The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-22

with reference to that point. and if he should send me an opinion tomor- row telling me that I have no legal right to enforce tt at thia time. of course I would abide by his decision. Otherwise. I shall send the instruc- tions stated to Chief Taylor"
 The management of the Traction Company has not decided what course to pursue with regard to tho new law Ofacials of the company state that 1t would be impossible, without several months notice. to secure the cars to double the equipment, even if such a course would pay. and that trailers. if they have enough, cannot be operated on those lines which nave no loops at the ends.
 Compnny's Lawyer Talks.
 "As 1t is, there are just two courses open to us" said Attorney Ray Rush ton, counsel for the Traction Company, yesterday afternoon; sand do not knbw which horn of the dilemma we will take. Either one is bound to re- suit in great loss to us. as we'll as seriously interfere with the patrons of the street cars. GF
 cone thing we can do Is to continue running our present cars. which are about all the winter cars we have, and simply label each alternate one for whites and for colored people, as provided by the ordinance. That is really about the best compliance we can make with the ordinance at this time. And. of course. that is going to simply cut the present schedules of the company in two, making car for white people run every half hour on those lines where we now maintain fifteen minute schedule. People would have to walt just twice as long for their cars.
 %rhe only other plan that can con- ceive is to simply Ignore the ordinance. and fight any cases the city might bring against our motormep and con duetors In the courts. We don't like to do that. for 1t will look bad for Mont gofnery, which ever way the cases might he decided, bat 1t hardly seems right to subject the patrons of the company 10 the inconvenience of the other plan.
 Tt seems to me that the Council Is playing with fire in bringing up this question at this time. There has been no great trouble here. nothing but what could be remedfed in 6 great deal easier manner. and there seems to me no reason at all for passing such an ordinance.
 4should we decide to use the alter nate cars for the different races, it IS going to make the service infinitely worse than 1t is now. and. goodness knows, there is room enough now for complaint, notwithstanding all that has been done since the consolidation to tn- prove the service.
 "The trouble ls that we could not buy new ears until we had patched up the streaks of rust that did duty for tracks when we bought out the old street car system. It would ruin any car, no matter how good, to be run around the curves and up the hills as the tracks were, and these improve ments, as well as the erection of the new barns and shops. and many others, had to be completed before new cars could be installed. Consequently all the work so far--and want to say that think Mir. Ragland has done as much as any man could under the same circumstances--has counted for conn paratfvely little in actually improving the service.
 ''.No, don't know yet what course we may decide to adopt--we have got another night to sleep on 1t, and then it must be decided. But confess that the matter has got me worried, as either course that IS open to us Is not at all what we want to do"
 The ordinance which becomes effec- tive tomorrow morning, barring some preventive action today, is so drawn as to make any motorman or conductor of the Traction Company subject to nne if the cars are not properly labeled for one race or the other, or who allows any person to remain in the car or cars not intended for his or her race. A somewhat peculiar feature of the ordinance Is provision for the arrest and fining of 'any white or colored passenger occupying car not provid- d @lr Naf NF ehA to which said passenger belongs" It has been supposed that the intention of the ordinance was to punish any passenger entering a car that was pro- Vided and labeled for the use of the other race, but the wording of the clause would seem to indicate that any person is subject to fine if ha enters a car that is not labeled at all--"a car not provided for the accommodation of the race to which he belongs"
 Text sof Ordinance.
 That the public may read the ordi- nance in question and see It's various provisions, the full text is given. as follows:
 .'section 1.-Be it ordained by the City Council, of Montgomery, as fol- lows: That all persons, firms or cor porations operating street cars in the City of Montgomery, for the carriage of passengers, be and are, hereby, re- quIred to furnish separate &ccommoda- tIons for white and eolored passengers by providing separate cars for white and coIored passengers so as to Secure separate accommodations for the white and coiored races, and no person or per sons shall be permitted to occupy seats in cars other than the cars assigned to them on account of the race to which they belong, and if any passenger re- fuses or fails to leave the car or cars not provided for the race to which said passenger belongs, upon being request ed to do so by the conductors, motor- man or other employe in charge of said car or cars, such conductor motorman or other person in charge of said car or cars. shall cause the arrest of such passenger and such passenger shall up- on conviction. be fined as hereinafter provided,
 Sect. 2--Be 1t further ordained; That the car or cars furnished for white and colored passengers, respectively, shall have placed conspicuously at each end of the car. signs in plain letters not less than two incheS high, indicat- ing by the word White" or "colored" that such car or cars is provided for the use of white or colored passengers as the case may be, and when open cars, to be entered from the side of the car. are provided for the accom- modation of white or eolored passen- gers, additional such signs~shall be pro- vided and placed conspicuously on the sides of the car so as to indicate there by the car or cars to be used by white or colored passengers, respectively. and any officer, conductor, m0toFman, or othef employe of such street railway operating 6 street car in the city of Montgomery, for the carriage of pas