The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-25
DECLINES TO SUIT Attorney General Will Not Stop Depot Case. MATTER SHOULD BE SETTLED Wants Adjudication of Question of Lee Street Freight House. Declares Action win Be Carried to Higher Courts. and Says Minor ity of People should Have
 Risht to Test Question.
 

%SAt " - ess 0nesiVns Attorney General A. M. Garber yes terday refused to withdraw the peti- ton praying for the removal of the louisville and Nashville depot from the loot of Lee Street from the City Court, as requested by a large number of property owners.
 The Attorney General held that 1t was for the best interest of the Com monwealth of Alabama, as we'll as the permanent and lasting welfare of all the business interests of all the citizens or Montgomery, to have a final, definite and Judicial adjudication of the vexed question which centers about the freight depot and it's location at the foot of Lee Street
 He declares that the suit which has been inaugurated to test the right of the City Council to give permission for the erection of the depot would be pur- sued to the end. He says, too. that a minority of the citizens Of any section of city should have the right to have investigated any alleged nuisance or obstruction to tbe street.
 His letter of refusal to Messrs. Walk CT and Hobbie Is as follows;
 Montgomery Ala. Sept. 24, 1907. "IMessrs. U. T. Walker and R. M.
 Hobb1es MontgomeryszAla- Dear sirs--I have given careful and sno1satS ssnsa 5y atsenha tS the Dstiti01
  property. owners of the City of Monts gomery.'f presented to me several days aEo by you, in which am requested to withdraw my name and the name of the State of Alabama from the bill now pending in the City Court of Montgom- cry for the removal of the freight de- poi from across Lee Street at a point near the front approach to the union assigned as stated in the petition, is that in your opinion such removal would not be to the best interest of the ctty of Montgomery.
 Whiie l copeede to you and to these gentlemen the right and privilege to place before me your position in the matter of this suit and it's pronable erect in your opinion upon the business interest of the city of Montgomery, and recognize the corresponding duty on my part to accord to your positioii the due and proper consideration to which it Is entitled at my hands yet after having so considered your attitude In this matter, I feel constrained to ad- here to the views expressed to won at some length on this subject when it was under discussion in my oflco ou the day you filed the above petition several months ago a petition, sien- ed by reputable citizens of Alabama. residents of the city of MontKonery. was submitted to me. requesting me to Spon s tns p2twsr and duty Imposed
 
 bana In cases of spnblic nuisance and the unlawful obstruction of the public highways and to institute the proper legal proceeding for the removal of this freight depot from the northern terminus of Lee Street and for restrain Ing the further maintenance of said ob- struction across said Street on the grounds that the obstruction of this nighway was a public nuisance which greatly inconvenienced all the pubiic who have or might have occasion to use this Street. so1
 ., T learned the history connected with the erection of this depot and inform ed myself from a personal fnspeetion Tn regard to the physical location of this building in the said street with respect to the convenience of the gen eral public, It was made to appear 70 me by the stgners of the petition last named that the rights and inter ests or the majority of the general moyal of said obstruction and that the sald Lee street as an approach to the union passenger depot was nearer 75 percentum of the population of the approach. .a H-09S's Tn the light of the facts and condi- the precedents recorded in this depart- ment foF such action in cases of this cnaracter. reached the conclusion that the petition of these reputable citizens presented a case for the prop- CT and conservative exercise of the power and discretion vested In me as Attorney General. to afford an oppor- the State the validity of the grounds proposed for relief after a, Judicial nearing and consideration of all the facts and the principles of law appii- cable to this class of cases
 I beg to state that entertained grave doubt as to whether or not this obstruction of Lee Street was being opinion that the best interest of the commonwealth of Alabama, as well as the permanent and lasting welfare of the business interests of all the citf- zens of the City of Montgomery, with out regard to any particular class of property owners or pon property own CTS. will be best preserved and pro- tected by a final, definite and Judicial adjudication of this vexed question in the courts of last resort, and that the hnal outcome, whatever tt may be- will be productive generally of good
 q. therefore. conceived it to be my duty. and within the proper. and req ton to institute this suit in order that the above result might be effected feeling assured that in an action brought in high and honorable court lished principles of law and good cons science would prevail
 If this freight depot is an unlawful obstruction of a public highway, vio> lates the rights of the sovereign pow CT and Is a nuisance and fnconVentence to the general public of Alabama and likewise to the general public of the City of Montgomery, a component part of Alabama certainly if will not be se- riously contended that even a minority of property owners in a certain dis trict of the City of Montgomery would not have the right to invoke the ad- ministration and application of the law under such existing conditions as mem tloned above. though done against the protest of majority of the property owners of the same district of the City of Montgomery.
 T beg to remain,
 ''Very respectfully. H Alex M. Garber
 Attorney -GeheraI'