The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-06-14
DISSENTING OPINION
Of Commissioner Brown in Connection
With Reduction of Passenger
Rates in Georgia.

SSuu M. Drown mas HleQ MS dissenting
opinion in the matter of the reduced
passenger rates. He has dissented
from the majority report in the A and
B classes, which placed the Atlanta
and West Point and the Wesern and
Atlantic in the 2-cent class and the
Coast Line, Charleston and Western
Carolina and the Georgia in the 2 Ia
cent class. The length of the opinion
precludes its publication in full. 1t
;says in part:
Permit me to state here that this
commission has never before ordered
a sweeping cut of SO 10 per cent in
the rates previously fixed for either
Of the two great departments Of rail
road traffic.
Coming to the case in point, the
supreme court says that we cannot fix
the rates for Interstate traffic on the
basis of the earnings on Interstate
traffic. Yet, so far as the Western
and Atlantic railroad isesconcerned, the
majority of this commission is Today
ordering the reduction of the local
+ passenger rates of the Western and
Atlantic railroad from cents per
mile to. 2 cents per mile-a cut OF
!, 80 1-3 per cent-and is basng its ac-
ton upon the tact that the net earn
ings of the Western andtAtlantic rail
road for the year ended June 80, 1906,
were S5;097,4S per mile. But from
these ffgunest we must deduct the
amount of the rental and Of the taxes,
both paid to the state. The deduction
in question leaves net income of
$3.50, 054.75, or .$1,88445 per mile, an
amount equal to less than SO per cent
on S8000,000, aid the road is certain.
ly worth more than that sum-"
Continuing his argument Mr.. Brown
says that the wages Of labor and the
prices OF everything they have to buy
to operate the road are higher now
than at any time since the lease De7
gan, and that hence the company, to
my mind, had an equity against the
reduction Of the passenger rate be-
dow the +igures in effect when they
bid for and received the lease
h, II cannot concur in the nat rate OF.
2, cents per milee proposed for the
|. Western and Atlantic railroad by the
majority of this commission. do not
believe the courts will sustain it..
do not believe to be JUS.
Sand this opipion as to the general
I'f;esult applies to the rates you pro
pose for all the railroads you have
macedrin. classes A and B.
II have stated that the masses OF
the,people received no benefit from
the enormous reduc ions in the freight
rates. made in 1905 will assert with
me utmost emphasis that | hayeaproT
ed The truth OF the statement in ques-
I ton by quoting the highest authority
which can speak.
And ] assert with equal emphasis
that il the freight rates in Georgia
be reduced $2,OOO,0OO more the far
mers and other laboring people will
not get $500 out OF the total sum- 1t
win simply be another dividend for
he manufacturers and some Of the
I jbbBers.
"As have shown in my motion pro
posing the application Of the zone
system in Georgia, the masses Of the
people get the benefit Of reduced pas
sengcr rates, although they have failed
10 get any benefit from the reduction
in freight rates. Hence, in deciding
This case. we must hold in mind thar
the toiler at the ploW, the smith at
the anvil, the planer at the carpen-
ters bench and the spinner in the
cotton factory have rights equal 10
those of the tradesman in his office.
but in endeayoring to secure for
the masses of the people the benefits
Of reduced passenger rates we must
nave a care lest IN grasping Tor 700
much we lose all" "a
Mr.. Brown presents examples 70
show that many OF the rates under
the zone system Which he proposed
would be lower than those under the
schedule finally adopted.
III classes &, d and e and the spe-
cial groups Commissioner Brown Is
entirely in accord with the other CON
missioners.