The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-16
BUSINESS MAN TALKS.
Capt. A. c. Forbes Discusses candi' dacY of MT. Conner.

s 10Cy VI 41Aks AOAAGA. |; The Executive Committee of the Dem- ocratic Conservative Club. is doing some quiet but effective work in the campaign for president Of the Alabama Railroad Commission under the chairmanship oi Captain A. c. Forbes. a progressive mer- chant of Montgomery.
 In an interview yesterday Captain Forbes was emphatic in his denunciation of partisanship in the office of hailroad Commissioner. he gave 1t as nis opinion that to elect partisan to suca a position would be nothing less than q calamity to Alabama's material welfare.
 In discussing the candidacy of B. B. Conner. whom Captain Forbes regards as an extremist. he said: Mir. Conner says in effect that iI elected Railroad Commissioner, he Is going to use all his efforts to take away from the railroads 2.S00. 900 year. AAe fails to say that this would cut half in two the amount the raI.roads derive from all the business of tho Alabama part of their railroads with which to pay interest on their bonded debt and dividends to their stockholders. Such a loss would not only wipe out dividends to stockholders, but would not leave enough to pay interest on bonds. would stop all betterments. stop. railroad building. and would throw into bankruptcy every railroad in Ala ban1a that could not make mp these tre- mendolhs losses on lines outside of the State. I do not feel that such course would be best for the State of Alabama. It is unfair and unjust to the railroads and to the people 10 elect n man as Com missioner who pledges himself to such a course.
 Mir Conner further makes the impress sion that the railroads of Alabama have rrrA N~A fAR twenty years, making S56,OO0 900, which, with interest. he figures now amounts to H0.0O00O0. He fails 10 say that if the Ala bama railroads had had their revenues reduced by $2.0O,0 900 year for twenty years, they could not have paid a cent in that time ns dividends to stockholders, nor in improvements, and probably not one-tcnih of the interest on their bonds, and would long since have become hope lessly bankrupt, unable to maintain their roads In safe condition, and would have given the State a reputation for insolven- cy and financial depression that could never Do efracod.
 MT. Conner says the infliction of these heavy losses will 80 greatly increase the tonnage as to incerase the prosperity of the railroads. It Is easy for Mir. Conner to advocate such q claim, for it will be railroad property and not his property which will suffer from 1t.
 'As a matter of fact, Mir. Comer's state ment is altogether incorrect. The rail- roads could not possibly recoup any sub stantial part of their heavy losses by in- creased tonnage because the tonnage ! would not be materially increased. Mant- festly if such reductions would increase the railroad profits, the reduction would have been made long ago as q purely business proposition without waiting for a suggestion from MT. Conner.
 'l claim that the railroads of Alabama l have right to ask the people of Ala bama not to select for the responsible
 and judicial office of Railroad Commis- l sioner man who has large interests in- consistent with the fair discharge of the
 grave duties of the place. who is mani-
 festly prejudlced against the railroads, and who is pledged 10 a radical course
 which would De disastrous to the raIl-
 roads of the State"