Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1907-07-25
SOUTHERN FINED
THIRTY THOUSAND.
Verdict of Guilty Both as to
Southern and Agent
Green.
Latter Agrees to Pay Small Fine and
Obey State Law. Guilty Of No
Wrong But Considers
Comfort OF Aged and
Invalid Mother.
Especial Wire to the ARGUs)

Raleigh, N. c., July 2O.-Convicted
by the jury of Wake Superior
court of violating the law by sell
ing tickets for the Southern Rail-
way, passenger agent, L. E. Green
yesterday chose to pay a nominal fine
in lieu of running the risk of such sem
tence as the court might impose upon
him.
The Southern Railway, his principal,
was then fined by Judge Long the sum
of thirty thousand dollars and an exc
eution ordered to issue.
Mr.. Green, who had previously re-
fused to give bond, and actually per-
mitted himself to beput in Jail for one
night, and who was still in the custody
of the court, was told by Judge Long
that he had the option, either to obey
the court and promise to refrain in the
future from selling tickets at the illegal
rate or of continuing in the attitude of
defiance and disobedicnce to the4court.
After consultation, Mr.. Green an
nounced through an attorney that the
fact that he had an aged mother in a
delicate condition OF health constrained
him to pay the nominal fine of So and
take the obligation to discontinue sales
at the Illegal rate, although he did not
consider that he had committed any
wrong or crime.
In pronouncing sentence of $50, 900
fine upon the Southern, Judge Long
stated that the time had come when
there was parting of the ways; that
the situation he had faced was, first, to
obey his oath and the law of the land
second, to smother his conscience and
forget his duty or fail to perform it; or,
third, to resign as a judge of the Su-
perior Court of North Carolina.
He had taken the first course. The
defendant, Southern Railway, had put
itself in an attitude of studied defiance
to law and had sought to deprive the
State courts of their Jurisdiction.
The sentence having been imposed,
the counsel for the Southern stated
that, under the rule, they had ten days
in which to give notice of appeal. but
made no move actually to appeal to
the Supreme Court.
The recourse of the Southern Rail-
way, as talked upon the streets, is that
it will now apply to Judge Pritchard
for an injunction against the carrying
out of the order of the court by the
sheriff of Wake county.
The matter rests in the future. It
now looks as though the State has won
the preliminary fight and that the
forum through which the right of the
State to proceed under the rate bill will
have been found and it's decision OBJ
tanned before, reasonably, the pending
litigation before Judge Pritchard shall
have scarcely left the hands of the spe-
cial master. ss
Green by promising to obey Judge
Longs order not to sell any more tick
cts at excess rate has divorced himself
from his job. Whether the Southern
will care for him in another position is
not know. and Green refuses to talk
The appeal to the Supreme Court will
be taken up at the Septem Der term.
AtAsheville today Judge Pritchard is
continuing the hearing of the habeas
corpus case of Wilson and Ward.
Judge Long today adjourned Wake
Superior Court for the term and things
are now quiet and lonely around the
court house, by comparison with the
scenes of the past few days.