The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-28

Alabama of over thousand miles in 190I-0S as compared with the Centrafs 576.41 in those years. The total oper- ating revenue of the Central for the same year did not amount to three million dollars. The number of rev enue passengers carried by the south ern in that same period was i,3s9,14l against 93S,115 for the Central for tho same period. The Southern in 1907 car ried AS, 263,90 passengers one mile, against the Centrars 25.650,S40. The number of tons of revenue freight car ried by the Southern ins1907 was D.
 7S2,S20 as against l.S23,142 for the Gen. tral. The Southern in Class Is au- thorized to charge 25 per cent In ad- ditlon to the standard rates, while the
 Central in Class Is authorized to
 charge 20 per cent In addition to the
 standard rates. It also appears that
 the Alabama Great Southern railroad
 is operated under more favorable con- ditions than the Central and 1t Is
 matter of common knowledge that
 practically all of it's lines in Alabama, extending from the northeastern state | line in DeKalb county to the western or southwestern state line In Sumter county, Is part of a long estab-
 lished.and important trunk line known as the Queen and Crescent route"
 extending from Cincinnati. Ohio, to Me-
 ridian, Miss, while as shown in the 1 testimony, of the Central'ss lines in
 Alabama, only that from Birmingham Ala, to Columbus, Ga, and that from Montgomery. Ala, to Eufaula, Ala. are
 parts of a main line. It appears from the proof that the Seaboard Air Line
 and the Atlantic Coast Line railways are both in Class 3. The Att lantic Coast Line with an aver age mileage operated during said
 period of 246.6S for 1907 and 246S9 In 1908 as against s1.60 miles Of Sea
 board Air Line in 1907-0S. The total operating revenue of the Atlantic coast
 Line in 1907 was sf.476,640.3S and In
 1908, Sl.276,3775 as against $2ss,60l,
 ss for the Seaboard Air Line in lsof' and $274,2T417 in 1908. The total op-
 erating revenue per mile of road or the Atlantic Coast Line for 1907 was
 s59S606 and for 1908. 5,169.S2, ana
 for the Seaboard Air Line $3,54s.Of in
 1907 and s3.361.20 in 1908. That the
 total operating expenses of the At lantic Coast Line in 1907 was S1,O74,- 547.52 and for 1908, s930,734.26, and for the Seaboard Air Line In 1907 s26g56T9 and for 1908, 294407.7s. | The total number of passengers carried | by the Atlantic Coast Line in 1907 was 13,s35,s6s and for 1908, 14,l62,sl5, ana
 for the Seaboard Ar Line Tn lso'' 4'- 4OT.9S5, and 4,713.124 in 1908. The
 number of tons of revenue freight car
 ried by the Atlantic Coast Line fin 1907
 was 723Ssg and for 1908. 6310S2 and
 Cor the Seaboard Air Line in 1907, 21o'' l BOT, and In 1908. 252,754 The mum
 Der of tons carried per mile by the At- lantic Coast Line in 1907 was "A, 44o,oVo'
 and in 1908, 6O,477.575; and for the seaboard Ar Line in 1907, 2i,soo,5l4. and in 1908. 15,6f1,56l. The number or | tons carried one mile of road varied l but little as between the two roads. It also appears from the testimony that the Atlantic Coast Line, which the tes timony shows operates under condl- tions similar to. or more favorable than those under which the Central operates, is, with the Seaboard Air Line the Southern railway and the Mobile and Ohio all of which are substantial roads, placed in Class wlth small roads such as the Northern Alabama
 and the Mobile and Birmingham, which
 bear little or no comparison with them fin any of the features which usually control the classification of railroads
 for rate purposes.
 Tris opinion Is already longer than IS
 desirable and 1t is needless to go into the evidence and statistics at length re- gardlng the discrimination against the
 Western railway. The masters report
 contains an elaborate comparison pe- tween the Western of Alabama and the Alabama Great Southern, giving during the past ten years all the items as to
 mileage, passengers carried and freight tons moved operating revenue, net reve- nue, and other conditions. The master reached the conclusion. which is fully
 Justified by the facts stated in his re- port. that there Is no reason why the Alabama Great Southern should nave
 been favored above the western in the
 classification. and that the Alabama Great
 Southern could have been reasonably
 placed at least in the same class with the Western, if in fact the Justification Of the two roads, as 1t now exists. should