The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-17
RAILWAY RATES
 THE PARAMOUNT ISSUE.

tics is the question of railway regula- tion We demand that the railways give the people reasonable freight rate and fair treatment in all their dealings.
 Your freight rate makes you or breaks you. We're fighting for the Georgia rate Eleven years after the Georgia rate was established the Central of Georgia rail- way broke, and the officials of that road, although in spite of the reduced rate. it had enormously increased It's stock and bond valuations, said the new rate broke the road The reduced rate did not break the road. I'll tell you what broke it. watered stock broke it. The Central of Georgia's officials swore when the re- duced rate was adopted that they were earning $9600 a mile. Now, under the Geor- gia rate they are earning $32.000 mile. And yet they protested against the re- duced rate and swore 1t would ruin them.
 ''The railroads have controlled Alabama for number of years Their officers may be personally honest men, but their en- vironments blind them to their sense of justice and patriotism. We fought them In the legislature and obtained an electoral railroad commission, and l want to say right here, and I say it gladly, that when the decisive moment came, Lieutenant Governor Cunningham, as president of the Senate, was exceeding ly helpful to our cause. Ills vote in our favor decided tie and made possible the electoral railroad commission.
 "When the commission met this year 1t consisted of R. B. Conner elected by the people, MT. Sanders, a railroad law yer. who was appointed, and MT. Tun- stall, railroad politician, who was also appointed. When l made the race against John V. Smith for president of the com. mission l told you that he was repre- sentative not of the people but of the Louisville and Nashville railroad, and I told you the truth. What has happened? Why, Mir. Smith has been appointed as a special attorney of the Louisville and Nashville railroad. and appears before the commission as that roads advocate, and tries to thwart me in my effort to get a reasonable freight rate, and these other two railway members of the com mission vote against me, the peoples s ! choice, and accept the views on this ques- ton of John V. Smith, whom the people defeated at the polls.
 "Why, gentlemen, when we think of the environments of the men who make up that commission. MT. Sanders and MT. Tunstall-we know that there isn't law yer in Alabama who would try $o0 case before tribunal so constituted and ex- pect to receive justice.
 THIS IS A CASE
 INVOLVING $3S,00o, ,0oo.
 N--rT~ we are trying. It Is a sSs, 100000 case That Is the amount of money the railroads or Alabama each year tax the people of this state. MT. Tunstall and Mir. Sanders out voted me, and those two men arbitrarily decide that you must continue to pay this enormous tribute, They outvoted me and got up an opinion and are distributing II as campaign literature throughout the state. Read it. gentlemen; read It and judge for yourselves, how fair are these two men who hold an appointive and not an elective office
 'The Alabama farmer pays from a.a to sa2O on freight whore the Georgia farmer pays only s1. The Birmingham dis tric.'s tonnage alone is greater than that of all Georgia. Why Is ir that you Aia. bamaians longer permit this outrage Those grand old Georgians. my friends got up on their hind legs and said 10 the railroads; You shall not do this; you