Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-19
Harvey E. Jones Named for Railroad Commissioner
 and Accepted.
Scenes and Incidents Of the Closing Hours-The Last Work of Both
 Houses.

MoNTG oMERy, Feb. 1S.--.[Special. 1.-The gavel fell and the days of the general as- ssmbly for the year 1S94-5 .were numbered.
 It has been an eventful session and one in which many hard fights were made and in which, at times, feeling ran high.
 Never perhaps has there been such fight for victory as was that which until today was not decided. The fight in ques- ton was upon bill known as the 1alen railroad'' bill, otherwise dubbed "the octopus. As readers of the AaE-HERALD know, it passed both houses, but was vetoed by the gov ernor. The bill cams up in the house (where it originated) today, and at noon a vote was taken with a view 10 the passing of the bill over the governors veto. Then was there battle royal. Eloquent flows of oratory and manful peadings for tue state of Alabama and the sovereign rights of the people were heard, and the people who packed the galleries heard such ora lions as are seldom heard in legislative halls. Thirty minutes were allowed each side for discussion, and the golden minutes flew by on rapid wings.
 Frank P. O'Brien of Jefferson led the fight against the stoctopus, and Repre- sentative Willett of Pickens appeared as the leader of the champions of the meas ure.
 The following speeches were made against the bill and in defense of his ex- cellency, William O. Oates, in his veto of the measure. The champion of the peo- pie, Frank P. O. Brien, opened for uphold Ing the veto, and had the attention of
 MT. O'Brien said:
 Mir. Speaker, up to the moment this bill was vetoed by the governor the question, in my judgment, was simply the transfer of railroad 400 miles in length, extending from Chattanooga, Tenn, to Meridian, Miss. When the governor vetoed this bill then 1t became question of supporting the constitution of the state of Alabama. The support of that question is not con- fined alone to the democrats, but it should also, and will, be considered by the popu- lite members on the floor of this house 7 Our worthy governor, having the interest of the constitution and the state at heart, not satisfied with his own opinion, calls to his assistance two of the best constitutional lawyers in the state of Alabama, one of them being our late governor, and the other tbe Hon. Henry c. Tompkins of Mont gomery.
 He put directly to them the question: tAre you interested in this bill?" Each replied in the negative.
 Now, MT. Speaker, Governor Jones stated that he not only was not in favor of the bill because of it's unconstitutionality, |, but he stated to me that ii he also was gov ernor of the state he also would have vetoed . it. He stated to Governor Oates that the officers of the Southern railroad, who are tue head of the lobby, had approached him and offered him big fee if be would take charge of the bill. MT. Tompkins also stated that the officers of the road had ap- proached and offered him fee of 5000 If he would take charge of it.
 Governor Oates then stated to them: "I now ask you to take this message and care- fully consider It., analyze 1t, and give me your opinion jointly.o These gentlemen took the message and went through it, and report and confirmed the decision decided upon by Governor Oates. "Now, Mir. Speaker, and gentlemen of the house, as l stated before, it is not matter who shall get posses sion of this railroad, but it is a matter for the people of the state of Ala bama, represented on the floor of this house through their representatives, to say whether this is constitutional-the bill, which, if passed, will enable this gi- gantic corporation to gain possession, not only of part of the state, but the entire state. This is question to he considered not alone by the democrats, but by every member on the floor of this house, and I believe it, as firmly asI believe inlmy exist ence, that there is not member pres- ent, be he populist or democrat, when he takes this matter home to himself and considers carefully the effect 1t will have on the liberties of the people, but will cast his vote ;n the Affirmative and sustain the veto of tho gov ernor.
 Not being satisfied with doing everything in their power they could to prejudice the members of the house against this matter, they have even gone so far as to use a newspaper in an adjoining state, aud the following was printed in the Constitution of yesterday: ''At midnight tonight it is almost certain that the populist caucus has decided to vote in favor of the passage of the railroad bill over the governors veto. Governor Oates has moreover stated that he wants it understood that he will not feel offended if the assembly, iu it's wisdom, sees fit to pass the bill over his veto. The Southern Is covering every point, and 1t looks their way tonight.''
 called Governor Oates attention to that paragraph this fnofhlng and the language he used in denouncing 1t as a falsshood was not uch as you would hear in theological seminary, but 1t was very impressive. He authorized me to state on the floor of this house that 1t is an absolute falsehood.
 have friends on the other side of this blll-one of my colleagues, and q young DRp whom have never known before and
 n esteem highly. believe they are
 In their argument, but do ssy and
 boldly that if the Lord given me
 HRet back tr my hoQ7n ffer the
 nf fhm InuininkUrn I'1m