Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-22
OUR LETTER BOX.
Mr.. Conner Favors the People Having the
Railroad Commission a While.

Mr.. Conner Favors the People Having the
Railroad Commission a While.
To the State Herald:
Some time since read before the
directors of the Commercial club a state
ment that the Texas railroad commits
sioners had succeeded in giving the Texas
jobber a slight advantage over the for
eign jobber in the distribution of goods
through the state, and at same time that
out commission, through lack of law or
inclination, had our jobbers at very
serious disadvantage. So great is the
freight differentials in favor of the for
eign jobber in the freight distributions of
this state that until same Is rectified 1t
will never be possible to build a great
commercial city in Alabama. The rail-
road commissioners, when approached on
this subject, claim that they have no
power under the law to make the neces-
sary changes. Yet, in decade of years
the legislature records do not show that
they have asked for increased power; and
now, when we are about to inaugurate
legislature and a governor elected not
only without, but also in despite of rail-
road influence, we hear of no move that
they are making to secure necessary leg
islation. Any one acquainted with the
subject will concede that the commission
has been imperative and that 1t Is a re-
Election on the common sense and integrl-
ty of Alabama to continue it as it is. A
plished nothing else, would well repay
cost and time if it would embody in our
organic laws the unquestioned power to
grapple with corporate influence and cor
porate aggressions. A state dallies with
the interest of it's citizens when it fails to
provide in every possible way for the pro-
lection of the citizen. Our commissioners
asks that we name an instance in which
Birmingham has been Disseminated
against In answer will state that a
iry oit,o !, M iohharc oqnnnf shin
tically anywhere without discrimination
l mean discrimination in favor Of the for
eign jobber. To the Texas commission
this was sufficient information, and they
rectified it. Again, the Texas commits
sion thought it unjust to charge the Tex
as farmer the old high price on cotton
and grain and they reduced the local
rate commensurate with the depression in
everything else, and thus saved the Texas
farmer 100000 in freight on one years
cotton crop. In Alabama our local rate is
practically the same as fifteen years ago.
Again, the rate from Nashville on the
Cumberland river on corn is ID cents; the
rate from Sheffield, Ala, on the Tonnes
see river, is Is cents. Yet Nashville is 235
miles and Sheffield Is 100 miles. Now, if
you do not see discrimination against the
Alabama shipper and the Alabama farm
err, please accept my inability to show you
same. Yours truly
To the State Herald:
may-and do-differ with you on the
money question, but I am right with you
on the commissary question. The COM
missary should be forced out, and In my
opinion the easiest way to do this is by
forcing the companies to pay oftener.
Another way, and very effective one,
would be to expose them in their extor-
tons and hold up the perpetrators to pub
lie scorn. This would haye some effect.
For instance, this morning, you say that
at some of the commissaries workmen are
forced to pay Is cents per pound for ba-
con, 10 cents for sugar, and so on. be-
lieve these statements to be correct, but
they would carry more weight were you
to give names. Our people are loath to
believe there are men in this community
who would rob their fellow man in the
way "they say"
1t is no trouble to get actual prices
asked in the commissaries. Let us have
them. Il.