The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-24

 would be convenience or advantage for him-he would not invest for the sole purpose of receiving a reasonable return upon the investment
 Bear in mind that the contention of the railways under existing laws is re- duced to asl1ing-begging- be permitted to earn only a reasonable return; that Investments in railways under such con- ditions are different from your personal investments in cotton mills, on which you may hope to receive mot only a reasonable return-say or 8 per cent on the capital invested, but may earn and receive much more, such investments not being limited to reasonable re- turn" I repeat that under existing con ditions, all the railways are asking is to be permitted to earn a reasonable re- turn, and appeal to the representatives of the state to not enact and enforce confiscatory laws to not take the pri- vate property of individuals. although it may be devoted to public use, by con fiscatory methods.
 Propositions to Compromise.
 Tn answer to your appeal to compro- mise--to settle the pending litigation be- tween the Louisville and Nashville and South and North Alabama roads and the state upon terms similar to those agreed upon with the Southern railway and af tiliated lines, l stated that while the terms you suggested might be somewhat less confiscatory than those fixed by the statutes, they could not be considered. ana that 1t was not to the interest of the citizens of Alabama that the impor- tant matter should be adjusted in such an irregular, illegal, ineffective and non enforceable manner; that in the execution of the agreement with the Southern rail way and allied lines you had assumed. or <t11 toa rsilx devolving upon the railroad commission, the legislature and the courts; that & statement of the attorney general of the state has been published to the eff feet that the agreement was based on good faith. Such settlement or com promise does not settle anything perma- nently. and should not have been con sidered by either of the parties. That the state. having enacted and undertaken to enforce laws which, fin the opinion Of the railroads. were confiscatory, an ap- peal was taken to a court, and the court had assumed Jurisdiction. which juris- dicton was acquiesced in by the state; that such method of adjusting the mat ter was in accordance with the laws of Alabama and the United States, and that 1t would be much better for the mat ter to be so adjusted; that was assured that with the cooperation of the state the case could undoubtedly be so ad- vanced that the decision of the court of final resort might be had within 12 months that should the result sustain the contention of the railways and be acquiesced in, as 1t should be, by the state, the confidence of investors might in time be restored and the development of the resources of the state facilitated; ; that should the decision be adverse to the contention of the railways and it be established that the state has the power to enact and enforce drastic laws and regulations, those who invested there after would do so with a full knowledge of the terms upon which the investment of capital, in enterprises subject to such regulation. was made. And l urged you as earnestly as I could, to cancel the call convening the legislature and to CO., operate in securing an early and author itative adjudication.
 Undoubtedly, the importance to the con- sumer of the reduced rates, for which you have so vigorously and ruthlessy contended, is greatly exaggerated; in fact I do not hesitate to assert that you and those following your leadership do not clearly comprehend the effect of the re- suit that may follow the adoption and Enforcement of the reduced rates fixed by the railroad commission. While the ag gregate sum involved is large, and there- fore of importance to the carriers, it is in nearly all cases unimportant to the consumer, dlStrlDuted as It necessarily is. There are very few articles trans ported upon which the transportation charges is "all that the traffic can bear" Upon articles like coal. the transportation charge forms large-sometimeS the larger-part of the value at point of con- sumption, and the rates must necessarily be carefully and closely adjusted. On the other hand on most articles the transportation charge is such a small part of the value of the property at point of consumption that it is inappre- ciable and it is for this reason that a moderate reduction or increase in the transportation charge does not affect the price asked by the merchant or manu- facturer of the consumer. A variation of 10 cents per hundred on shoes will not vary the actual cost to the consumer more than mills per pair of shoes. The transportation charges of the country are so low as to permit of the exchange of agricultural and manufactured prod ucts between most distant points A manufacturer of shoes in St Louis may sell his output in New England A New England manufacturer does sell his output in St. Louis. A hardware dealer in Louisville does an extensive business in the state of Maryland, the property in many cases being shipped from factories in the east to Louisville and reshipped to Maryland. A manufacturer of wagons in Louisville sells his output throuehout the entire country, from Dakota to Texas and Florida. Forest products are sent