The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-25
}. Who is Mir. B. B. comsf?

A. He Is a very shrewd man who has | made great deal of money. Q. What does he propose to do if elect ea> Railroad Commissioner? A. He proposes to reduce the revenue of the Alabama railroads by nearly three million dollars a year. O. What will be the result of such re- duction?
 A. It will bankrupt nearly every rail- road in Alabama unless 1t can increase tntereststate rates to make up the loss. Q. Will this help the farmer. laboring man and consumer?
 A. No, 1t will hurt them and will hurt tie State in every direction except possi- bly some special business interests.
 Q. Why is Mir. Conner in favor of such a course? -
 A. Because he tanks it will help his special business interests.
 o. Is Mr. Conner spending Sany money to secure the election? A. Yes, he Is spending many thousands | of dollars for that purpose. c. Has he been in the h abit of spend- ing his money for the benefit of the peo- pie of Alabama
 A. No. he has not. He has only spent money when he believed 1t would bring him much more money in return. o. Has MT. Conner or have the rail roads sacrificed anything to help Ala bama7
 A. Mir. Conner has not. He has got full return and large profits for everything | he has done. But the railroads have in the development of Alabama spent millions of dollars for which they have never re- ceived any return.
 c. What is a good way to judge wheth- CT man is public spirited and trust worthy in public oflcet A. One very good way Is by the es- teem in which he is held by the people | in the community where he lives. Q. Is Mir. Conner we'll esteemed in Bir- mlngham where he lives? A. He Is not. He is a very unpopular mar and has remarkably few friends considering his long residence there. He could not be- elected constable or to any local office. His only hope to be elected to the position of Railroad Commissioner is to inspire the people with enough | hatred of the railroads to make the vot- CTS support him.
 Q. Is there any other way by which a man seeking public ofilce can be justly judged?
 A. Yes. Another way Is to know how he treats his employees, and what they think of him.
 Q. What are the relations between MT Conner and his employees?
 A. Those relations are not good. He employs great many people in his cot ton mills and elsewhere. He Is harsh and unfriendly in his treatment of them and Is very much disliked by them.
 c. Is there any other way to judge the fitness of a candidate for ofIice?
 A. Yes, another way is to know what he thinks of the people. If he has a contempt for the people he is pretty sure to disregard the true interests of hA t1
 Q. What does Mir. Conner think of the people?
 A. He seems to have a very poor opinion of them. He thinks the people of Alabama haven't had sense enough to govern themselves for the past twenty years He claims that every member of the Railroad Commission for the past twenty years has been corrupt and false to his trust and that every Governor of Alabama for the past twenty years has been grossly false to his trust by ap- pointing and re-appointing members of the Commission who were traitors to the cause of the people, and he seems to think the judges of all the courts in Alabama haven't the sense to make rail- roads pay claims or observe reasonable car service rules. If Mfr Conner believes all these things, then he necessarily thinks the Alabama people haven't any sense for continuing to elect men to public office who regularly betray their public trust. MT Conner all the time hrags on the people of Georgia and how the law as administered there Yet the Railroad Commissioners Of Georgia have always been appointed by the Governor Just as they have been in Alabama until the last Legislature. and the Judges in Georgia are elected by the people just like they always have been in Alabama. E1 of Georgia are very smart and capable and that the people of Alabama are very silly and helpless.
 Q. Is Mir. Conner right when he says Georgia is more prosperous than Ala bama?
 A. No. He is entirely wrong. Ala bama is as progressive and prosperous as any State in the South and has in- creased more rapidly than Georgia.
 q. Is 1t possible that Mir. Conner is right in his claim that all the Governors of Alabama for twenty years have been ineflcient and untrustworthY and unable to protect the interests of the people?
 A. No, MT. Comer's claim is untrue and absurd. Alabama in the past twenty years has had many Governors. who were brave and true men and friends of tho people ana without special business iD- terests to serve such as Mir. Conner haA At IS Tar SaIer ana more Just 10 Fely on and believe in the fidelity of the public men of Alabama who have fought for her in war and cared for and upiifted her in peace than to rely on the interested statements of a selfish man like Mir. Conner who has always devoted himself exclusively to advancing his private in- terests.
 Q. If Mir. Conner were president of the Railroad Commission, and the railroads would give him special rates. lower than the rates given to the general public, for ms grist mill at Birmingham, and for ms Avondale Cotton Mills. and for the products of his farm in Barbour county. would that satisfy him
 A. don't know; but 1t has been sug- gested by those who know Mir. Conner intimately. that he has never been satIs- ned with anything since he reached mans estate and that If in his power to do so he would revise the Decalogue and amend the Lords prayer.
 @. Is 1t not fact that Mr. Conner discharged little boy who had been working in his cotton mill at BirminR- ham, and when the little boy returned to the cotton mill to get the waRes which were due him, did not Mir. Conner have