The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-02
sEcnErARx RouNTREE AND
 THAT &2o.

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 THAT $20.
 In. Fridays issue in a review of Mr. !. A. Rountree's personally conducted tour to Canada. under the name of the Ala bama Press Association. The Advertiser said:
 tive in this matter Why has he for years worked up these big excursions. and over-ridden the constitution and bylaws of the Association and the proprieties of the case Can 1t be possible that he has made money out of these trips? The the case, because 1t has no proof. but 1t does say that he could have done 90, if he Is as shrewd a manager as his long experience ought to have made him. Let us examine some figures.
 These figures showed that at the rate of s2s apiece charged for every one of the 1s5 persons on the trip Mir. Rountree had received total of s5,s65. and that he had probably not paid the Pullman Company for the use of the four cars for fourteen days over s2.7lo We were satisfied that the last sum was an outside one. and that the actual sum was less. He had declined to give the actual sum and so had the Pullman Company.
 intendent of the Pullman Company agreed to give the information to the proper of- ficiais of the Alabama Press Association. Thereupon The Advertiser wired this fact to MT. W. E. W. Yerby. of The Greens boro wafchman. President of the Asso- citation. He promptly authorized the Pullman Company to give the informa- ton to The Advertiser. Here is the reply of the General Superintendent of the Pullman Company at Chicago:
 Chicago. Ills, Aug. 1. The Advertiser. Montgomery. Ala:
 Complying with request of President Yerby. Alabama Press Association, the Secretary paid us fourteen hundred and forty dollars 01,440) for service of cars on recent trip to Canada and return.
 w. H. Reed,
 General Superintendent.
 So Mir. Rountree actually paid the Pull man Co. eight hundred dollars less than we figured. His margin between s5.365 of receipts and s1,44o paid the Pullman Co. Is $s.s26l Possibly he paid out some other small sums for expenses. but 1t is safe to say that he cleared about $500 on this alleged Alabama Press Association.
 Now 1t is easy to see why he ignored the Constitution and bylaws and various resolutions of the Alabama Press Asso- citation. It is easy to see why he per- suaded the roads beyond Louisville to issue transportation to four people for vxox, E,.x of aft1 s~, the Press Associations rules. It is easy to see why he got the transportation over these roads into his own hands, and then used this as a lever on Capt. Falkner of the L. and N. to grant the same increase of representation It is easy to see why he kept writing Capt Falkner to issue the L. and N. transportation, and assured him that the newspapers had certified all those names to him and that the Asso- ciation's Executive Committee had passed cn them. Mir. Rountree wanted the big gest crowd he could get on his excursion. The more people he could cram into the cars at S2s apiece, the bigger his profit. It cost the Association less than S10 apiece for the Pullman service. Mr. Ronntree used this as an excuse to haul s2s apiece out of the pocket of every person who went.
 No wonder Mir. Rountree has been run ming these alleged Press excursions all over the continent for years past. No wonder he has made them so expensive that many Alabama newspaper men had to drop out, so that bankers, lawyers, business men. and others of means could slip in. He wanted the biggest crowd of people able to pay. And what tremen- dous advantages MT. Rountree has had to offer in his personally conducted tours! Railroad fare free, given away or sold at very attractive figures, it Is said, in some cases. and besides a great lot of elegant attentions to supposed newspaper people by cities, hotels theatres, etc. MT. Roun- tree had rare advantages. in fact could distance all competitors, as a conductor of attractive excursions.
 Now the question Is what Is the Ala bama Press Association going to do about this thing. The Advertisers exposures show that several scores of people went on this Canadian trip to whom SdplhiH hCNCA any transportation on his road he said in his letter that he believes over 40 per cent had none. The same thing is doubt less true of the roads beyond Evansville. The Advertiser has also proved that MT. Rountree acting for the Association and as It's Secretary. has charged for Pull man fare about three times what 1t cost him. It seems to The Advertiser that 1t is time the Alabama Press Association as a body was taking this thing in hand The credit of the Association should be redeemed. It should put MT. Rountree out of office, try to reclaim this money he has been making in the name of the Association, elect officers. including an Executive Committee with pride in the dignity of the profession and plenty of backbone It should also purge it's lists of all unconstitutional members. and 1nt pestigate all rumors of transfers of trans portation to outsiders. If the Associa- tion does not respect itself how can it command the respect of the people of Alabama. and of the people of other States outside our own borders? Ought not something be done to blot out the shame of these so-called Press excur- sIons?