The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-13

this year will be $4S, ,750. Of this amount S24, 75O and perhaps more will come from the sale of the states cotton. There were at least 450 bales of cotton made on the state farm this year, and probably more. At Il cents or $55 per bale, this will bring in s24,75o, and the commission will not sell for a cent less.
 Under a resolution passed by the gen. eral assembly in 1904, the prison com mission has sold labor from the farm to the extent of s1000O. Some 5000 worth of products from the farm outside of the cotton have been sold. A contract with the state asylum to dig canals for the new water works system will, 1t is said, bring in about 5000 more. The foregoing and various other sources of income bring the total up to s4s,750. The total expenses of operating the farm during the year are about s25OOO, perhaps slightly less. This leaves the net income to the state about $24,000 as stated.
 The members of the prison commission will be generally congratulated upon these excellent results.
 Among the Improvements which the commission has just decided to make at the farm is that of fencing in various tracts for different purposes. The com mission has just bought six miles of wire fencing for this purpose. Certain tracts will be fenced off for pasturage, and oth- CTS for the various purposes for which they are needed
 Another progressive step Is the pur- chase of a number of brood mares which the commission has decided to keep at the farm so that in future the state will raise it's own mules and eliminate the ex- pense of buying them.
 The states cotton raised on the farm will probably be sold within the next few days.
 Important Meeting of Commission.
 The railroad commission is going to con- sder next week the question of reduc- ing the freight rates on the larger rail- road systems in Georgia. This will con- stitute one of the most important nvesti- gations to be held by the commission this year.
 The question involved is that of putting in Class A of the commissions classified list of railroads the Central of Georgia the Southern, the Seaboard Air Line and the Atlantic Coast Line The three first mentioned are in Class c, In which they are permitted to charge 25 per cent in addition to the standard tariff rates as fixed by the commission, while the Coast Line is in Class B and charges only 10 per cent additional.
 With the general prosperity and .n creased earning power of the railroads generally, the belief has arisen in many quarters that the railroads might easily stand a reduction in local freight rates such as this would make
 The matter was first brought to the at- tention of the commission by w H. nf or,,1,a uf Commerce. who petitioned the com mission to put the Southern and Central in Class A. Chairman J. Pope Brown, the retiring member of the commission thinking it might work an injustice to put the non-paying branch lines belonging to these roads in Class A. made a new mo- ton to the effect that only the main lines of these two roads be thus changed in classification.
 Following this Commissioner Joseph M Brown filed a motion with the commits sion that inquiry be had as to the ques- ton whether the Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line should be put in Class A, and also as to whether there should be reduction In local freight rates on the subsidiary branch lines of the Southern and Central.
 These cases were to have come up in October, but were postponed until Mo- vember to give the railroads time to pre- | has asked for a further postponement. and in its case this has been granted, but no other date has yet been fixed
 The hearings on this question as to the other railroads will take place as scheduled. The Central of Georgia will be given a hearing Wednesday. November 15 the Coast Lines case will be heard on November 16. and that of the Seaboard Air Line on November IT. These hearings | will unquestonably prove of interest in all parts of the state, because there Is no section of the state which will not be ef- fected by the result
 Hold Memorial Exercises. The memorial exercises in honor of the memory of the late Chief Justice T. J. Simmons will be held in the supreme court room on MondaS< November IS. at noon The report of the special com mittee appointed to prepare the memorial address will be made at the time by Judge Howard VanEpps of Atlanta, chairman, and an appropriate response will be made by Chief Justice w. H. Fish The memorial in honor of the late Washington Dessau of Macon will be had on Friday, November IT, the report being made to the court by the chairman of the committee, Judge A. L. Miller of Ma con.