The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-04
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nature. The presidents and treasurets oi these roads. I take it are intelligent and truthful men. I happen to know personally one or the men who addressed a committed or the Senate few days ago. He is . man Of high character. He was e soldier ended. he was without means and had reia- tives dependent on him for support. He went to work as became an honest upright man. He was section foreman on n rail- road. and on Saturdays he would go along with the other hands to the commissary ef the road and draw his rations of meal and meat. By attention to business, by his ca pacity. and by his reliability and upright ness he rose step by step. until he beca me, as he now is the manager of A railroad ex- tending for perhaps thousand miles. This man could not have reached his present position, unless he had honesty and charac- ter In his composition When such a man stands up and makes a solemn statement be- fore committee of the Senate. some cred 1t should be attached to what he says And those other gentlemen who appeared before the committee seemed to be serious. thought ful men. and one of them stated. if I re- member correctly. that if these bills passed his road would have to go ont of business.
 The Senate should remember the roads are having trying time. Some two weeks ago the conductors on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad made a demand on their
 
 was granted Today a committee of loco motive engineers on the same road is in the city of Louisville. demanding an increase of wages. The cost of everything that goes into the equipment of railroads has great ly increased. Prominent among these things coal. lumber steel rails and all kinds and grades of labor.
 Reduction May Impair Service
 We all know that living expenses are greater than they have been in this coun- try for generation, and yet we are de- manding that the railroads alone should have their income reduced. It is possible the railroads may fin the future instead of increasing the wages of their employees have either to take off some of their trains or to reduce the number of employees, and i'm pose greater duties on those that are left.
 If the latter should be done, the efficien- cy of the service may be greatly impaired. Telegraph operators may have to observe a longer time of labor each day, and in the strain. physical nature may be over come They may drop off to sleep, or be- come dull of thought, and some great acci- dent may result wish to acquit myself of all responsibility. direct and indirect for such a calamity.
 notice that there is a lobby here to op- pose the prohibition of the running of freight trains Sunday. It is claimed it is neces- sary for the roads to work seven days in the week. in order to move accommodating All LufS ETOWS out or rne I4Ct that the railroads have only one track in- stead of two the cutting down of their i'm come tends to prevent them from curing the trouble
 Moving in Wrong Direction.
 We are moving In the wrong direction We are violating the principles of sound economics and aggravating instead of cur ing the evil I wish to be distinctly under stood as saying that I favor giving the Railroad Commission the power to correct discriminations. All great corporations either through their governing bodies or or through some of their servants or em- ployes. sometimes go wrong. do not de- fend these wrongs. am disposed to give the Railroad Commission a great deal nf lat itude and power in curing these discrim- nations and preventing these wrongs. am also in favor of better service.
 am asked whether I would support any railroad rate bill and replied that would if 1t was good bill. The Senator from Wilcox offered this morning to amend ;he present bill by a provision that the present rates should not be reduced until by an increase of traffic or otherise, the railroads could make a semi-annual dividend of two and one-half per cent. This amendment was voted down.
 Later on. I. myself introduced an amend ment providing that the rates should not be reduced until by an increase of traffic or the railroads would be able to de- clare a semi-annual dividend of one Der cent. Just think of It was simply pro posing that the railroads should have the power to realize their capital only two per cent. per annum. Was not this small enough?
 But the Senate voted down this amend ment also. I would have voted for the bill if this amendment allowing the roads to make a semi-annual dividend of on per cent had passed I wish to emphasize this statement, that I would have voted for the bill If the Senate had adopted the amend ment permitting the road to make a semi annual dividend of only one per rent
 Action Is Confiscatiou.
 The refusal of the Senate to do this looks like sort of confscation. When n man Is allowed to make nothing on his property. his property is of litle value. no matter what 1t may have cost. Men build railroads to get some income from them. and if they are debarred by law from getting any in- come. their property is practically confis- cated.
 We have been told the Georgia rates nre less than the Alabama rates. This refers to the rates roads that begin and end fin some one of these two states. These rates are for traffic wholly within the state. They do not affect any merchandise brought from some other state into this state. or any mer- chandise sent from this state into some oth- CT state Rates freight coming from some other state into Alabama, or Eoing from Alabama into some other state gre Rf- fected only by the rates nf the Interstate Commerce Commission. If the rates nn freight beginning and -Rding in the state arc greater in Alabama than they hre in Georgia. It must he remembered that fates on the interstate freight gre less in Ala bama than they are in Georgia.
 The merchandise purchased in Alabama that is affected by the interstate rate is much greater In volume than the merchan- disc which is affected by the state rate. The corn oats wheat. and flour bought in Ala bama comes from another state and is affected by the interstate rate. The sugar, molasses, salt and rice consumed In Alabama comes from, abroad and is infected by the interstate rate. Most of the implements made of steel and iron used in this state all of the articles in the millinery stores hat stores. shoe stores, dry goods stores and clothing stores, In Alabama infected by the interstate rate.
 For Retaliation.
 All the steel rails and coal that are made or mined in Alabama and shipped into rome other state affected by the interstate rate. Shall we by oppressive exactions the rates as to traffic wholly within the state invite the railroads to reciI rocate the treatment by raising the rates on the in seriously denied that the interstate rates Alabama less than the interstate rates in Georgia and that the whole the hates in Alabama are as low as the rates in Georgia
 We have recently had in these two sta:es a singular controversy. The people of At lanta have been complaining that they should have the rates of Birmingham, and I am told that while some candidates in AN.t lr fEan