The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-13
Are New Laws Confis-
 catory of Propertya
PROMINENT ATTORNEYS HERE
First Fight on. Status of Supple
 mental Bills.
It Was ConhdentIy Expected Last Night that the Whole Question
 VIII Ceme to. an.
 Issue. M !.

Tbe Alabama rate cases. snvoivins nerhaps the greatest issue before tne country-the Issue of how far Sss.e may dictate rates to railroad Wienor ,.i, ros,se up for a hearing before Judge Thomas c. Jones in the Federal Duiia- ing this morning at II o'clock.
 If was thought last night that the cases would certainly be heard. ana it was regarded as being reasonably cel- tain that the main issue would lo. en ffrst time come up for discussion IT this is done. the cases may extend over af taast two days. A number or the nost distineuished attorneys or tne country are in Montgomery 10 pc pres ent at the hearing. President MiltoH Fl. smith of the Louisville ana Nash- vile. and a prominent ngure n s legal controversy, reached the city last night on his private car and Will De present at the hearing this morning. TTorrner Senator John $. Spooner nosv practicing law in New York. Is at the Exchange. He came to represent the Central Trust Company of New fork. which has great issues at stake in the nresent litigation. Among the promi- nent attorneys for the railroads wno rrilI ha at the hearing today are Gem arai Counsel H. l.. Stone of the Louis. vile and Nashville, General counsel T. M. Cunningham of the central of Georgia, District Attorney ueorge ". Jones and District Attorney Gregory |, smith. Assistant District Attorney J. Manly Poser and former Congressman Sldnev !. Bowie of the Louisville and Nashville, District Attorney R. F. steiner of the Central and Western, and General Counsel George F. Harrison or fine Western of Alabama.
 The State of Alabama will Dc repre- scented in this hearing by Attorney Gen. eral A AL Garber, former Chief Justice s. D. Weakley and Horace stringfei- low.
 laws adopted by the Alabama LeEisla- fure at it's three sessions of last year, The claim -is made hss the rAllFoads that no matter how directly or Indirectly tflese rate laws areseufUrced they are conhscatory. The attorneys for the Stage at one time denied the general jurisdiction of the court over the acts of a Legislature. But this position is not held now, although the plea to be made today will be lack of jurisdic- ton. but it will be based upon a plead ing and not upon a general issue
 The paramount issue involved Is the claim of the railroads based on the Constitution that the new rates are so low as to amount to a deprivation of property without due process of law.
 But the first fight will be upon the subsidiary issue which is the status of the supplemental bills filed by the rail- roads. on which restraining orders were issued suspending the rate acts adopted bye the extra session of the Legislature in Novem Der. The State will claim that the filing of supple mental bills was an error as new leg isiation was adopted and if this new legislation should be restrained it should be restrained by original bills. The State will claim that the original 4I.. ney General and the members of the Railroad Commission. and now that they were deprived by the Legislature from enforcing the rate laws they were not subject to pleas for restraining or- ders. It will be claimed that the fil- ing of supplemental bills and the granting of temporary or restraining order was outside the Jurisdiction of the court which was busted by the acts adopted by the Legislature in Novem- Der.
 On this Is the first but not the i'm portant fight. The roads will set up the claim that while ithe Legislature might have removed one set of defend- ants. the bill filed by the road present a second set of defendants who should be enjoined as well as the first set. It will be recalled that the special feature of the rate acts of the November ses- sion was that provision to most of the acts WnlCn HldQe them GnIOrceabl6 by any citizen of Alabama. To meet this provision the roads named in their SUD- plemental bills. the sheriffs. the clerks, the solicitors of Alabama, certain prom inent shippers and travelling men and others who were liable to ask for an enforcement of the laws
 The roads will claim that the new de- fendants are not only authorized to en- force the acts adopted by the LegtsIa ture in November, but they are author ized to enforce as we'll the acts passed at the two previous sessions. The claim will be made that the roads are as much in danger from the new de- tendants as they are from the old de- fendants, and the new defendants can enforce the old laws as easily as they can the new laws. This being true. it will be claimed that the personality of the defendants is not the issue, but the effect of the enforcement of confis- catory legislation.
 The attention of the court will no doubt be drawn today to Section s5 of the Alabama Constitution. This section specifically states that the Legislature has not the power to legislate a cause of action out of court. Tn other words, the Constitution says that after suit is once in court and the issue iotned' the Legislature can not pass law that will annul the suit. The attorneys for the road will claim that the acts of the November session were nothing more nor less than an attempt to leEislate out of courts the suits that had been previously brought in the Federal court. This, they will claim, Is forbid den by the State Constitution.
 This first fight will be sprung on the motion of the attorneys for the State to dismiss the supplemental bills After this has been disposed of, if it should be denied. the main issue will come up at this hes ring. This issue is nothing more or less than the first and contin- ued claim of the railroads that the is- sued rates as named by the Alabam Legislature are confiscatory. And in the adjudication of this issue the courts will settle the gravest question now before the American public.
 The suits In the Federal Court are being pushed by President Milton H Smith, of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, with general, definite policy tn view. and that is to determine by