The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-22
Railroad Commission Decides
 They Are Legal
FORD MAKES STATEMEN I
Commission Also Rules That Any Re- duced or Excursion Rate Is Legal When 1t Can Be Secured
 By All Citizens Alike.

handed down by the railroad commission at it's meeting in Montgomery last Mon day. Commissioner W. D. Nesbtt took good deal of interest in the matter, and it was he who presented 1t to the com mission. Previous to the meeting of the commission Mr. Nesbitt conferred with President A. II. Ford of the street rail way company, and his action in the mat ter received the full sanction of that coni- pany.
 The decision does not limit the sale of tickets at reduced price to school chill dren only. but allows tickets to be sold at any price, provided the entire public can secure them on the same conditions. This applies to all state, interurban or municipal roads. and allows for the run ming of excursions and the putting on of round trip and reduced fare rates.
 MT Ford issued the following state ment yesterday in regard to the position of his company. In this statement he says that it had not been the desire of his company to cease issuing school tickets CT passes to firemen and policemen:
 "The question of issuing school chil- dren tickets, as heretofore. has been re- ceiving my earnest consideration, and l am glad to be able 10 report some pro- gress
 'rhe press and some of our citizens arc doing this company great injustice by insinuatin8 that the railway company Go not want to issue school tickets or pass policemen and iremen free. cannot do tn create false impressions, but for fear that the public may be misled. l wish to state that we have always desired to do tnoso two things, without violating the law, and our every effort, since the passage of the anu-pass law, has been to this end.
 We have conferred with committees of the City Council and with number of prominent citizens, endeavoring to dc- complsh this purpose.
 ''It should be remembered that when school tickets were originally issued in Birmingham the railway company. in re- sponse to a popular demand. voluntarily granted school children half rate, and for the same reason without any obliga- tion on the part of the company to do so, the policemen and hremen were car ried free by the company
 we were informed by our attorneys 1 that the anti-pass law. recently enacted, prevented us from granting these two privileges.
 MT. W. D. Nesbtt took a great in
 terest in the question of school chi- drens tickets and after conferring with us on the subject, he presented the mat ter to the state railroad commission and placed in my hands, late yesterday evcn- ing, the following extract from the min utes of meeting of that commission;
 "'It Is brought to the attention of the commission that the Birmingham Rail way, Light and Power company, com mon carirer of passengers between points within the state of Alabama has de- cllned to issue tickets to persons attend ing schools at certain points on it's lines at the price less than the regular 5 cent fare charged for general passage over it's lines. 1t has been a custom in the past 10 issue such tickets at less than cents. The company now claims that the sale of such tickets at less than cents would be violation of the state law, which prohibits the giving to any person any rebate, discount reduction from such rates as are offered or given to the pub lie at large"
 "'The commission holds that the Blr mingham Railway, Light and Power company has the right to issue such tickets at a reduction from It's regular fares. provided that such tickets are ap- pllcablo for passage to and from schools and can be secured by all citizens ap- plying for them, when such citizens com ply with the special conditions named for the purchase and use of such tickets.
 "'The conditions usually attaching to the purchase and use of these tickets are: That the applicant must be identified as attending on some school; that the use of the ticket is confined to the person purchasing and for passage to and from school, possibly on certain days and dur ing certain hours. If condition tickets ot this character are procurable by any citizen at the same price as can be ob- tained by any other citizen, be that price what 1t may, there Is certainly do dis | count rebate or reduction" which Is not obtainable by all citizens alike, and there fore there is no discrimination violative of the law.
 "'The right of the common carriers to grant excursion rates to convention. fairs etc, when such rates can be obtained by all citizens under like conditions without discrimination is not questioned. We have at such times on the same seat, in the same car of one train, one citizen travel ing on an excursion rate to a certain des- tination paying IF cents per mile and an other going to the same destination paying straight fare, 21a cents per mile. The sec ond citizen could, by complying with the purchase 1t and travel like the first, at l1z cents per mile. Is this any dscriml- nation against the second citizen, or in favor of the first? Certainly not because the right of the second citizen is not i'm paired to secure a his pleasure for the same price the identical service furnished the first.
 So with school tickets-those pre- sons attending these schools and com plying with certain requirements will the side of those paying regular fare at , cents. The passenger paying the fare at cents however, is not de- prived of any privilege accorded to the one paying the 21a cents, nor is any thing granted to Ine second that the first cannot obtain by following the requirements fulfilled by the second From these minutes 1t will be noted that the railroad commission expresses