The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-11
| COLD SHOWER FOR GOVERNOR
 CoMERs VANITY.

familiar with the leading facts in connection with tue embroglio of the Southern Railway with the State au- thorities Suffice it to say that Gov ernor Conner took advantage of the revocation of the Southern Railways five dollar license to threaten it with all sorts of indictments, with arrests of its agents and general upsettins of its business.
 l Notwithstanding that the bulk of Governor Comer's anti-railroad iegis- lation had been tied up by injunctions. to which the States counsel had not objected, Governor Conner was able to frighten the Southern Railway off, cials and to demand of them. in return for peace, that they yield their legal rights in the Federal Courts and se- | cure modification of their injunc- tions This is clear from the signed statement of J. S. B. Thompson. as- sistant to President Finley. who said: :
 It was demanded of the Southern Railway Company that 1t should, pend- ing the determination of the fairness and freight rates fixed by the. acts of the Legislature give up the protection of the interlocutory injunction. al- Alabama. and pending the final deter- inination of it's cause put these rates Into effect.
 Governor Conner seems to be very proud of the partial and temporary success of his bulldozing tactics--his first victory so far in his anti-railroad crusade. for he indulges in this big sounding boast about what he has done and intends to do:
 think the Southern Railway man agement was very wise in accepting in good faith the recently enacted laws of the State and giving them a fair trial It is difficult to understand how any corporation, whether domestic or for eign. can see 1t for their best interest to place themselves crosswise of the themselves in defiance of the laws of the State and seek by injunction of the Federal Court to place themselves out side of the sympathy and the laws or the State.
 am afraid that sonic of oui public service corporations do not fully un- derstand that Alabama Is a sovereign State and must dominate It's own jntra- state affairs. I am sure that there is scarcely a citizen of Alabama so scalla- wag in his views as to wish or help se- cure the contrary of this am sure that the people of Alabama practically as a unit demand that the State shall govern its own affairs and that when are violated the offender must pay the penalty If in the execution of any Of the recently enacted statutes. there should be any. part of them lnenectiVe in operation, I would not hesitate minute to call the Legislature together to amend and change them so as 10 give full force and efect. They nave been well thought out ana are gooo ana ton.
 It will be seen that Governor Co., mer absolutely ignores the fact that Alabama is part of the United States. Is under the dominion of the Federal Constitution and that he himself has sworn to obey that Constitution. Ap- parentIy he thinks that Alabama is independent of the general govern ment. and that he is a sort of Czar. whose judgment and wishes must not be opposed. He looks upon him. self as supreme in Alabama. He is even so vain glorious and contemptuous of those who differ with him as to intimate that they are "scallawags.' Can 1t be pos sible that his head is slightly turned with the intoxicatjon of finding the Southern Railway yielding a little to him, and that probably only tempora- rily?
 If this is the case, there could be no better cold shower for him than the hard, logical deliverance of Judge Jones. in making the modification of the injuhctions requested by the South ern Railway. His paper should be read by every thoughtful citizen of the State. for it is a powerful answer to all the demagogic appeals to passion and prejudice that have been made here in Alabama and in other Southern States, in connection, with Federal Courts in recent railroad cases. It is calm, clear and cogent, pointing out distinctly the weakness of such appeals and their ugliness. Judge Jones is an exceedingly able lawyer. and has extraordinary power of lucid statement of abstract mat ters. Even a child can understand the force of his reasoning on this situa- ton.
 Judge Jones is a patriotic Alabam- ian. who points out that in the sos he shed his blood for the States rights and has since risked his life in defense of its laws. But he is also a patriotic citizen of the United States, and an able lawyer who knows the limitation of States rights. The Advertiser ap- preciates his position. and stands as steadfastly for the States real rights as can any intelligent citizen. But it does not believe that adherence to States rights. even in the light of MT. Calhoun's deliverances. involves any such conceptions of absolute sover- eighty and contempt of the Federal Constitution and courts as Governor Conner has been so ignorantly and mis- chievously inculcating.
 Very probably there may be people unkind enough to construe Governor Corners use of the old reconstruction