The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-10-17

A<-11I1IAAI1lJ3 ~
command. without the shedding of a drop
| of blood The members of my profession
| honored me with the presidency of the
| Bar association of the state, the highest
office in their gift. and did me the great
honor TO select me to draw their code Of
| ethics The house of Representatives
| made me It's speaker and the people of
this district although / declined TO be-
| come a candidate, sent me 10 the consti-
tutiona1 convention. The people of Ala
| bama honored me with the governorsnip,
| and the President of the United States,
with the hearty concurrence of Tho people
| OF Alabama rendered me the appoint
ment of Judge Most of all, cherish the
confidence of my home people, who in
| time of trouble and distress turned to ni6
and placed me at the head of those who
were irving to alleviate their distress in
time of death and gloom.
with such a record behind me. with
no reward to hope for except that which
| proceeds from the consciousness Of duty
| well done, and the reputation I may leave
| behind me, 1t Is incomprehensible to me
| how the governor of my state could wish
or hope 10 make the people of Alabama
| believe that [ was ever untrue to my
state or unworthy of the confidence Of
| her people.
INSCRIPTIONS Deductions From Core
spondence With Judge Shelby.
1.-THE governor asserts that the CORE
spondenee with Judge Shelby is evidence
that the Judge had anticipated what the
| legislature would do. and had made up
| his mind to enjoin whatever laws .sere
| passed, and that it looks like the rail-
roads had been appraised OF his readiness
to do this. graver or meaner charge
| could not well be made against 4 judge.
/ This bapa41Sp my letter 70 IulgP ShnIDV
was written before the railroads had APP
| piled for an Injunction, and before some
of the rate statutes had been enacted
| into laws The inference is the fruit
of mind which scruples at nothing to
assassinate the character of a fellow man.
AT the date of my letter, February "A,
1907, to Judge Shelby, there was no need
for anyone TO anticipate or guess what
the legislature would do 1t had already
acted on the chief bills against which
the injunction was afterwards asked. The
passenger rate statute had been approved
February IA The act making the rates
in force January 1, the maximum rates.
had been approved on February 9. What
is known as The 10 Rate Commodity
Rate Bill though it had not been tech
nically enacted into law had passed
both houses as early as February Is,
though 1t was afterwards banded about
between the two houses on account of
amendments. Its provisions had been
printed by the two houses and published
In the newspapers as early as February
l. 1t was not formally enacted into law
until the governor approved 1t some weeks
later Every intelligent reader of current
affairs knew its provisions The railroads
had all along insisted that the rates were
conflscatory. They were not making eff
forts to prevent the passage of these
laws go much so that some of the legis-
lators had publicly complained, in an
swer to the objection that the rates were
unjust, that the railroad men had not
come about to give them information.
The railroads were not taking any steps,
SO far as the public could see, to prepare
for compliance in the short time the bills
gave them to do So Anyone could see
from his own observation, without Icing
told by any interested parties, that tne
railroads intended to challenge the rates
in the courts, and If they did they would
probably do so In the federal court, where
such litigation Is usually waged. What
significance then that before some of
the bills had been enacted into law that
I anticipated the carriers would test
them in the courts. and, as usual, in the
federal court? If the assistance of an
other judge was to be had, It must be
applied for In advance, so that he could
arrange to be present when the bills
were actually presented. 1t would be
too late to wait until the exigency act
ually arose. No man who comedies ordi-
nary sense or honesty to his fellow man
would infer from the circumstance that
a judge, anticipating an exigency, had
| tried in advance to get assistance In deal
| ing with It, proof that. ne had already
made up his mind what he would do. If
| the judge had already determined in adj
! vance upon a particular order, In the
| name of common sense why would he
ask another Judge to sit with him-a
judge who ranked him, and whose opin-
ion, II he differed with the district Judge,
would control. and might defeat his own
views, whatever they might be? 1t turned
out that Judge Shelby, whom I requested
to sit with me, would not have ordered
the preliminary injunction as to the last
rates passed. He thought the evidence
did not sufficiently overcome the pre-
sumption of the reasonableness of the
rates to authorize that preliminary in
junction, though he and all the rest of
the appellate court agreed with the lower
court as to the constitutional questions
decided. The very fact that l sought to
call in another judge is proof conclusive
that I had determined on nothing save
that 1 desired an associate. The first
actual knowledge / had that the bills
would be filed, came to me In a day or SO
before the bills were filed, in response
to my inquiry from the council of the
Central OF Georgia halfway company,
who desired to know if 1 would be in
Montgomery on March 25, and upon my
asking why my presence was desired, was
informed that they desired action on bills
to be filed that day to enjoin the rate
statutes. The governor knows full well
that the statement that the litigants
were appraised of what would be done IS
utterly false, and that the counsel for
the commission admitted that the pre-
liminary injunction on those bills was
| properly and unavoidably issued.
Not Subjest to Fair Criticism.
1.-The governor tries to work out some
sort of obligation on my part to the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad COM
pany, because of the fact that at different
times I and some of my kin have BEEN
or are In its service. which would sway
me from impartiality. His logic. If there
be any in his contention, rests on his
conviction of the total depravity of man,
reinforced by his own judgment upon
himself that in a similar situation he
would be tempted to do wrong in great
public trust.
1.-The connection of these members Of
my family with the railroad company,
beginning over a quarter of a century
ago, and their continuance in that serv-
ice, Is not a thing about which any just
man can fairly criticise me. | was not
judge then. or expecting to be. In an
human probability, save In one instance
the connection would have been the same
7 1. hnt mr.,