The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-26
DELAYS IN !. RATE CASES Alabama Appeal Goes
 Over to Winter. PRINTING RECORD IS BIG JOB Separate Transcript for Each of
 Six Cases Printed. Looks Like Effort To Put off Hearing
 of Facts Until I9io--To Be
 Heard In New Orleans.

Although the appeal taken by the Alabama Railroad Commission from the decision of Judge Thos. c. Jones. of the Federal Circuit Court. in the l noted railroad litigation. had been set for hearing by the United States Cir I cult Court of Appeals for October l9. | 1t was rumored yesterday that counsel on the States side of the eases would not be ready for the hearing on that date. It Is said. on the other hand. that on account of some delay in print ing the transcripts. 1t would be well up in winter before the case would be taken up.
 It Is practically certain that the Cir cult Court of Appeals will not sit in Montgomery on the cases. but will hear the appeal in New Orleans. In the copy of the docket for the session of the Court of Appeals begin- ming October 1s, received in Mont gomery yesterday, appear the six cases of the Railroad Commission of Ala banla against the Central Trust Com pany of New York. and the five rail- roads which applied to Judge Jones last year for an injunction against the enforcement of the rate laws of the last Legislature.
 The printing of all the records in the litigation has been a hercuiean task. It has not been finished yet, 1t Is said, and that is one of the reasons given by the States attorneys for the continuance of the appeal.
 A lawyer when interviewed yester- day on the status of the litigation since the rumor of delay in the appeal. said that 1t would only result in postponing the final determination of fine facts in the cases. By this he meant that so far the litigation has been confined to settling certain prin- ciples of law involved fin the suits. that by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court there is no qtles- tion of the Jurisdiction of the United States court to try the facts of the cases and that whatever the outcome of the appeal taken by the States side, the determination of the reasona ble- ness of the rates fixed by the Legisla- ture must follow.
 This same lawyer. who is known to have had no connection with either side in the litigation. had this to say yesterday:
 Why The Deiays
 What Is the purpose of the States counsel in delaying this matter, Are they not convinced that. come what may, the facts have got to be gone into sooner or later? If 1t is January, say. before the Court of Appeals gets to the case. 1t Is possible that it will take some sixty days or more for a decision from that tribunal. which would throw the beginning of taking testimony in all six cases away on to March.
 Now maybe six or eight months or more will be occupied in the testimony. then there is to be the time required for decision on the actual facts of the cases, then perhaps the appeal to the Court of Appeals again, or to the United States Supreme Court, and so on. all of which may throw the uiti- mate disposition of the cases well up into 1910?"
 Then the question was asked why. if there can be no dispute now as to the jurisdiction of the Federal court, the State should not want to hurry the case along on It's merits.
 It was suggested that if the Rail- road Commission were in earnest about settling the squabble with the railroads its attorneys might show a desire to expedite the processes and adopt a method of getting results with the least delay. It Is commonly agree ] that the quicker the matter is settled the less money will be spent out ot the State Treasury to continue the fight It is said that already some S7.500 has been expended in printing costs alone. This takes no account oi more than $2o,0o0 which has been ex-