The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-25
Former Congressman Outlines Disastrous Results That Will Flow from Unjust and 0p- prsssive Legislation States Rights Not IayOlyed---Iudge Jones's Injunction Defended.

.asked yesterday for a statement as
 to inc effect of the recent legislation
 regulating railroads. Hon. Sidney J..
 Bowie answered that he had
 outlined his views completely .in ! his speech delivered Novem-
 who assembled here to protest against
 the proposed laws antagonistic to
 such corporations.
 Mr. Bowie furnished The Advertiser
 withra copy of that speech which is as
 follows:
 MT Chairpnan and fellow citizens:
 would not appear befoye you on
 sincerely feel that the State of Ala
 bama is far more interested in the
 result Of the bills now pending before Sthe Legislature than any railroad cor
 poration within It's borders. The state
 of Alabama is vitally interested in the
 proposition, which is assailed by every
 pending bill before that body. and that
 ts, that the Constitution of the United
 States and of the State of Alabama
 provide and guarantee the equal pro
 lection of the laws to every citizen
 within its borders.
 states Rights. {
 We have been told that the railroad corporations who filed the bills in the Federal Court seeking to determine the reasonableness of the rates which had been proposed by the legislature, had sinned against the sacred doctrine of States Rights. Now I want to say to this assemblage that I am States Rights Democrat. and my father and his father before him were of the school of Calhoun who believed in the doctrine of States Rights as 1t was handed down to us but I have always been taught that that doctrine centered around the supremacy of the Constitu- ton. and that, an Act of Legislature was not sacred or binding if It in any ma amer violated the principles of the Constitution
 | have been taught that States Rights mean this, that If the Constitu- tfon and the statute conflict, that IL is the statute that fails, and not the Constitution.
 is, that in case of a conflict oetween the Constitution of your own state and the Constitution of the United states. and an Act of the Legislature. that the Act of the legislature is sacred and the Constitution fails. There is the key note to this whole controversy, and am going to show you Just as briefly as I can the facts
 The Rights of Judicial Inquiry. do not want to consume your time, ,,,,t | want to say this, that so Tar az rates are concerned. that are proposeu at this session of the legislature thas not a single railroad corporation com. plains of the rates proposeo; as ssssion tbe rates proposed at the last session of inc legislature, because they pro ,,.,,s hv law now to raise every raii- rraad n this state five per cent on some arfieles. and some railroads twenty | per cent and some other as twenty-five per cent. That IS 0hiy 4s 2 tn sorne articles. Now 1t is not the rate t5st is proposed by the new bills as 5 srainst the rates proposed by the olu @ E bf5ia although stiaef increase or i've pc. ce,t or, certain, articles is trifling, not amounting to over twenty or tnirts thousand dollars at the outside 70 ohe oS the largest railroads of the state. Jt ,s not that. it is because this prfn- cinIe is found in every one of them ar attempt by the legislature to take from a court having Jurisdiction. the N rioht to try property right Tn tnis sfate---that is the purpose or this iests- | Iation, and the purpose is 10 so su. round the trial. If perenansse sestrny ,ny tSs @ railroad. ors the corporation. that at- | tsy,nfs If as the price of the attempt. | TI.corrt,tutionaI Penalties.
 Now. | Slve before me the figures that would show, as to the freisht nrouosition involving llO artictes, knnwn as the 1i0 Commodity Rate. out |.T have the. figures as to passengers on one railroad. only one. and under H take to say that the penalties provid- E ed would amount in twelve months. Tor an unsuccessful attempt if they are ,,nsuccessful. if. only one thousand dol. \ lars was allowed in each case--and the limit is not one thousand dollars but any sum that the jury may assess with the limit. say, at one thousand dollars on one railroad, on Its passen- ger business alone. would be $2.1s6.- S36,oeo for one year. That railroad is