The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-08-13

after due conslde. alton. the Commi ssi m
res decided the railroad should handle
| the single barrel lots or small shipments
a the same rate per barrel as they
charged for -four per barrel In carload
| lets That is not fair to the railroad.
They take a carload Of fou- from thu
| sidetrack of the mills. ship 1t over their
| line without opening or handling at
ether end of the line. And they are COM
4 relled to haul IS barrels requiring lifting
| il, end out twice. and at their risk of
| safe handling for the same price.
The people of Georgia settled this cues
| ton and now their Commissioners are
ar pointed as ours are. And so did the
State of Virginia.
A PROTEST FROM A WHOLESALE
GROCER AGAINST ANY CHANGE
IN RAILROAD COMMISSION
LAW.
Office of Maxwell Bros.
Wholesale Grocers.
Tuscaloosa. Ala. Aug. 9TH. o2.
Mr.. J. NJ. Falkner. Montgomery, Ala:
Dear Sir-Your article in The Age-Her-
aid of Sunday August Sd, 1902, might lead
some to believe that the Wholesale Gro
GERS of Alabama were waging war against
the railroads of Alabama.
Please coufne that charge to the local
Birmingham Association, for l had my
fight against the railroads some fifteen
wears ago before the United States IN
| terstate Commerce Commission, when
| first entered business fresh from the
| scholastic halls of the East. imbued with
| the idea that the Railroads were against
| us
I soon learned my mistake. and ever
since have been a friend of the agencies
upon which our business is so dependent
| Below l hand you copy Of letter 10
| friend of mine whose name | omit ow-
| ing 90 its being a personal communication
| and the party addressed being DESTROYS
| of not being drawn into the controversy:
Tuscaloosa, Ala, July 26th, %.
MIR. -:
Dear Sir-Yours of July 18th to nand'
'By the way the local association or
| Jobbers of Birmingham are treading upon
dangerous grounds when they enter upon
| a fight with the combined power of the
| railroads of Alabama.
Ten or fifteen years ago 1 fought the
! railroads at this place and carried 1t 10
| the United States Interstate Commission,
which resulted in my being converted
never to strike the hand we were so de-
| pendent upon
.Messrs. Beck and Sinnige were here
and spoke in our Court House Thursday
in favor of electing the Railroad Commits
sion by the people.
ITO make the Commission elective
launches it into politics; do we want an
| other Goebel affair in Alabama like Ken
| tucky?.
Besides, nearly 90 per cent. II not W
per cent of all goods in your ware-rooms
| at Birmingham emanates from points out
side OF our State over which this Com
g1rlnkaRe
should there be any from this liberty
loving elected Commission would have to
be met by a raise in Interstate rates over
which they would have no voice.
IF there is one city In Alabama which
the railroads have nursed in its infancy
that place Is Birmingham; is the child
now to turn against Its motherY
After leaving Shreveport, La, at our
Annual Meeting l went over into Jexas'
where they have a Commission elective.
Naturally visited those met at
Shreveport; in Dallas. FIT. Worth and
Weatherford 1 was told chow true kno"
not) that the Commission took certain
radius and said all towns in that belt
must have same rates the result of which
was that several of those houses had TO
build warehouses at each place they IN
| tended to do business.
Some had from three to five wareroom5
at various places in the State and ONCE
force to keep up.
This would mean a great loss to us
If such a deal was given u.s.
Railroads are well organized to fight
a common enemy. had you better not re
main their friends?
Georgia Is more thickly settled and its
rural districts are better developed and
possibly the Commission may help mat
ters in isolated cases of moving the
melon and fruit crops. but dare say the
Interstate business pays for the deh-
cheney
.I answered Messrs. Beck and SlnneSs
and told them that in my candid opinio
they were proceeding IN the wrong way,
Is railroads were large corporations man
aged by good business men and that they
could be approached IN dinerent way
and accomplish more.
Every reasonable request land ! try
and ask no other has been granted by
our two roads here and in ordering goods
from either the East or West | remem-
her the roads that are identified with our
city.
WAS the Selma-Akron-T Tuscaloosa train
nut into Birmingham through fight or
by request?
81 dare say that considering the de-
traction from the triple-daily trains Akron
to Birmingham, TINS Tram is run do d HISS
to satisfy your cities request
II believe the State ought to pay the
Commission and relieve the railroads.
then to stimulate the farmer to raise
corn. hay, potatoes, etc, commodity rates
to mot from. full tariff to apply nearest
trading center of $500 people. Pardon
length of this letter, but | thought | sa "
danger ahead and I wished to avoid it.
,SicnedD Luther II. Maxwell,
"Of Maxwell Bros"
From the above letter you can see where
I stand upon the question of electing the
Commission direct by the people
If tho Alabama Commission was made
elective would the persons offering them
selves for election be for the peoples in
terest or for the salary connected with
the office?
From past experience in the political
history of Alabama 1 should say it would
pc the salary.
The man who could shout the loud
est fIom the stump against the railroads
would possibly be the one elected; would
this tend to the upbuilding of Aabama's
railroads or induce other capitalists to
build rallrC ads in our State?
Mr.. T. G. Bush puts it in a concise
fern when he vs. tariff making is now
a science which takes years to undsr-
stand.
Gsorgia's Commission is chosen by its
Chief Executive to he ratified by the SEN
ate Why cannot cur Governor do like
wise?
Birmingham wants SO many advantages