The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-06
LET mR. CONFER THINK AGAIN.


 one tirnc or another. more or less sue cessfully. in the business of planting, merchandising. banking and manufac- turing. entered the political arena as the .ohampion of ths common people" on the single issue of railroad rate re-
 duction.
 MT. Conner was supposed. by nim- self and many others. tmoetiy mer-
 chants). then to be thoroughly ac" auainted with railroad rates and the laws that should be enacted to secure fair rates. It was his mission. accord inc to his declarations, to curb the ra- paeity of the railroads and to bring relief to a down-trodden and strug- l gling people.
 All that was needed. according to Mir. l Conner then, was to elect him President of the Railroad Commission. and law less greed would be curbed, cruel
 rapacity would be known no more for ever. Millions of dollars would thus remain in the pockets of the people and smiling prosperity would drive from Alabama -cankerins care.
 The people hailed Mir. Conner as the Moses One was his own Aaron. tool and gladly undertook to follow | him out of the railroad wilderness where SC many of the ancient leaders. law-makers. judges and oficiaIs had
 been lost under the saturnine environ ment of the railroad bosses.
 Mir. Conner appeared before the Leg l islature of Alabama with a strong lobby and engineered through. for the benefit of ths common peorle" the new l elective Railroad Commission bill. and 1t became law. He then went before the people and was elected. The peo- ple gave him all he asked to fight their
 battles. according to the manner and form of his request. He was elected l The champion, then armed and equip ped. marched upon the ancient Capitol, 1 blew his horn of reform and rate re- ! duction around the railroad Jericho, but the walls did not fall. After a l strenuous struggle the champion of the 1 people" announced that he was slight l Iy in error as to his ability to accomp- fish what he had promised; that his 1 colleagues on the Commission, not hav- ing his virtuous regard for the rights of the people. were too many for him,
 ana upon second thought he had come to the conclusion that to win out he | must have two other men on the Com | mission who were of like mind with him, and then everything would be
 lovely and victory would be gained.
 The people then gathered themselves
 together and said sure they would give
 their champion" two colleagues who
 were like unto him. or more so. And
 whilst the people pondered over these
 thi IFS and were impatiently waiting ! for the day to come when they could
 put two other men, Aaron and Joshua, . on the right and left of their champion
 Moses, behold their beloved champion , discovered. suddenly and without warn : ing, that he should be elected Cover f nor in order to bring on the railroad , millennium and the year of Jubilee D when the Alabama farmer should, like I | his Georgia brother; wear purple and |, | fine linen and ride on bicycles and au- a tomobiles and smoke ten cent eigars- , And then, a little later. MT. Conner n made the further discovery that whilst n he slept some enemy had slipped into a the Constitutional Convention and f writ" down a law, all unbeknowing tc :. him, his attorneys and counsel, that nc one but the Legislature could regulate if railroads and fix rates. And then h' !. proclaimed that in order to accomplish n these reforms he must not only b' s csovernor, but have the Legislature anC f the State officials. and the judges, anC 1. the priests, and the statesmen, and th' d United States Senators, and then ev
 erythinR surely would be lovely-espe s cially for himself. From all of whicl s 1t seems to appear that our valiant ant /, we'll conditioned champion" knev ,a more about railroad rates and rebate ~ than he did about the Consultation an' " laws of his State and the people ar :, beginning to apprehend that MT. Come ,. will make other and further diseoverie ,- and find other things for him to do be l.. fore he can fix them up exactly righ and that 1t may take four years nor
 for him to work it out. But the peo De pie are willing to wait. because the
 know very few men understand thi
 new Constitution. Mr. Conner may fin |. out that as Governor he will have t ,ot call another convention and make an ou other "bran-new" Constitution befor ,at he can do up the railroads exactl ,st right.
 -e. MT. Comers first think" was that h ,te could do the job If the people woul
 elect him President of the Railroa ,.. Commission, under his new law. .ha His second think was that he mus turn out his two colleagues and draw "a pair of his own kind and then he coul ,r nx 1t.
 ,,h Ills third think was that he mul ,a. get of the Commission, be elected Go' .ss ernor and have the Legislature and Il T., State officials, and Railroad Commi
 sioners and judges and then all of the ~ together could fix it right.
 Maybe his fourth think" will hit Il
 nail square on the head. Give hi
 time. He may be slow, but he will g ,'aI there, If it takes him another fo '',. years. In the meantime the railroa continue to run and the people ride s,. them and prefer 1t to walking aft
 rains,