The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-06
NO DEVIL OPMENTS IN
 RAILWAY LITIGATION
Believed Now That Road Win Seek
 Blanket Injunction.
Governor sees Attorneys at Birming- han and There is Talk of Militia. Which Provokes . Smile Among the Knowing in
 Montgomery.

A conference of the Alabama attor- neys of the Southern Railway was held last night at the Exchange Hotel. A conference of the high ofiicials of the road was held yesterday in New York. The Governor and the Attorney Gen. eral held a conference yesterday in Birmingham.
 And yet the day brought forth no new developments in the bitter con- troversy between the State of Alabama and the Southern Railway, growing out of the revocation of the license of the Southern. The conference was only significant in that it moved for ward the issue a little nearer the so- lution.
 The climax ia expected to be reached In the next two or three days. What that will be no outsider knows. Per haps. neither the railroad officials nor the State ofncials themselves know. It Is believed by we'll informed outsiders that the solution of the dificulty will be an application to the Federal Court for an injunction to protect the road from any further action by the State.
 The conference at the Exchange Ho- tel last night was attended by J. S.. Barbour Thompson. Assistant to the President; J. E. Weatherly of Bir- ningham, Division Counsel; Colonel E. :. Russell, Vice-President and Gen. ,ral Manager of the Mobile and Ohio, a part of the Southern; Major R. E.. Steiner. of Montgomery. Division Coun- sel and Hon A. M. Tunstall, Division Counsel. of Greensboro
 The serious situation which has arisen was carefully gone over. in all Its phases. But no public statement was made. In fact 1t was doubted that any course of action was deter mined upon. It was not known what the State proposed to do fn this crisis.
 It was intimated that no action would be taken until the railroad ofi- cials and attorneys had conferred with the Governor and the Attorney Gen. eral. It Is therefore expected that to- day will bring forth some develop ments.
 Talk of the Militia.
 It was semi -oficially stated in a dis patch from Birmingham yesterday af- ternoon that the Governor proposed to call out the militia to make arrests and take charge of the railroad prop erty If the railroads did not comply with the acts of the Legislature.
 It was also semi officially stated that the conference in Birmingham would probably result in a lot of wholesale arrests and that the State would take the attitude that the Southern Railway was an outlaw and should be so considered.
 No reliance Is placed upon the re- port that the Governor would call out the militia. notwithstanding the semi official character of the announcement from Birmingham. The militia will not be called out There will be no bloodshed.
 Not to Stop Business.
 The opinion prevailed yesterday that the Southern would not stop its intrA- state business In Alabama It was held that the road could not do this because the act would be illegal and unconsti- tutional. That conclusion rests upon a very pretty point in law
 It is held that the Southern could not retaliate for an unlawful act with an unlawful act. That is, the law under which its license was revoked Is plain ly, unconstitutional. The Southern. therefore, has lost none of its rights by the operation of an unconstitutional act. It would then follow that any act based upon the unconstitutional act of the State Legislature would in itself be unlawful.
 The attorneys of the road are en- deavoring to stay close to the law. This point has been under discussion.