The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-08-24
"Cupidity" fin Alabama.

"Cupidity' fin Alabama.
 Governor Conner, of Alabama, ap- pears to be very intelligent man. He reads, he thinks, he generalizes In an address he recently delivered before the Bankers Association of Alabama he declared that without transportation we would never get new visions beyond the narrow measure of self, would sim ply remain bound by hide, as a COW, without possibility of enlargement or acquirement. Transportation, like the Christian religion, opens up a vista for progress as lilnitless as the uni verse;" He Is we'll aware that with railroads traversing her domain, con- veying commodities in large masses and at great speed, the State of Ala bama is better off than it was little more than century ago, when "Mc- Gilivray, the great chief of the Creeks, with headquarters located where Wetulnpka now stands, with trading trails running east to Savan- nah used by the Americans, and south ward to Pensacola used by the Span- iards. was accustomed to barter at his door the wealth of Alabama, exchang- ing for their merchandise brought by the Georgia and Spanish traders on rackhorses from Savannah and Pensa- cola" Any student of economy, he thinks can see that the railroads are superior to McGillivray's trading trails
 Not many days after the utterance of these enlightened sentiments the license of the Southern Railroad to dc business In Alabama was cancelled be- cause the officers of the road had ap- pealed to the federal courts against the enforcement of rate law which they insisted, was unjust. This would seem to be retrogression toward the condition of the COW and McGillivray But there was a reason.
 Governor Conner holds "cupidity" re- sponsTble for tho friction between car r!ers and shippers. Unrestrained cu- pidity Is, in his Judgment, one of the , most dangerous clements In the path way of progress. The railroads are guilty of the vice of cupidity. "In Ala bama when the price for the railroad service Is fixed and the rules govern ing the business arrangements are made, only one side, the railroads, has a voice, only one side makes price or condition. Would the rail roads be willing for the freight payers of the State to hold convention to fix without any restrictive power the freight rates they would pay? Could the shipper, believing that he would name a rate fair to both sides?" Of course not So the greedy railroads fix their own rates.
 Governor Conner then proceeded to summarize and discuss the railroad legislation recently enacted by the Ala bame legislature It passed an act making the present rate of freight in the State, established by the railroads themselves, the maximum rate, than which no higher could be charged. It passed an act limiting passenger charges to 2 1-2 cents a mile" A third law "selected 11O articles of freight of common production, consumption and use, and established on them the Geor- gia classification and the Georgia rate"
 It does not appear that the railroads were consulted about these rate reduc- tions. In Alabama turn about is fair play-the railroads fix rates without the advice or consent of shippers, SC the legislature cuts down rates with cut the advice or consent of the rail roads. Tn the Alabama house yesterday | a resolution was adopted Strongly backing Governor Conner In his fght against the railroads" It practically assured him that if he wanted further hostile legislation he would get 1t. We have no doubt the mover of tha resolution will be renominated in hi. district. He has made himself "solid' with his constituents Governor Com
 CT is, of course, open to criticism or grounds of consistency--he applaud, the legislature for one-sided proceed
 ings in respect to freight rates whtcl he condemns when taken by the rail
 roads. But he comes out strong or
 cupidity. There he Is impregnable, anC
 If he wants a renonination he will ge
 it on the railroad issue