The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-05-22
Will Try TO Elect Legislators
in Sympathy
INSISTS ON RATE REDUCTION
Fight Between DR.. Cunningham and
MIR. Conner Promises to Be AmoAg
the Warmest in the His
tory of the State.
sY H-RvEY w. LAIRD.

SY H-RvEY w. LAIRD.
Montgomery, May 21.-(Special.)-Th
correspondent of this paper has it from
what seems the best authority that b.
B Conner. now president of the Alabama
railroad commission, will be a candidate
os the democratic nomination for gov
error at the next state primary of that
party and that he will lead a fight to
EJECT to the general assembly from ev-
cry district and county men who will
come pledged to use their votes and en-
eisies to bring about reduction of the
schedules of freight rates on the rail-
roads operating in the state.
This is said to have resulted from the
evident fact that there is no way to
reacd the transportation lines, as Mr.
Conner thinks they should be reached
with the present laws and the only way
the st.ry Goes that he can now see to
bring about tire conditions in rates which
lie SAYS he hs been working for for
sixteen years is to get set of fellows
in the legislature who will do as the
crowd he leads want them TO do in this
particular and have a man in the guber-
Material chair who will call them TO-
gether for the duty thus indicated, II
necessary.
The Law for It,
1t is thought that the determination of
Mr.. Conner to make the race for COVER
nor If he has so made up his mind, Is
a direct consequence of his failure to nave
the rates reduced at the recent hearing
before the commission, when the two as
sociates held that there had been nothlng
in the evidence to indicate that the lines
4 nod
CONDENSATION for services rendered and
according to the law, there is nothing that
can be done There does not seem any
doubt that this conclusion was reason
able one in the light of the stature anu
the decisions df the supreme court, ana
az or1v thinp that the ultra anti-rail-
road people will have left will be the
revision of the laws, in the opinion OF
tLose who dfe talking the Conner can
aidacy lust at this time. In other words,
the legislature puts the rate making
novers of the state i'm the hands OF the
ioo,slature and that body can not give it
- INV other. which would seem to In
dicait trat outside of a little adjusting
there rs really little use for the ran
road commission after ALL Ihe leglsla-
ture and that body alone VIII haNe 'iie =.
mower to make changes in the prices II
l. conceded, and if any other tries to do
90 II will be performing outside OF its
province.
The Constitution.
The interesting part of the state constr
tuition along this line is found III seeeoi,
94g which stipulates that tine power an, aliu
authority of regulating railroau 81 -,
and passenger tariffs, the locatlhs anu
h,,;idiny Of passenger and freight depots'
correcting abuses preventing unjust dls-
examination and extortion ana recurring
reasonable and just rates of freight ana
passenger tariffs, are hereby conIerreu
on the legislature, whose auty II siian pe
to mass laws from time to time regulating
fraiebt and passenger tariffs, to prohibit
unjust determinations on the various
caiIroads canals and rivers of the state,
and TO prohibit the charging of other
than lust and reasonable rates, ana en-
force the same by adequate penalties
All of which Is pretty plain evidence
49, tho said legislature cannot shift the
duty of regulating rates to a commis-
sion. even If 1t were found that laws now
on our books are adequate to the sltua-
tion. as seen by Mr.. Conner and his
friends. In other words, If there Is any
rate-making by the state 1t must be done
nv the legislature, and it is a pretty safe
guess that the average country solon
would make them as low as possible II
he got shot at them.
Would Be Big Fight.
Rut the real story In the situation is
the very red hot fight the candidacy of
Mr.. Conner will make, If he does run,
against Dr. r. M Cunningham, the only
avowed aspirant at this time. and the
man who has been regarded by many as
entitled to the place If there Is any merit
in the doctrine of reward for public SER
vice. If they go out to oppose each other
there will be political friction enough in
Alabama within the next twelve months
to generate fire sufficient to set the po-
litical woods ablaze in every beat in the
sixty-seven counties of the state Be-
vond question 1t would develop the most
strenuous situation since the days of Sc
cession The fight of the Kolb and anti
Kolb forces of the early nineties will
seem like doll houses and mud pies be-
side it.
Conner has the backing OF one of the
most popular Issues since the days of
the states infancy, while Cunningham
has the advantage of being an astute
politician a magnificent campaigner and
known personally to more voters possibly
than any other man in the state. He
would simply be hard to beat, no matter
who the man and what the issue against
him He has been, too, consistent on the
railroad issue, voting for the elective
commission bill in the legislature, his
vote saving II on the tie that came to 1t
In the Senate He also voted for the
adoption of the Georgia standards and
ratings. il not for the actual schedule
or rates.
Has Made a Record.
Added to his other advantages the lieu
tenant governor will have the prestige
of eleven months in the chair of the
chief executive, when he made a fine re-
cord as a man fair to all interests and
liberal in his construction of many of the
leading laws of the state. He came out
in an open letter just before he retired.
on the return of Governor Jelks. and
made known his position on the question,
SAYING that If the railroad commission
had not the power to control the rates
and it was to the best interests of the
state to have changes made he was In
favor of calling the legislature = gether
and have laws passed that woul touch
the spot. This is about what men
who are looking to see Mr.. Q T run
would expect of him II he ID be
elected These say. however, ~4 Doc
tor Cunningham did not come out early
enough. The friends of the latter con-
tend that he has no excuse Tor speaking