The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-10
COMMITTEES JUMP
 TO LASH OF cOMER
(Contlnaea nom Page one.l

How could the word of the complainant be disprovedr'
 MT. Bowie then discussed the eight bills classifying the railroads and pro- yiding penalties for their failure to obey the law. Suppose when this Is tested, the courts should uphold our contention on seven out of the eight groups and rule against us on the last. Why, If the road had been in operation for twelve months the penalty would be so heavy that 1t would forfeit every piece of railroad property in Alabama 2 Here the speaker was interrupted by MT. Lusk who asked: "why don't the railroads comply with the law first and test it Safterward?" Mir. Bowie replied that the injunction pending litigation
 was almost as old In the law as the right of habeas corpus and that when a person. firm or corporation is de- priyed of this right. the things guar anteed by the constitution of the State and the nation are deprived. If the courts can't decide on the reasonable ness of a law, hardly think the Leg islature can" he added pertinently. Want to Expedite Casea Mir. Bowie said. that the railroads did not have any desire to prolong the litigation but rather hoped to expedite are in such a condition that the court
 is ready to begin the taking of testi- mony.
 T have heard 1t said that all the Legislature was called to meet for was l to come up to the Democratic platform
 and that tos meet, this obligation they mustfpass these pending bills. If the l Legislature wants to do this why don't | they observe the fifth plank of the l platform which recognizes that rail- I roads are entitled to the same protec- I tion by law and through the courts as l a private citizen. The party's faith Is l pledged to this and If the faith is kept
 number of these bills will be res I iected"
 He then quoted from the famous l speech of Governor Conner delivered as | a candidate at Tuscaloosa in which the I chief executive declared that; the end Of the railroad question would come before. courts of justice. .And still | these bills are intended to deny us the | protection of law that Is guaranteed 1 by the platform apd the words of the l Governor They will have the effect | of denying us trial. You provide pen I alties of millions of dollars day and we therefore cannot go into court ex- cept under such terms as deny us the 1 equal protection of law"
 i MT. Kornegay suggested that the
 railroads might take chance on the | proposition.
 1 Mir Bowie continued: You have no | right to make if impossible for the I railroads to protect themselves under
 the constitution. When you pass these 1 bills you take away the right of trial our forefathers fought for and handed Legislature Not Supreme 1 There has been a great cry of l States rights. Now States rights cen
 Ire around the supremacy of the Con stitution You are not supreme. The
 State can take my life but you cannot would like to find sheriff who would
 enforce an act that Sidney J. Bowie l would be hanged by the neck until he l was dead. No, I'd have to be tried, 1 convicted, and sentenced by court. Yet you deny the railroads this right"
 MT: Bowie openly charged that there
 had besn great diskinptloA made In I the bills between the roads that had l settled with the Governor and the
 roads that had continued the litigation. 1 He said there was a 25 per cent differ
 ence between the Louisville and Nash vile and the Southern Railroads. 1 You ought to inform yourself. '' I snapped Long of Butler. T have informed myself" returned MT. Bowie with some heat, "and I know that there has been discrirnina- 1 tion." mfr. NesbiI said that the raise of 5 per cent on the L. & N. had also been given to all the roads and that the same condition existed as formerly. But I know the A. C. S., a road l that settled has been put back a class l and that the Central of Georgia, a road that did not settle, has been put for ward q class" retorted MT. Bowie He then quoted the States attor- l junction proceedings in the Federal Court in which the attorneys admitted | 1t was the only adequate way to decide
 the validity of the laws. If 1t was the only adeduate way then" asked Mir. Bowie. why isn't it the only adequate way now
 Don't Stimulate Trafac. In reply to MT. Maner the Speaker said that lowers passenger rates have 1 only tempotary effect In stimulating | traffic and that the experience of roads had been that after few weeks it caused great loss of money. He took
 up the question of passes taking from the revenue of road and declared that only per cent. of the mileage trav- 1eled in former days was travelled on passes and that one-half or more of l this free transportation was given to railroad employees and their families, who stul enjoy the privilege, so that | the total additional earnings would not exceed l per cent.
 
 railroad business with that of Geor- gia. He declared that although Geor- gia's freight rates were less and Ala bama's tonnage greater the revenues of the railroads were far less in Ala bama than in Georgia.
 He explained this by saying that 1t was attributable to the difference in the class of freight, most of Alabama's tonnage being in coal, iron and min erals that have a much cheaper rate than manufactured products.
 Mir. Long wanted to know if there was not more railroad building in Ala bama than in Georgia. He was an- swered by Major Hanson who said that in both States construction work was charged to operating expenses.
 Cost Has Increased.
 Mir. Bowie said there had been falling off in net returns for the past five years. The cost of everything has increased and with the increased cost of food stuffs labor. etc. so has the operating expenses of railroads increas- ed in greater ratio than. the net earn ings. He said that property has reach ed the point that expenses have grown top heavy. ''The more business we get" he continued. the worse 6ff we are until we can putin double tracks and other facilities for handling more bus mess, If everything else goes up, on what theory can railroad revenues go down?p
 "Everything has gone up but cot ton" muttered Mir Smith of Elmore.
 "Yes and that has been caused by a lack of confidence in financial cir cles."
 MT. Bowie said that he did not be- lieve in popular waves. and that very frequently. when the waves died down Ia