The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-03

Inl& 3rIlCle says 1HClS aS son for the people of Alabama to get into a state of mind similar to that which recent events show MT Comer so be governed by. There are apparenttaS my discriminations in certain railroad rates as to certain territory, but perhaps all these can be adjusted satisfactorily Alabama Is growing rapidly and no one can pretend to deny ynsast snae me ssctnrs ls in its building up. It IS t9 tneir inter est. therefore. to satisfy their patrons. and thus allay apy prejudices that may sympathixe with those communities and interests which claim to be injured, not so much by excessive as by discrlm- mating rates. and want ear, the Faiiroao au- The way to arrive at just concius- ion is not to take for granted all the wild and excited utterances that may but to calmly and judicially hear what is said on both sides"
 do not know what state of mind MT. Conner, was governed & by ogt those nose tentions are just, and in the interest or all the people of Alabama, as whole Mir. Conner. no doubt. was justified Tn showing great earnestness, and possi- that the people living in the State or Georgia were enjoying much lower rates on the whole than those living Tn
 this state. and that the testimony or
 MT. Compton was not a true one of all the facts, but was given to mislead the people. and show MT. Conner up in | false position.
 | sion of. Alabama has decided there are inequalities, inaccuracies and discrim- : nations and have ordered the rail roads to remove them within forty days --this part of your article can be elim- | mated.
 1t is true Alabama is growing rapidly and no one will deny that the railroads l. aff tU Factors
 its naVe upSail3ing. SSen Spe ' Yet while Alabama | has been building up so have the physi- | cal conditions of the railroads as well,
 and the traffic aecrung s~ls wishin ,n.s ms count of this improved physical condi- ton. namely: better roadbed. heavier
 rails. easier grades, fewer curves, larg-
 CT engines and cars with greater ton; mage per train they are enabled to haul | this traffic much cheaper than they could have done fifteen years ago. Yet
 with the exception of few reduc tons s slight reduction made in 1903 on Class es c, D and F and home grown potatoes and syrup, the same local tariiffs are | in use today, by the railroads in Ala | bama. that were in use fifteen years
 You are correct when you say the | way to arrive at just conclusion IS exciting utterances that may be spread before the people on one side, but to
 calmly and judiciaily hear what is said on both sides.
 that after the people of the great State | of Alabama have heard both sides or | any issue of importance they will solve of the state as A whole. This being true, if the contentious of the railroads are just they will win in the end. but if not, "Mr. Corners policy" will pre-
 vail.
 "A brief resume of the evidence before | the Railroad Commission will show the following to be the facts: Excluding all irrelevant matter presented MT Co.,
 mer rested his entire case for reduc- | tion of rates upon comparison which l he had made on fifty-odd articles which he had himself selected. and which or commodities so selected by him were | much lower in Georgia than the rates | on the same articles or commodities In Alabama"
 As have not seen the fifty-odd arti-
 cles or commodities selected by MT, Co., | mer, on which he made his comparison, I cannot say whether 1t was correct or
 not. It is fact, however, that 1t IS not necessary to select any special ar 1 ticles or commodities to show that the present rates are much higher in Ala | bama than they are in Georgia, but a
 comparison of all the rates will show
 this.
 ''There was no evidence whatever be- | fore the Commission other than this, | that the rates prevailing Tn Ald DA111l
 were unreasonable or in any manner | extortionate"
 This may be true for what is every
 body's is no body's business" Yet 1t
 rates on file in their office. the Railroad
 Commissioners with little effort could
 have informed themselves; of course
 ids ths might mi; ot have Seen personal Informs"
 ''The evidence of MT. c. B. Compton. | of the Louisville and Nashville Rail-
 road, before the Commission, showed That the Georgia classification con- | tains only 1,7s6 articles and the south
 ern classification No. ss, adopt
 ed by the Alabama Railroad Com
 showing that there are 1909 articles | embraced in the Alabama classifica-
 tion not covered In the Georgia classiti- cation"
 The Southern classification Is appli-
 cable to every railroad South of the Ohio and East of the Mississippi riv-
 CTS. and on this account the railroads classification of such magnitude. While | the Georgia classification applies only | to business within that state, 1t has
 been revised from time to time as found years 1t has been found to be satisfac- | tory both to the producer and consuIn-
 CT. the articles classified covering prac- | tically everything offered for shipment.
 certain exceptions applicable to local traffic, is used by the railroads in
 Alabama.
 Tt was further shown by MT. Comp
 ton with great force that in Georgia of the 6,229 miles of road only 5S0 miles equivalent to only s.S per cent of the | mileage of the State. carried freight at
 what Is known as the Georgia Standaru q | rates; and that Class B roads, which
 constitute SIS miles, equivalent to 10.9 per cent of the mileage of all the roads, | are permitted to add to the Georgia
 Standard rate 20 per cent; and that
 miles, equivalent to 55.s per cent of the
 mileage of all the roads are permitted
 to charge 25 per cent more than the
 Standard tariff; and that Glass D roads,
 which constitute 1,522 miles. equivalent
 the roads In Georgia, are permitted to
 charge an average of S5 per cent more
 than the Georgia Standard tariff.
 This statement of MT. Compton Is
 for him to withhold the part he did to
 be able to make out any case at all. Allow me to quote from the Georgia
 Classification. revised to August IS,
 1904. showing the actual difterence ot
 Glass A. Standard Tariff without percentage"
 Class On ss cisssss s;. ,15SrS l;srS'S7sA Tsri4;
 with 25 per cent added. On Glasses C.
 D-F-J and P. the Standard Tariff with | out percentage.
 On Classes B-K-MR, the Standard
 On Lime and Ice the Standard Tariff
 with 10 rsr cent added.
 Class C. On Classes -1-2-S-4-5-6-A- E-G-H-L-N-O. the Standard Tariff with
 25 per cent added. On Glasses C-D-F-J
 and P the Standard Tariff without per CentaRe