The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-02
JUDGE JONES OF ALABAMA.
A Judicial View of the Southern Jur-
 ist by a Snnthecn .Ionrnal.

A Judicial View of the Southern Jur-
 ist by Southern Journal.
 The refusal of . Attorney-General Garber, the chief law officer of the State of Alabama, to argue a case for the State in the United States district court before United States Judge Thomas G. Jones, because, as he de- clared, the judge had already rendered his decision in the case and had it printed and circulated after hearing only one side of it, has attracted a great deal of attention both in profess sional and unprofessional circles.
 The case was one in which represen- tatives of the Louisville and Nashville railroad, complaining that the legisla- ture of the State of Alabama had en- acted in its recent session laws reduc- ing the passenger fares on the rail- roads in the States limits, and com- mandlng the officials of the railroads operating in the States jurisdiction to obey, under penalties, the State laws and the said railroad representatives expressing their willingness to obey the said State laws, had appealed to the United States court to annul the laws complained of or in some manner shield the railroads against the power and authority of the State in regard to such laws.
 Judge Thomas G. Jones, United States district judge at Montgomery, issued an injunction forbidding the State authorities from in any manner interfering with the railroads or their employees. It was supposed that this was a temporary or Introductory in- junction pending the showing which it is usual for all parties to the cause to make before a final decree is entered, but when the attorney-g general, to his astonishment, learned that the case had been decided and the decision had been circulated in print before the at torney- general acting for the State, had been allowed to speak or make a rhowing, this situation was so aston ishing to the States representative that he declined to argue the case un- der such anomalous circumstances.
 After being sent for by the court, the attorney general of Alabama, having prefaced his remarks with dlsclaim- CT of any disrespect for the court, said: q do not know whether your honor/would consider it unprecedented, but as far as my knowledge is con- cerned If the States attorney general and associate counsel were expected to argue the question before the court, we think we should have been given an opportunity to do so before an opinion was delivered and published and sent out in pamphlet form. We consider that the opinion, which was issued by the court some two or three days after the restraining order, was a finality on the part of this court, and we consider it utterly futile on our part to appear here on this oc- casion, and the purpose of my appear ance is to give the assurance that our action should not be considered as a reflection on or want of courtesy to the presiding judge
 After this the attorney general and his Associate counsel retired There is no desire or intention to question the acts or motives of Judge Jones, who is southern man, who has a distin- guished record as a worthy citizen, a brave confederate soldier, attaining the rank of colonel III an Alabama regiment, and crowning his services to his State as it's able governor. But having been appointed a judge in the United States court, it would seem that the strong element of partisan ship in his nature is as characteristic of him in the service of the nation as it was when he so devotedly served his State.-New Orleans Picayune.