The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-05-28
SPEED THE TRIAL AND OBTAIN
PEACE. Atf


rejoice to see crushing blow to these
great developers, For political pur-
poses the railroads have been punish
ed in a most inhuman manner. What
the people want is good service and
fair treatment from the railroads, and
they want the railroads to be permit
on their property. in order that they
may be able to render good service,
and that they may continue to develop
the country. They are the greatest
purchasers In the world. They pur-
chase at least forty per cent. of the
lumber that is sold in this country;
that much of the coal that is consumed
In this country, and two-thirds OF the
steel and iron that is sold in this coun.
try.
When the railroads are crushed, all
these other great industries and those
dependent upon them, are crushed. IT
cannot be expected that the owners of
railroads will invest dollar in Ala
bama to build spur track. a siding
or otherwise contribute to the devel-
opment of the state, when 1t seems to
be the policy of those in power to see
TO II that they are deprived of their
rights
Those roads that have shown suf-
ficient courage to test their rights in
the courts of justice. have been singled
out for arbitrary and unfair treatment
In the matter Of taxes and otherwise.
Those roads that were terrorised into
surrendering to the dictatorship OF the
anti-railroad regime are not punished
by the administration IN the matter of
taxes and arbitrary enforcement of
rates. whereas those roads whose man
ayers dared to assert their rights In
che courts are much more vaiuabis Tor
taxation purposes in the eyes OF the
administration than the class first mem
toned For example, in one breath.
State official will assert that the
1Oui6NAAlC anu ENd6uNlAtc HdltIOdo AOht-
pany. is the greatest developer the
State ever had: that It is the best
managed railroad; that It's policy Is
broad and liberal In another breath,
the same officiai will single II out for
arbitrary, unjust and unreasonable tax
alton.
The absurdity OF the efforts OF the
present administration to AK freight
rates is manifest from the record. At
the first session of the Legislature of
1907 certain rates we're fxed for the
various railroads. At the July session
of the same year. radical changes were
made. At tho special session. stiIi
more radical advances were made, thus
confessing the inability of the Legis-
lature to deal with such an intricate
and important subject still later. the
Railroad Commission advanced the
rates for the roads that had surrender
ed. even above the rates fixed after
three efforts by the Legislature.
IHC AuSA oVCAlS " prevail khO
minds of some people that the statutory
freight rates prescribed by Governor
Conner and the Legislature have been
put into ffect by some of the railroads
In Alabama. Nothing is further from
the truth. The statutory freight rates
are not in effect on any line in Alabama
and never have been. But a material
increase over the highest statutory
freight rates fixed by the Legislature
have been fixed by the Railroad Com
mission for those railroads who were
terrorized into surrendering and with
craving the suits which they had filled
in a court OF justice.
Now those railroads that have stood
ent for a judicial determination OF
their rights must under the decree Of
the courts, put the statutory freight
rates into effect, and the result can
only be an enormous loss to those
great institutions which have in the
past been the pride of the State. and
this. Notwithstanding the fact that the
highly paid attorneys of the State had
never demanded that such a test be
made. They did not think It wise to
demand test they were manifestly
afraid OF test. They knew that tho
figures upon which the injunction is
sued by the United States Circuit Court
at MONTGOMERY was based were tho
most favorable figures possible from
the standpoint of the railroads.
An erroneous idea seems also to
prevail with reference to the extent Of
the Federal Court on this question. Err.
roneous newspaper reports have led
the public to believe that there was a
substantial victory for the STATE In the
decisions handed down. This is abso-
lutely Inaccurate. A great hue and cry
was raised over the State by the ad-
ministration, and the attorneys of the
administration. that the suits filled by
the railroads were suits against the
State. and that the Federal Court was
without Jurisdiction TO give relief
Fearing that possibly their conten-
lions that they were suits against the
State might not be we'll founded, the