The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-20

.rafic from new quarters. Now. sir. .lil my life 1t has So happened nave Jtssn thrown in pretty intimate con- .act with railroad men. and l have lever Iailed to advocate anything that Vas just and proper in benaif of the railroads. 1 have always opposed leg station of any kind that tended to be uhJust to them.
 l have always opposed legislation of any kind that tended to be unjust or unfair to them, Ten years experience as President of the Board of Trade some years ago in Mobile brought me in constant contact with these matters when the relations between the rail- roads and the public were not as sys- tematized as they are now. So in my career in the legislature of Alabama. There are delegates on the floor, with whom l had the honor to serve as far back as 1876. and the capable and ex- perienced Chairman of the Committee on Corporations sat next to me for four consecutive sessions. and venture to say that he will bear me out in the statement that he never knew me du- ring that time to antagonize railroads in any reasonable or just assertion Of their rights or demands for legislative
  question 1 am actuated by no feeling of prejudice whatever. While do not propose to elaborate on the ethics of the question or resolve with casuistry as to the effect of the pass giving or receiving directly or indirectly, con- sciously or unconsciously, l say this: Something must be done and we ought to have a provision in the Constitution that not only will be self-operative but will have some vitality. l undertake to say that the ordinance reported by this Committee is a very adroit une and a very nernicious one. In pass giving and pass receiving there are always two parties to the transaction. One that gives and one that receives. Now if you want to get rid of this practice. if you want to uproot it, If you want an efifcient system, you must put the penalty on the road which gives the pass as we'll as on the officers of the State of Alabama who accept them. In this respect the ordinance proposed by the Committee is not whit better than what has been in the Constitution for the last twenty five years. It sim ply says that railroads shall not give any pass but 1t puts no penalty on a viola tion of his provision. and that Is what the Constitution now Is. We  an amendment which proposes to say right there. after you say that no rail- road. or its agent. shah give a pass, you so right on to say that violation of that on the part of the agent shall be a misdemeanor and he shall be pun- ished accordingly.
 Then, MT. President, there Is this to be said. While this Is a very drastic provision on it's face. really 1t is not so at all. There Is no way in which you can prove when an officer of the gov- ernment violates this law.
 Now. I do not stop to consider the question of its being limited to mem bers of the legislature and the judic- iary. I am willing to give that up, though I cannot see why you should make any discrimination It seems to me that no ofiicer of the government ought to receive a pass. and I am will ing to let that go but the members Of the legislature and the Judiciary are the only ones against whom the penal ty is provided, and you cannot ascer- tain except from evidence that you must get through the railroads them- selves. who have received and are us- ing passes. Hence the amendment that I proposed. which not only provides penalty on the railroad and its agent.
 
 below the rate charged the public. but that they shall also testify, and shall be relieved from criminal or civil prose- cution, if they testify that they gave the pass. and in that way and only In that way, would you ever ascertain the fact that a pass had been given.
 Now, as a part of my remark, I will read the amendment, which l propose to offer when the proper time comes, if have the opportunity. Section lo: - Sec. Is. No railroad or other trans portation company or corporation or officer or agent thereof shall grant free passes or sell tickets or passes at discount other than as sold to the pub lie generally to any member of the leg islature. or to any officer exercising Judicial functions under the laws or this State. and a violation of this pro vision Is hereby declared to be and shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor, but no person or officer or agent of a corporation who gives any such tree pass. free transportation. or sells tick- cts for transportation at rates herepy prohibited, shall be privileged from tes. tifying in relation thereto, and he snail not be liable to civil or criminal pros ecuton therefor. If he snail testlry 10 the selling or giving of the same. And any such member or officer receiving such pass or ticket for himself or pro curing the same for another. shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars. and at the discre- ton of the court trying the case in ad- dition to such fine may be imprisoned for A term not exceeding six montns; and upon conviction shall be subject to impeachment, and removal from ofhce.
 Tho courts having jurisdiction shall give this law specially in charge 10 the grand juries. and when the eVi- dence Is sufficient to authorize an in- dictment the grand jury must present a true bill
 Any county into or through which such member or officer Is transported by the use of such prohibited pass or ticket shall have Jurisdiction Of tHe case, provided only one prosecution shall be had for the same offense, ana provided further. that the trial ana Judgment for an offense shall not bar a prosecution for another offense when the same pass or ticket is used, ana provided, further, that no attorney or empIoye of a railroad or other trans portatlon company who. at the time or his election to the legislature, had q free pass over the line of such com pany shall be debarred from using the same or from procuring one Tor any member of his immediate famliy, Wno is not a member of the legislature or officer exercising judicial fnnctlons'
 MT. Long (Walker)-I move we ao- jouru.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)-Will the gentleman withdraw that in order that 1 may submit a report on the Exscu- tI,,o nanarfrnant2