The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-04-03
CORRIDOR TALK OF
THE ALABAMA CAPITOL
BY HERvEY w. LAIRD.

Ohio railroad, of which he is the execu-
tive head, is here to make fight against
the claimants. His road las become pos
sessed of most of the wharfs and has
spent millions of money in fixing up what
they considered their own property.
Another case of Importance that will
have to be again taken up by the SUI
preme CORTLAND let me stop here to say
that my remark in the opening para
graph that there would be little business
of special interest at this term applied
to business already considered-will be the
Pell City court house case. in which it
was decided that the makers of the new
constitution had no right to legisate a
court house at Pell City in addition to
the one already owned at Ashville, the
county seat. After losing out in the
court the friends of Pell City have asked
for a rehearing and the matter will re-
ceive attention early in the new term
There was a greatest contest before the
courts and two of them held that the To-
cation of the court house was entirely
within the province OF the constitutional
convention and followed out the lines
laid down by some of the best legal and
Legislative thinkers of the world. The
court divided on it with a majority to
disallow, and there it stands. 1t is
quite likely that there will be no change
in the decision as a. result of a rehearing
as it is well known that every case on
which there is division the ground is so
fully covered that new positions are less
likely to be taken than il there was I'M
animous decision. There are, however,
some wonderfully strong points brought
naught in the application for rehearing
and there is no telling what may hap
pen.
If this correspondent may be pardoned
for reference in personal way he would
like to say that what he writes from this
parties complaining that he seemed to be
taken as his opinion in the matter dis
cussed, save where expressly stipulated.
Several times he has received tters from
parts complaining that he seemed to be
on 1.-The other side of questions under
discussion. 1t is his desire to present as
| nearly as possible the impressions given
of a subject by the talk that he hears
about It,
The case of the Pell City court house
decision Is one in point. Because the let
ter from there seemed to treat the APP
p1ication for rehearing lightly, some of
the gentlemen on the Pell City side of the
house complained, going so far as
to write very sharp letter about It, The
letter from here was made up after talk
ing with men who ought to have known
what they were talking about, and was
not purporting to convey the ideas of the
writer. In fact, II the writer had ex-
pressed his own opinion. entirely that OF
an uniformed layman he would certain
| ly have thought that the constitutional
convention had the right to do as 1t
pleased. right often upheld by high
and learned jurists. This is no apology;
neither is 1t an assurance that the opinion
of the writer will not be given some time,
but simply that it may prove educative to
those who do him the honor to read these
news letters When opinion Is expressed
1t will be in such direct way as to leave
no room for doubt as to what Is meant.