The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-31
MANY OUTSIDERS WENT
 ON PRESS TRIP TO CANADA
Secretary ROuntree of Association Who Managed Tour Makes Proposition to Captain Falk-
 ner, Which is Declined.

Publications by The Advertiser of the manner in which the Canadian tour of the Alabama Press Association was conduct ed and the imposition practiced upon railroad companies and the Canadian cit les has brought about an interesting cor respondence between J. A. Rountree of Birmingham, Secretary of the Associa- ton, and Captain J. M. Falkner of Mont gomery. District Attorney of the Louis ville and Nashville Railroad Company.
 It is shown that fully 4O per cent of the persons on the trip were without railroad transportation and 1t Is said that not more than forty persons in the party were bona fide newspaper workers.
 MT. Rountree came to Montgomery Wednesday eveisng and returned to Bir- mingharn yesterday morning. While here he proposed to Captain Fa1kner to have the seventy newspapers which secured passes for the trip pay the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company fin advertis- ing for the passes. This proposition was indignantly refused by Captain Falkner who wrote Mir. Rountree a pointed and interesting letter.
 The correspondence Is as follows:
 Montgomery, Ala, July 30 1903.
 
 MT. Kennedy last night and had long talk with them. Mir. Glass is very much worked up and will continue in his fight. I have come to the conclusion that the only thing and best thing to do is So home and send a. circular letter to the seventy-one newspapers and ask them to write you and pay you for the transporta- tion in advertising space in their columns and then the L. and N. will be on the same basis as the Evansville Road and the Grand Trunk. I believe every one of the seventy-one papers will do this, ex- cept The Advertiser | want to do the right thing and I believe the newspaper men of Alabama who sent representatives on the trip will endorse this offer re- gret that The Advertiser should have pub lished what 1t has and brought the public into this matter, but it is done and I am going to try to amend the wrong done the E. and N. by having the newspapers pay you for the transportation.
 Personally, I am very sorry that you feel toward me as you do, but l assure l you that I was not the whole thing and could not dictate who should or should not go or put them of the train. hope that you will appreciate my posi- | tion in the matter and not be harsh upon me and let me get the newspapers of l Alabama to pay you for the transporta- l tion as the other roads have been paid. I leave on the S:25 train for Birming- ham. With high regards. I am,
 | Your friend,
 J. A. Rountree
 The answer of Captain Falkner was as follows:
 J. A. Rountree. Esq, Secretary Alabama l Press Association. Birmingham. Ala:
 Dear Sir-Your letter of July 30th re- ceived.
 For your information I will say that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad | Company would not receive compensation, under any circumstances for the courte- sies extended by the company to the Ala | bama Press Association. The l.. and N. Railroad Company has always been very much interested. not only in the Press Association of Alabama, but the Press Association of every other State through which it runs. It is pleasure to extend | courtesies to bona fide members of the press We have always been of the opin- ion that these annual excursions of bona l fide members of the press are highly ben- | eficial to all the people of the State; that | such excursions are educational to a l large extent; that they give our editors opportunity to see the growth, prosperity and the like of other portions of the l country, and to see how other people live. their various avocations. etc. and we | have had the idea that our editors on re- turning home would write up what they saw. and give the benefit of their obser- vations to our own people, and in this way have hoped to see the country built up and for these reasons have not hes itated to extend courtesies in each and ev- every instance when requested by the press, but 1t has never been our purpose to extend such courtesies to people who had no bona fde connection with tine press. It has not been our purpose to afford an opportunity merely to a few members of the press to carry their in- vited guests with them on a mere outing from which no practical good could re- suit to any one.
 | On the list which you sent me, cor | taining the names of parties who claimed to have some bona fide connection with the various newspapers, l knew there l Ialna