The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-02
4 JIM DANDY
 LEGISLATURE

Ned Bruce in Birmingham Age Herald.
 The present Legislature of Alabama is what l would call a jim dandy one. It is running riot in doing what the people want done. It has pounded the railroads and corporate interests into a jelly. The people wanted them pound ed. It has prevented railroads Issuing any intra-state passes--that IS passes within the limits of the State ito State officials, county officials ana judges or anybody else except railroad employees who are on the regular pay roll and their dependent families. It has prevented the country, as well as the city newspapers, exchanging sched- ule or excursion advertising space with railroads for mileagesbooks or tickets. It has said that the weekly newspaper published in the county seat of a pros porous county in South Alabama cannot exchange twenty five dollars worth of advertising space. for a thousand mile book of transportation, for an excursion to be run by the l.. and N. Railroad, at one fare for the round trip, for the people of that county to go up to Mont gomery and view the legislators in ses- sion. That is giving something to the newspapers. It is corfupting the edt- tor. It is making him partisan of the railroad.
 It may be that the L. and N Rail- road has decided in advance that it may run an excursion from Greenville to Montgomery, or Birmingham or Mobile in June or July, and knows 1t must ad-
 
 before, and wants now to take due bill from The Greenville Advocate for twenty-five dollars of advertising to be used within the year in exchange for a mileage book of one thousand miles. The editor of the paper might need the transportation now-he may be short on collections, and therefore cash. right now and may not care for transport ation in the summer. Yet he cannot harter Might as well the Legislature say the farmer cannot trade a coop of chickens for so much lard, and flour. and coffee and sugar with the country merchant. The cash must pass for ev- erythlng over the counter.
 It is nothing to the newspapers of the cities of Alabama. There are rival lines in all of them and the railroads are striving for business. competing, as are the merchants, for trade and have to pay their money to city daflies for what they advertise as do the. mer- chants who sell "$999 suit of clothes, cut from $15, for this winter clearance sale" But the country editor is cut out of trading and bartering. He can not even negotiate a ninety day note with advertising space as collateral. He is put down upon blacklist by this Legislature as not entitled fto credit or consideratton--as unworthy of his obli- gations-as a man liable to be corrupt ed because his due bill for the goods he owns and can be delivered any week, possibly is not. to be cashed for sixty days. Why not prevent the country AhSICudut dASCOuHtluk WlIn a 6lI- mingham or Montgomery bank the far mer's not secured by a mortgage on two mules, brindle COW, one wagon, a blow, two pigs
 The country editor is eliminated He has no consideration. He may have been the advocate and the primary cause of electing Bill Jones to the Leg islature and John Smith to the City, Circuit or Supreme bench. He may have carried his county for this or that State officer.
 Yet all of his good friends get togeth- CT in Montgomery and resolve among themselves that our country editor friend can continue to barter an an- nual subscription of his paper for cord wood. or chickens. or eggs, or potatoes nr he can trade advertising space with the town merchant for coffee and sugar and cheese and some furniture for his home, cooking stove, or school books for his children. He can even trade advertising space for patent medicines: but he can't trade 1t for. railroad ticket to Montgomery, although if he could get there he would be permitted to trade advertising space for a weeks board at a hotel