The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-05
Several High Officials
 Were Examined. SOME HEATED COLLOQUYS Railroad Commission Will Continue Sitting Today. Traffic Men Present Argument Against Reduction of Rates on Hauling
 FertilIxers-Mr. Smith of l..
 and N. in Controversy.
SOME HEATED COLLOQUYS

The Alabama Railroad Commission during the second days session yes terday continued with unabated inter est the examination of officials of rail- roads in Alabama with a view of read justing the freight rates on fertilizers in accordance with a motion of Pres ident B. B. Conner, of the Commits sion, which prevailed at the last reg ular meeting.
 The afternoon session yesterday was fraught with several wordy tilts be- tween President Conner and the railroad men and one sen sational passage between that officer and President Milton H. Smith, of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Com pany, who has been present eagerly listening to all the proceedings of the Commission since the sitting began Monday. After heearing the testimony of the Louisville and Nashville Rail- road, the Atlantic Coast Line, the Gen. tral of Georgia Railway and receiving on file an answer from the Frisco Rail- road to the proposition of President Conner to reduce the rates on fertili- gers in Alabama, the Commission at late hour yesterday afternoon adjourn ed until 10 o'clock this morning.
 President Conner continued his in- quisitive attitude started at the open ing of the meeting and has not appar- entIy relaxed in his determination to get at every reason why the roads cited to appear before the Commission should not be willing to reduce the rates on fertilizers to a minimum on the ground that 1t acts as a Aux to the soil and adds tonnage for future hauling.
 All of the officials examined Monday, 1t will be recalled, testified that their intra-State earnings would not jus tify a reduction of fertilizer rates and such were the pleas of the officials put upon the stand yesterday.
 Disclaimer by MT. Conner.
 President Conner yesterday morning at the beginning of the session, made A disclaimer of any intention to reflect upon either his associates on the Com mission or his predecessors when he told Monday of the body being in a private car touring the West while the Commissioners of other States were in Chattanooga protesting against the general revision of the tariffs of the Southern Railway a few years ago. He said that 1t was not his intention to reflect upon anyone during the inves-
 
 the Commission.
 The controversy which resulted yes terday afternoon in some asperities between the President of the Commits sion and MT. Smith. President of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Com pany, arose over the statement of the former that the low rates forced upon khe railroads in Georgia several years ago by Colonel Trammell, of the Rail-
 AaI kN the roads.
 Mir. Smith remarked in answer to this that all but two or three of the roads in Georgia went bankrupt when these low rates went into effect. From this the controversy turned to the re- lations of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad with the Georgia Railroad and the Central of Georgia Railway, which Mir Smith said placed a heavy burden upon his road, rendering it nec- essary for the Atlantic Coast Line when it recently acquired majority of the stock of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to borrow some $23,000,000.
 To this President Conner retoined that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad looked to him to be fairly prosperous since he had read in a statement of the Atlantic Coast Line that when it took over the stock of the former road it found some $35, 100000 in the treas ury. This was characterized as errOn- eous by Mir Smith and a swift exchange of words followed.