The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-18
Bill Appropriating $5O,' 900 Passes Senate.
SENATOR'S MAKE HOT TALKS
Some Anti-Administration Senators
 Support Measure.
Jones of Wilcox Declares the Whole Affair Big Mistake anA Pre-
 diets State VIII Get
 clicked" in Courts.

The administration bill appropriat- ing S50,O00 to pay the expenses of the State of Alabama in litigation with the railroads in the Federal Court was passed yesterday with but small oppo- sition on the final vote. But when the bill was up several of the Senators. as the expression goes. took shot" at conditions which they claimed had grown out of serious governmental mistakes.
 ' The bill was supported by several Senators who are not frequent visitors to the Governors office and Senators who are sometimes called anti-admin- istration Senators. such as Senator Henry Reese and Senator Perry Thom- as.
 They supported the bill because they felt that the honor of the State was at stake, and no matter how the State became involved in the litigation. it was in 1t and the duty of the Legisla- ture was to stand by the State until the litigation was settled.
 Senator w. c. Jones of Wilcox Coun- ty arraigned the whole affair as a mo- mentous mistake. He did not hesitate to say that in his opinion the State was going to get everlastingly licked in the law suits" He called the suits another case of "Jarndyce vs. Jarn- dyce" and predicted that they would drag out their long way through the years
 "A Miserable Mistake"
 He declared that no intelligent law yer could read the able and lucid opin- ion of Judge Thomas G. Jones in those cases and doubt that the higher court would sustain his position.
 Tt was a miserable mistake, all of it," said Senator Jones. We should have approached the railroads in a spirit of fairness. We could have se- cured the reforms then, but we acted hastily and now see the result.
 T am opposed to the bill; I aw op- posed to it because 1t will be money wasted. We are going to get licked in the suits. If I had my way, I would authorize the Railroad Commission to enter into a compromise with the rail- roads and get some adjustment out of the trouble. I would stop these cost ly and expensive suits and try to get some beneficial compromise out of the railroads
 Gan the Senator from Wilcox as- sure the Senate that the railroads would agree to be bound by a com promise and not resort to an injunc- tion?" asked Senator Lusk.
 '"rhe Senator from Wilcox cannot" replied Senator Jones. T do not rep resent the rallroadS. never repre- sented a railroad in my life. l am here representing a constituency that will pay $1,000 of this money for law yers and court costs. That's my only interest.
 'I ain here in the interest of a con stituency which has had its freight rates raised 50 per cent since the pas sage of these acts. We are suffering and I am trying to get some relief"
 Senator Jones declared that too many lawyers had been hired for the State. No lawyer would willingly employ him. : self so many assistants who would be fin each others way.
 He did not charge that the Governor was trying to get the bill passed to fla vor some particular friend. He did not even know the lawyers in the case. But he was opposed to the bill and to the employment of so many lawyers.
 Senator Lusk spoke strongly in fa- vor of the measure. The bill was not designed to get money only to pay the attorneys fees. It was to pay the costs of the litigation in which the State was involved. The railroads had defied the laws which the people of Alabama had adopted for their gov ernment They had gone into a Fed eral Court to defeat the will of the people.
 For Smaller Amount.
 Senator Moody of Tuscaloosa offered h resolution reducing the appropria- tion to $3O,OO0. Unlike his friend, the Eenator from Wilcox. he did not think that the State should propose or ac- cept compromise. The railroads were challenging the laws which had passed; the honor; of the State de-