The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-15

the inspection of such books and pa- pefs be confined to the contract or oth- CT natter at issue. He considered there should not be law which would allow the Railroad Commission to look into contracts and ether matters that would have no bearing on the inquiry the Commission wished to make.
 0b3ect to Amsndment.
 MT. Maner objected to the amend ment. It would undo all that the bill tried to accomplish.
 Mir. Long of Butler thought the amendment would cause suits in court because railroads would claim books and papers requested had no bearing on the question at Issue and 1t would be necessary to go to court to force the sr railrSaS naaS to give I up the ?. books. amendment He submitted there was notbtng unreasonable in 1t. Unless 1t was so amended, the bill might give roads in competition an opportunity to obtain particulars regarding a roads business which wiuid give them an advantags. 3#
 The members of the House, he hoped would stop and reason before passing on bills so manifestiy unfair.
 MT. John said some of the discussions he had listened to either displayed his ignorance of the provisions of the b1l or that he had not read it.
 The satiing gun exhibition .on the half hour at o'clock.
 Rssuming after the recess. Mir. John said if the members would study the terms of the bill. they would find it applied to . case at issue and a dam age lawyer could not have anything to do with 1t. The amendment offered by Mir. Rice. he said. would hamper the CO.,. mission. ssf
 Pitts Wants to Kncw.
 Mir. Pitts of Dallas. asked, in view of the law passed, taking the power to bring suit to enforce laws from the Railroad Commission. what was the use of letting 1t have the books? V
 Because they were very able men. Mir John said. and could furnish the information needed bv the court. Mr. John referred to the hearing before the Committee on Commerce and Common Carriers held recently and said it was shown at that hearing $1,- b00.oo0 of improvement had been charged to repairs.
 Speaking of public corporations he said whenever you hear a man say you might as we'll interfere with . mans private business and regulate the price at which he can sell his goods. you ear put # down he is as ignorant as a mule and as malicious as q ratfle-snake. NkFs nuAHSEs Hdxu at 1CGtttS4 " AAthat = this amendment were adopted 1t would destroy the purpose of the bifis
 we must have some place where we can find out whether the laws enacted are confiscatory or not. The only way to do this is to have an op- portunity to examine the books. If the amendment made by the gentleman from Tuscaloosa prevails, 1t will give to the railroads an opportunity to say tusf what hooks shall be examined. The book they would fail to produce might be the very book the court would need in the case under consid- eration.''
 Mir. Sherrdd offered a substitute which gave to the court the power to determine what books should be exam ined. He believed this substitute would meet all the objections raised to MT. Rice's amendment.
 Mir. Maner asked him if the case at issue was one in which a railroad clairiaed a rate was confiscatory, would 1t not bs necessary to examine all the books.
 srhe judge should be able to decide that" Mr. SheFrod replied, and if he orders all af the books examined there is nothing in this amendment which will stop such examinatton |.
 It would be unfair, he submitted. If a railroad case was being tried. that a book not bearing on the case was brought into the case. - In response to questions by Mir, Hal ev. MT, Sherrod said tho bill did not call for the railroads business books alone it said every book in the office. such as stock books. A .. road commission power to send It's ex-