The age-herald., 1902-03-02
Wants Candidate Who Will Reg uIate Affairs According
 to His Ideas
HE INITIATES THAT
 "LOOTING'' IS GOING ON
Believed This Will Force Ex-Gov. Jo- seph Johnston Out as Representa- tive of Opposition to New
 Constitution.

MT. B. B. Conner announces in The Age Herald this morning that he will not be candidate for governor. MT. Conner in declining to run severely arraigns the railroad commission and intimated that some footing is going on He wants to see candid:;s s in the race who will regulate the control of railroads according to Mir. Corners notions
 With the field cleared of Mr Conner the opinion grows stronger among politicians that former Governor Joseph r. Johnston will be called upon as the standard bearer of the opposition to the new constitution. They admit that the former governor is not particularly anxious to make the fight for himself. To manage campaign for another standard bearer would be per haps more to Captain Johnstons liking,
 Such turn of affairs would give him an opportunity to try his hand at building up strong machine and then If the ocoa- sion was propitious enter at the post in
 
 will consent to be the goat" to refer to Governor Oates famous story during the Kolb campaign is a matter of specu- lation among Democratic leaders. It Is known definitely that he does not desire to run, but will he be forced into it? Many believe he will be too smart to be the defeated candidate of lost cause
 MIR. coMER'S STATEMENT.
 MT. Conner, in explaining his position, gives the following statement to the Age Herald:
 I have seen through the papers my name associated with the prospective candidates for Governor. The Mobile not a politician.
 Your issue of February 22, which I quote:
 But the still further combination of MT. B. B. Conner of Jefferson with Sena- tor Meador with Governor Johnston as the campaign manager is the one taken most seriously here. The well informed politician would not be surprised at this combination with an anti-railroad plat
 
 raigning the railroad commission for sev- eral years, and if he enters the contest for Governor, it is stated that it will be for the purpose of carrying his fight against the commission and the railroads directly before the people.
 Places me on an anti-railroad and anti railroad commission platform.
 It is because the Register is correct that I cannot follow my wishes and go before the people on the platform named by you. I believe it is the vital issue in Alabama.
 MT. Cabiness, before committee of the recent constitutional convention, stated that the railroad tariffs or taxes of Ala bama exceeded the combined taxes of the state, counties, cities and towns. this is certainly a fearful sum to levy on people, not rich, without giving them some adequate power of equalization and stay at law. He further stated that every state around us and practically every one in the Union had taken steps to control franchised corporations. and place the power of the state between them and the citizen.
 ALABAMA CHARGED MORE.
 The Birmingham freight bureau sub Initted a statement to the convention that the same railroads under practically the same surroundings charged the Alabama consumer from 50 to 100 per cent more than they did the Georgia consumer. They also stated that the excess local freight in Alabama for the same tonnage as in Georgia would amount to S1,50O.OOo to 100000 a year. In other words, the Alabama citizens pay practically S2,OOOOOO a year more for the same railroad serv- ice than Georgia does. They also stated that local freight was treated as the property of the railroads and the rates were made to force shipments to desti- nations most profitable to the roads and without regard to the interests of the shipper or State. It was also charged that the rate on cotton into the cotton factories of the State were in all in- stances determinations and excessive.
 MIR. .M'ELDERYs SPEECH.
 I quote clippings from G. T. McElderys speech before the railroad commission at Montgomery February 4, 1902:
 'I come before you today as the repre- sentative of a class that works harder lives harder and gets less remuneration