The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-25
THE GEORGIA AND ALABAMA BILL.

Capt. Purse Defines His Position BE-
fore senate Committee on Rail-
roads FavOring Legislation to
Open Savannah to All Railroads
Seeking Deep Wafer Terminals
Here.
Editor Morning News: Before the board
of trade yesterday morning, President Co.
mer, of the Central of Georgia Railway
Company, of which the Southern Railway
Company is the sole owner. gave no rea-
son for his autocratic utterance declaring
that Senator Osbornes bill for the relief
of the Georgia and Alabama railway was
dead before It had been finally acted upon
by the Senate committee on railroads; be
fore the Senate had acted upon it as
body after their committee had reported
and before the House of Representatives
had had an opportunity of referring il to
their railroad committee and had their
report before the whole body for final dis
position.
That President Conner said what I
charged against him, and what Col. Cor
don had pronounced, before l had raised
my voice an ''impolitic utterance," is be-
yond the possibility of denial
President Corners motive for asserting
prescience regarding the fate of Senator
Osborne's bill did not arraign, but prop
erly left II for his God and his fellow-cit-
criticism to his language expressed in
words and emphasized by vigor of action
that forbid misunderstanding of their
meaning and significance.
Before the cotton exchange, yesterday
afternoon, President Conner, for some rea-
son, best known to himself seemed to re-
aliZe that some reason was due the public
for his utterance before the board of trade
in the morning, which Col. Gordon had
pronounced "impolitic," and he goes out
of his way to find a scapegoat for his most
ill-advised, If not autocratic utterance, by
parading what he claims l uttered before
the Senate committee, who had under con-
sideration, by reference of the Senate to
them, Senator Osborne's bill. If l was
wrong in saying the railroads had no rights
which the people would respect, that could
never be plead by President Conner before
the bar of public opinion as a justification
for his holder and more tyranic language
that the Central of Georgia Railway Com
pany, the Southern. its sole owner, and
the other railway corporations of Geor-
gia practically, were the custodians of
the votes and consciences of the members
of the Senate and House OF Representa-
tives of the legislature of Georgia. For
what else can his language mean when re-
duced to its last analysis, when he openly
suited to the strength of the words, de-
clared a bill utterly dead before the leg
islature had been permitted to file an af-
firmative or dissenting opinion to Presi-
dent Comer's sweeping declaration.
Now, If President Conner desires to have
II understood that he did not mean what
cord him the privilege than the writer,
of recognizing his utterances at the
board of trade meeting by modifying
the words he possibly uttered too hastily
in debate. But l will ever protest against
President Corners attempting to justify
one wrong by the charge of another, for
two wrongs never made one right. Nor
do ! admit for one minute that President
Conner can properly charge any wrong
upon me in justification of any error into
which he may have fallen.
Before the Senate committee, i simply
asserted the sublime principle that the
Creator was greater than the creature,
in saying that the rights of the people
were paramount to any right, vested or
otherwise, of any corporation created by
them, and that legislators who acquired
their titles from the people, and not from
the corporations, might be rebuked by
the people with decapitatiOn If they set
up for their guidance any other form of
magma charter. l do not pretend to re-
call my exact words, but simply the sub
stance of what / meant to convey by the
words l did sutter. To torture, by any
refinement of the rules of English inter
probation, aught otherwise from the eX-
act words 1 may have uttered, would be
tantamount to conVicting me of being a
fool and so far in life that charge has
never been hurled at me.
Different with President Corners i'm
polite" Ito be very generously language be-
cause railroad corporations are every day
justly or unjustly, charged with attempt
ing to, if not always succeeding in direct
ing or blocking legislation where it is
supposed TO encroach upon their so-called
vested rights. and it was, therefore, do
ing no violence to the language of Pres
ident Conner or the intelligence of Mr..
Conner, the individual, to accept what he
said as literally meant without any scape-
goat being needed for supposed justifica-
ton, because President Conner only SEEM
ed more fearless and outspoken in his
utterances, and, for myself must say
that its very daring was refreshing
When l spoke about the right of the
people being paramount to that of cor
porations, l had I'm my mind that ruthless
and unwarranted molestations of private
| or corporate rights were fully protected
under the organic law, while much of the
"so-called'' vested rights of corporations
were but mere pigments of the magma
ton. Especially do l think that true,
when they seek to shelter themselves
from certain kinds of legislation under
what they are pleased to call the settled
policy of the state on the railroad cues
ton" Col. Gordon, in both of his speech
es yesterday before the commercial bod
les. dissipated this so-called myth, THE
railroad policy of Georgia" when he said
with emphasis that such claim was ali
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