The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-24

say, six Or eight per cent--on the capi- l tai invested. but may earn and receive much more, such investments not pe- 1 ing limited to a reasonable return. T repeat that under existing condi- | tions, all the railways are asking is | to be permitted to earn reasohaole | return, and appeal to the representa- | tfves of the State to not enact anu eh- ! force conflscatory laws; to not take tne l private property of individuals. al- | tn ough it may be devoted to pupiic use' I by confiscatory methods.
 'Tn answer to your-appeai 70 com | promise--to settle the pending niea- | ton between the Louisville and Nash yiile and South and North AiaDama | Roads and the State upon terms. sinni- | lar to those agreed upon with the | Southern Railway and affiliated lines, l stated that while the terms you sug- gested might be somewhat less comns- asns | catory than those fixed by the statutes, l they could not be considered. and that | it was not to the interest of the citi- zens of Alabama that the important | matter should be adjusted in such an l irregular, Illegal, ineffective, and non I enforceable manner; that In the exeeu- 1 tion of the agreement with the South . . ern Railway and allied lines, you Iaa | assumed, or attempted to usurp, the du : l tics necessarily devolving upon the I Railroad Commission, the Legislature and the courts: that statement or the | Attorney-General of the State has been nnblished to the effect that he agree ,nent was based on good faitn'
 such a settlement or compromlse does not settle anythins manentIy. and should not have been consIdered by either of the parties. | That the state, having enacted anu undertaken to enforce laws which, m | the opinion of the railroads, was con l fiscatory. an appeal was taken to court, and the court had assumed Juris- diction, which Jurisdiction was ac- uuiesced in by the state; that such method of adjusting the matter was ID accordance with tho laws of Alabama and the United States, and that t would be much better fer the matter to he so ad djusted; that l was assured that with the cooperation or the sta.e the case would undoubtedly be so ad- yanced that the decision or the court | of final resort might be had within | twelve months; that should the result sustain the contention of the railways land be acquiesced in, as 1t should De, I by the state, the confidence of investors might in time be restored and tne deveiopment of the resources os the | state facilitated that should the decision be adverse to the contention of the railways and 1t be established l that the state has the power 70 enact | and enforce drastic laws and reguia- I tions. those who invested thereafter would do so with full knowledge Of l the terms upon which the investment of capital. in enterprises subject to such regulations, was made.
 And I urged you, as earnestly as could, to cancel the call conventng the l iegislature and to cooperate in secur- ing an early and authoritative adjudi- cation.
 Is Greatly Exasgerated.
 Undoubtedly, the importance to the consumer of the reduced rates, Tor which you have so vigorously and ruth | lessly contended is greatly exaggerat- l ed; in fact do not hesitate to assert | that you and those following your 1 leadership do not clearly comprehend | the effect of the result that may fol- | low the adoption and enlargement of the reduced rates fixed by tho statutes. | or that may hereafter be fixed by the Railroad Commission. While the ag- vregate sum involved is large, ana | therefore of importance to the carriers. | 1t is in nearly all cases unimportant to the consumer, distributed as 1t neces- sarily is. ported upon which the transportation charge is all that the traffic can bear Upon articles like coal, the transports | ton cargo. forms a iRrge--sometimes the larger--part of the value at point of consumption, and the rates must necessarily be carefully and closely ad- justed
 .on the other hand. on most articles | the transportation charge is such q Il small part of the value of the proper ty at point of consumption that it Is | fnappreciable; and it is for this reason | that A moderate reduction or increase | in the transportation charge does not I affect the price asked by the merchant
 or manufacturer of the consumer. A ! variation of ten cents per hundred on shoes will not vary the actual cost ! to the consumer more than two mills per pair of shoes.
 "The transportation charges of the | country are so low as to permit of the | exchange of agricultural and rnanufac- | tured products between most distant
 points. manufacturer of shoes
 in St. Louis may sell his output in New England. A New England manufacturer does sell
 his output in St. Louis A hardware dealer in Louisville does an extensive business in the State of Maryland, the | property in many cases being shipped l from factories in the East to Louis vile and rershipped 10 Maryland. 4 manufacturerN of wagons in Louisville l sells his output throughout the entire
 country, from Dakota to Texas and ! Florida.
 'Forest products are sent long dist ] ances, and even coal fas been shipped | in large quantities from mines in Ken lucky through Alabama via Pensacola | to Tampico. Mexico.
 l Distance is ObIiterated4
 | ''As applied to commerce, therefore | distance has been obliterated by low | transportation charges. As affecting the citizens of Alabama your contention
 while of vital importance to the rail- I ways Is unimportant in comparison ! that the railways should receive rates | which will insure profitable operation | and thus enable the carriers to furnish | improved and increased facilities. l Nevertheless, it has for some time been your hobby, and you have un- l doubtedly created a serious situation
 --one that should be deprecated by all having the material interests of the State at heart. You have fomented a l public clamor which you have and are directing, and by which you have ob- | tained preferment; but in doing Sc | you have inflicted incalcuiable injury upon the State.
 Under these circumstances, again l appeal to you to earnestly strive to dc | what you can--and which undoubtedly l you are in a position to do effectively
 to quiet the apprehension and re-
 store. or endeavor to restore, confidence iso badly impaired.
 And I again urge that you cancel