The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-07
GOV. ooMERs GRAND STAND PLAY.

patches brought the following start ling item of news from Washington;
 shipments of Alabama cotton to to the New England mills as a resul. of the railroad rate increase. declere Governor Conner, of that state, al PresIdent and Attorney General Roma Governor Conner appealed to the ad- ministretion to take a hand m tns inc Injunction now preventing the enNorce- ment of the7 rate laws of Alabama against railroads so Tar as hhtefe ts nea IieVed that the Attorney General VII take under consideration pians ,,H uy which the government may GhS .s,s "p the matter under its own rate ia"s'
 How the mighty have fallen! The people of Alabama will readily recall that 1t has been only a few months since their high and mighty Governor was denouncing Federal interference in Alabama affairs. He got blue Tn the face arraigning Federal courts and. fguratively speaking. was orea'h- ing threatenings and slaughter against Uncle Sam in all shapes and forms The State was supreme, and it was well nigh revolutionary for anyoooS in Alabama to be appealing to Feder- al courts and to be interfering with the divine right of States!
 And now behold this mighty adVo- cate of State rights, journeylng 10 the National Capital and falling down on his knees before the embodiment Of all l centralized power, the Republican President, the radical Roosevelt! What A contrast between then and now! Governor Conner has run up the white flag of surrender. and oegs TOT | help from the source he has so long despised and condemned How sad! Seriously. however, the Governor IS | just about as wrong now as he was last winter. He can get no help rom | Roosevelt and Bonaparte. The GoV- ernor should be well enough versed Tn our institutions to know the Presi- | dent can't send any orders to'the Fed eral Courts. Why then bring before the | President the straits to which the | Governor has been reduced in his ef- forts by the special sessions to pre- vent the railroads from having trial in the courts over the reasonable
 ness of intra-state rates? There mas not been any increase in State rates l The court kept rates as they were, and made one or two railroads put hack rates in a few instances, which had been increased in anticipation or the taking effect of the maximum rate act. EeL.4s4 :-st.,
 As to the interstate rates, trade which concerns more than one state, the attempt of one State, Georgia to regulate them, through the courts Tn the first instance, brought on a disas- l trous muddIe a few weeks since. The railroads made some increase in some interstate rates. which equally af, footed this State and Georgia.
 Congress has the exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce. It has provided that increased rates shall not go into effect. until thirty days after they are filed with the Inter-
 State Commerce Commission. When
 the increased rate Is filed with the In-
 ter-State Commerce Commission. any
 person affected can complain. The
 Commission then determines what is
 right, and If its decision is right, the
 courts enforce 1t. According to the
 best legal opinion, no injunction of
 increased interstate rates can be had
 until there Is complaint to and decision
 by the Interstate Commerce Commis-
 sion. Over in Georgia, Judge Speer
 enjoined the putting into effect of in.
 creased interstate rates in that State.
 while in this State no such steps were
 attempted, and the increase went in-
 to effect. Grave injustice resulted
 against Alabama. until Judge Pardee
 granted supersedeas of Judge Speer'i injunction, preventing the putting ir
 of the increased rates in Georgia. and both States were again put on ar
 equality as to the increase.
 Common sense and business require ments warn us against one State at tempting to do anything by way oi Federal injunctions, with rates affect ing more than one State. The Inter . State Commerce Commission has heard 3 the complaints against the increase t and will soon decide them. The whol, matter would have gone along just a well. If Governor Conner had not pu r foot in Washington. Bringing up in r state rates in the Associated Pres dispatches. won't distract attention 3 from the wretched extra session leg
 islation, of It's effects. or the delay O
 the State in bringing the rate cases t. S a hearing on the facts. The litigation