The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-04

carries thousards of passengers daily affected by these rates and also car ries thousands of shipments of the com modities described in the several com modity rate acts and under the said passenger rate act the defendant rail- way company Is required to charge pas senger rates which are not higher than those which are imposed by the said act, and however unreasonably low the defendant railway company acts at its peril if it charges any higher rates. In the hundreds and perhaps thous- ands of actions that may be brought against the defendant railway company by the other defendants herein, and by other persons in the State of Alabama and in the hundreds. and perhaps thou sands of indictments which may be brought against the railway company, the burden would be thrown on them to prove affirmatiyeiy that the rates ot passenger and freight as the ease
 might be. charged by the defendant
 railway company were just. reasonable and that the rates imposed by the said acts were unjust and unreasonable. Under the terms of the penalty acts the defendant railway company. if it
 shall charge highor rates of passenger or freight than those which are imposed
 by the said passenger rate act will be subject to civil actions for forfeitures in every county ln the State through which 1t operates It's railroads and such actions may be brought by multitude of different persons. The defendant railway company under the terms of the said acts may incur penalty such a large amount as 10 practically amount to a confiscation of its property. | All of the agents may be prosecuted | for misdemeanors and fined in every l county in the State through which the l railway company operatee The pen I &t-~-s ux <a<n | so many Independent and different jurisdictions at the same tsle that it will be physically impossible for the defendant railway company to defend these actions. The expenses of defense would be enormous.
 The defendant railway company | would also be subjected to great ex- pense in employing counsel. and the loss of time of it's officers, agents and employees in giving the necessary att tention and time thereto would prevent the operation of the railroad.
 The tendency of such suits, aggre- l gating such an enormous amount, will
 greatly depreciate the value of its property and will result in great and 1 irreparable loss. M "Your Orator therefore ayers that the said acts are unconstitutiona1 null l and void. in that they deny to the de- fendant railway company, and to your
 orator, and the bondholders whom it represents, the equal protection of the
 laws, and take their property without due process of law. contrary to and in violation of the Fourteenth Amend
 ment to the Constitution of the United States.
 "Your orator shows to your honors that 1t Is the purpose and intention of
 his excellency, the said Braxton B. Conner. in accordance with his publicly expressed views and of the scheme and device referred to in the original bill of complaint herein. to instruct the
 several solicitors and prosecuting of-
 fcers in the several counties through
 which the defendant railway company operates its> railroad, to indict, a est
 and prosecute the Central of Georgia
 Railway Company, its officers. agents and servants for every charge made
 whereby rate in excess of those pre- | scribed by the acts referred, etc. Unless the defendant railway com- pany charge the rates for freight and
 messengers described by the statutes,
 numerous civil actions for forfeltures will be brought, other processes upon 1 such civil actions as may be sued out | in their several courts.
 Your orator further alleges that the officers will, if they charge higher rates for freight or passengers than | those prescribed, subject, themselves to prosecutions for misdemeanors and to l fines for each offense, and, if they do not or cannot pay such fines and pen- alties they will be imprisoned and the company would be unable to employ | or keep in the discharge of their sever l al duties competent agents or servants to take the places and discharge the
 duties or those who may be arrested
 under prosecutions for misdemeanors. Your orator shows that by reason of
 the arrest and Imprisonment of the of
 hcers of the defendant railway com pany, the railroad properties of the de- fendant will be ruined and destroved
 and the carrying of the United States
 mails and interstate commerce over its
 lines in Alabama will be prevented. un- less the restraining order and injunc- tion hereinafter prayed for be imme- | diatelv granted
 The defendant, l. Cellner, who is a representative of the class of passen-
 gers who use trains for passage, and
 all the persons of his class have threat
 ened to and will, unless enjoined and restrained by order of this honorable court, bring civil actions for forfeit ures against the defendant. ''Greil Brothers Company Is also
 named as representative of the class of shippers of freight who use trains of the defendant, and all persons of it's
 class who are similarly situated. has
 
 and restrained, bring civil actions for
 forfeitures against the defendant Tn consideration whereof, your Ora
 tor prays that said acts of the Legis- lature of Alabama hereinbefore in this
 supplemental bill of complaint more particularly referredAto be declared to be in violation of the Constitution of the United States. and, therefore null.
 void and of no effect, in that they at tempt to take the property of the de-
 Company, and of your Orator as trus-
 mortgage of the said defendant, and issued and outstanding hereunder, prive 1t and them of the equal protec- tion of the laws
 That the defendants, R. H. Parks,
 Boiling, s. H. Dent. Jr.. W. T. Seibels,
 c. A. L. Sanford. Borden H. Burr. H.
 P. Hehin. George W. Darden. be tenn
 porarlly and permanently enJoined and
 restrained from instituting any suit, &C., ton or proceeding, whether civil or
 criminal, of any kind or description
 whatsoever against the defendant, Gen. tral of Georgia Railway Company. for
 or on account of any of the matters aforesaid.
 Court clerks sheriffs and deputies are also named as well as private individ-
 uals to be affected by the restraining order
 Continuing. the petition says:
 "That in the meantime. and until the h aorip1 voIir orator may have fam.