Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-05
nR. ALEX T. LONDON,
In an Interview With an Age
 Herald Reporter, s
Tells About the "Alien Railroad Bil"-How It's Defeat Was
 Brought About.

The Evening News of yesterday pub
 lished the following card from MT. Alex T.
 London:
 | To the Editor of the News:
 h your issue of yesterday the following 1 appeared in the special from Mon tgomer '
 in respect to the railroad monopoly bill
 "Considerable excitement prevailed during
 the consideration. Everybody was anx-
 ious to know what the populists were going
 to do. They had voted originally almost
 unanimously for the bill Monday. Today | they voted against it almost unanimously.
 When the bill was first considered Boss Bowman was in the lobby. Today Boss | Skaggs was there.'
 I deem it but just to MT. Skaggs to state | how and why he was there.
 On Monday MT. Bowman aud MT. War ren s. Reese, Jr., were in the lobby. 1 1 was informed in Montgomery that they l had been employed as attorneys by the | Southern Railway company to influence
 the action of the populist members of the l general assembly. What is the fact I do | not know. I only know that they were l ment of Captain O'Brien, who was en- l gineering the opposition, thrty-two of the thirty-four mem bers of the legislature who
 are called populists voted for the passage l of the bill.
 l deem it but just to these gentlemen to | say that believed and subsequent events l have more than confirmed my opinion, | that the vote on the part of the populist | members was induced by the fact that these l gentlemen did not know what the bill | really meant, fact which is not surpris- 1 ing, when many of the other members of | the two houses who had not heard the
 matter fully discussed were in like condi | tion.
 When the house bill was sent to the sen. ate and was amended on Friday, being promptly advised of the fact on Friday night, l came down town for the purpose of seeing MT. Skaggs and inducing him to go to Montgomery. Fortunately, met MT. Skaggs la the Morris hotel. He was on his way to Autauga county. l proposed to MT. Skaggs to employ him to resist this bill. Mir. 6kaggs declined to receive any money; declined to make any agreement for reward then or hereafter, and stated that his influence with his associates in politics was not for sale. then proposed to Mir. Skaggs that l should pay his personal ex- penses to Montgomery to resist this meas- ure, but MT. Skaggs declined to accept one farthing. explained the measure to him, and stated to him, as have to every ono whom have approached, that if the bill was not vicious in principle and absolutely injurious to the interests of the state, did uot care for him to oppose it, but would take my chances in the courts.
 MT. Skaggs went down to Montgomery and was prevented from going to Autauga county by the attention which he had to give to this bill. He simply explained the measure to the members of the legislature, who are his political friends, and they were induced to change their votes upon merits of the measure alone.
 MT. Skaggs put his opposition on the ground that the measure was really doing violence to all that his party sspresented. deem it but just to '4r. Skaggs that these facts should be stated and known, aud that the people of Birmingham may understand that the position of MT. Skaggs was not prompted by any motive, except his opposition to this measure as one fraught with injury to this state and this section. Since the bill was defeated in the house I have insisted upon paying Mir. Skaggs the actual expenses incurred by him at my request, and in view of the fact that he was prevented from making his intended trip to Autauga he has very prop erly accepted. Very respectfully,
 ALEX T. LONDON.
 After, reading the card an AeE- HERAD reporter sought Mr. London for the pur- pose of interviewing him on the subject. MT. London was busy at his office, but stopped long enough to talk few minutes with the reporter.
 "When were you first informed that such Q bill as mentioned in your card had been introduced and how came you to de- tect it's purpose?" asked the reporter.
 Mir. London said: HOn Friday, January 25, by the sheerest accident, saw the cap- tion of the bill and suspected it had been introduced to affect people represent, and by their direction I went to Montgomery. was unable to get copy of the bill until the next day, Saturday. l reached Mont- gomery Friday night and saw Captain O'Brien and told him what I suspected The next day when got copy of ths bill l told him of it's contents and its manifest purpose and object.''
 "Who led the fight against the bill7'' "Captain O'Bren. From my first inter- view with him up to the present time he has been untirlng in his efforts to defeat the bill, and at the last, the merits of the meas- ure being brought to the attention of the general assembly, it was defeated through his efforts, in which he was ably assisted by Colonel John. Msssrs. Lipscomb and Fulton, when the real purpose of the corded Captain O'Brien hearty and willing support to defeat it. The burden of the fight was assumed by Captain O'Brien, and he left nothing undone which was fair and honorable to defeat the biil.'
 .'What about your card in the News this afternoon?''
 ''The card published in the News this afternoon l regarded as nothing but a simple act of justice to MT. Skaggs and his political friends In the legislature. am perfectly frank to say, as there stated, that believe the populist members of the legislature voted for the bill without know ing what It's purpose or tendencies were, and the change of their vote was induced by realization of the real merits of the bill.'
 s'Have you anything to say about the bill aside from your olients' interests?' tI have only to say that think its scope and purpose is not only vioative of the guarantiss which exist in every oonstitu- ton in the United States as we'll as the fed- eral constitution, but Is calculated to iu. jure the state of Alabama abroad more than any single measure which could be pre- scented to the general assembly, for the reason that 1t undertakes to t8ke away from corporation which has held stock in an Alabama corporation for seventeen years without question the right to vote it's stock at corporate meetings, thing Do unprecedented that 1t needs only be under stood to be condemned. Every one at all familiar with stock in a corporation under stands that the right to vote it is an essen. tial and material part of its value, addif the legislature can deprive pafty hqldlHe stock of the right to vote the same 1t can with equal propriety deprive him of the stock itself.O e
 WE LEAVE THE CITY.