sunday.
The weather is fine and the farmers
are at work here. We hope some Rabun
boy will get a prize again this year 1 for
raising-corn,
Messrs. A. M. Wall, S. B. Hoh’en
and Sexton White went to Clayton
Tuesday,
Tecumseh.
HAMBY HARDWARE 6.
We carry a full line of plows, cultivators, harruwa,
garden tools, field fencing, paints, varnish, stoves,
ranges, tin and enameled ware, wash pots, galvanized
tubs and buckets, holioware, cross cut and hand
saws, lamps, lanterns, steel|and mole traps, a full line
of cutlery, etc. . AI30 laprobes, leggins, backbanda,
collar pads, halters, leather and roping, bridles, sad
dles, collars, and in fact almost anything you will find
in a hardware store.
When in need of anything injourjline, call and aee*ufl.
CLAYTON HARNESS
SHOP.
We make saddles, bridles, harness, shoes, leggins
etc., to order. All kinds of repairing done on short
notice. Repairing boots and shoes a specialty.
You will find us in theoldTribune building.
W. B. WATTS & CO.
JAMES
MOORE:
:iierai Merchandise,
1 IXESSOP TO*CANNON A MOORE.
■1 nice shipment of heavy rocking chairs,
is f m« Have plenty of onion sets,
large shipment of groceries, canrfed
. -u most all kinds of canlies, fresh
e?.rry • full line of dry goods, hats, shoes, cloth
's • ( 1: goods, hosiery, sweaters and under*-
- o :.n>i Gent’s rain coats. I'also carry the
< rk -if furniture in Clayton, and now have more
ihun $1,000 worth on the second floor. Also, a>full line of
coliins and caskets, bed springs, mattresses, blankets
quilts and feather pillows.
Will pay the highest market price for your pork and
nro-luce.
; -V
We received the following letter from
one of our subscribus who lives out of
the county, and in a larger city than
Clayton, and this is only a sample 1 of
the many letters we receive from our
frienda.
Fef>. 1st, 1914.
The Clayton Tribune,
Clayton, Ga.
Gentlemen:- Enclosed herewith you
will please find my check for one dollar
for subscription to the Tribune. In my
estimation your paper is getting better
all the time. I admire the Spirit of
Home Booster very much, yet at times
you have to say through your colums to
the people of your ti wn the unnecessary
ar.d evil things that are carried on by
some people which no doubt in some
way is a hinderance to the town; but
what is a paper if you can’t boom and
‘cuss’’ at the same time if it becomes
necessary.
Hoping that you are having a nice
time and that you will continue to make
the Tribune better. I am your* very
truly.
(Signed). .
RHEUMATtO SUFFERER*
SHOULD Ull
JOHN DEEREJIMPUMENTS. MADE FAMOUS BY GOOD QUALITY.
We are sole representative for Rabun county, for John DeereV
Impliments. We can save yon money’ by your buying your- farm
ing tools of us. We also opperateian up-to-date black smith shop,
[.ring your horse* for shoeing, and your harness for repairing. Wo
make new harness. We sell highest patent flours, put up in wood.
Also crush corn in the ear and grind meal.
Just received, a car ioad of cotton seed meal,
E. N. KEENER, Rabun Gap, G*l
DOVER & GREEN.
Drugs, chemicals, paints, vajtpiphefl, oil*,
and toilet articles,
NUNNALY'S CANDIES.
Tohaccos, cigars and cigarette.
Base ball gooas, and Diamond Dyes.
; j Pratt’s Stock Food Bud Remedies
Hawke’s SpectfcclW, Waterman’s Ideal Fountain Pens.
Soda Fountain.
Agents for all State adopted school books.
Try TACCO Varnish, applied with a flannel to renew ell eld fond
. Canup, resident of said Hebe.
Injf duly applied to be appointed
APPLE TREES FOR SALE.
t have for sale in my nursery at Long
Creek, S. C., 16,000 fine one and two
year old apple trees, 16 varieties. These
grafts Have been cut from the most
Geor^to, Rabun County.
having duly applied
guardian of the person end propel ty ti
Fannie May Morrow, Arizona Morrow
and Porter Marrow, miner heir* of the
estate of Lev I). Echols, (col.) Into at
said county d«cca«*d, and under the eg*
of fourteen years, resident# at thehtA*
prolific bearing, longest keeper and , ot North Caroline,
best merchantable apples of this moan- j Notice to hereby given that eeid UP*
tairt section. All trees guaranteed, and i plication will be passed on at ttm ' Best
have been examined by'the State En- Court of Ordinary for ntd county, fid
tnmologist of South Carsliii*.' ' j be held on the Bnt Monday is MqJfcb.
Writ*, or see me at once. I* 1 ** Witness my band aad oBtel 1
Gun C. Anvs, Long Creek, B. C. I •igsetuxe. this 4th day at Teh.
, pun* P. 3mY*H Ordtha**