The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-18

on hay and grain with the officials ot other roads. They proposed. If 1t was possible. to encourage the farmers or Alabama in the growing of hay and grain and to this end a modification of the rates on those commodities had been pro posed to other railroad officials and m every instance they had met with hearty cooperation.
 w. A. winburn, vice-President and Freight Agent of the Central of Georgia, asked leave to offer a few facts and fig- ures for the Central in addition to the statement made by Major Hanson at the morning session of the Commission.
 The Central of Georgia, he said, would each year show a deficit in it's business done in Alabama. On the Montgomery and Eufaula division he said the Central had lost much territory by the building or two competing lines and there had been a corresponding loss in it's volume of business On It's branch in the North ern part of the State, said MT. Wlnourn, the operating expenses had been heavily increased by the large grades Ihe rates on the Montgomery and Eufaula branch of the Central, MT. Winourn saio' snouAu be raised.
 MT. Russell of Mobile.
 General Counsel Edward L. Russell of the Mobile and Ohio, said that under the law which called the Commission into be- ing 1t was not authorized to make sucn sweeping changes as had been asked TOT. He discussed at length the powers Wnich the Commission originally had ana "hich had been later given it. .- that had been made in the railroad ser" vice in Alabama in the past twenty years. Ee had been associated with the Mophe and ohio for more than twenty years ana he had been appearing before the Ai1 mama Railroad Commission during all that period. He had always, he saia. nao the uieasantest relations with the mem herv of the Commission and he had al- vvsv va found them patriotic men ready 10 do their full duty for their State. m that tine traffic and transportation facil- flies in Alabama had shown remarKaple lmproyenent and the passenger rates han been reduced from cents to cents mile. The railroads, he said, had mate -Iau,, assisted in the development or the nrosnerItv of the State and he spoke or the vronderful commercial progress of his own city, Mobile. T seyier. General Freight Agent or the Queen and Crescent Route spoke briefly in representation of his roaa. ne ouoted figures, showing that in Alabama SSt. road had patd in it's year of greatest nrosnerity only per cent which he con tended was a reasonable earning or the 
 pWssior A. Pope, Assistant General Freight Agent of the Seaboard AIT Ahe, spoke for his road and for the East ana West Road. The fixing of the 1relsn. rates, he contended. was purely iocal matter. It should not De done III " sweening way. The rates should be ad- s,,sta6 Carefully and in a conservative manner after all complaints had been investigated. His roads, he said' nad made no profits It had ksen run at loss Further reduction of the VAte un- der the circumstances would be nard- ship and an injustice.
 MT. Conner Closed.
 MT. Conner claimed and was gwen the closing argument.
 "It has been claimed" said MT. Conner .'for twenty years there has been no wholesale change by the Commission or the freight rates, that the Commlssloh had silently tolerated the high irelsht rates. Gentlemen that's the very reason you have an elective Railroad Commls- sion now. The people of Alabama grew tired of the old railroad conditions and they substituted an elective Commission for the old Commission. which had ac- complished but little"
 The railroad men, MT Conner said, dld not appreciate the importance or the rev oIution. They did not, he said realize that if was on them. It was the same way in Kentucky and North Carolina where these reforms had been instituted the railroad people did not realize now deeply stirred the people were untll they had accomplished their ends.
 When 1t was found he said, that the people of Alabama had elected Legis- lature which favored an elective Rail- road Com mission the railroads were aS- founded. The railroads. he declared, had fought 1t with force, money and capital He told the members of the Commission that when they issued orders reducing freight rates, the railroads would fight them at every step as they were doing in Mississippi and Louisiana.
 He was surprised at the poverty of the railroads in Alabama. He had no idea. he said, that the railroads had been do- ing so poorly. It appeared to him that there must be many poor railroad men in Alabama He suggested that 1t would be a good idea to send to Kentucky, North Carolina and other StateE where they had rates fixed by law for raiirvsSS men because in those States the railroads made money in spite of the horrors of State regulation.
 Al the conclusion of Mir. Comer's re- marks. the Commission adjourned. Presi- dent Smith announced that 1t would meet again Wednesday. July 1, to render it's decision, In the meanwhile, he said, doc- uments relating to the case might be filed with the Secretary.
 THE HOT WEATHER TEST makes people better acquainted with their re- sources of strength and endurance Many find they need Hoods Sarsaparilla which invigorates the blood promotes refresh ina CI nd that tfrpA fnaI-