The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-28

in which case the vital principles
involved in our rate case would neces-
sarily be decided. 1t was further
| agreed and understood in the confer
ence that in the meantime the railraod
commission would take such action as
1t properly could under the power given
1t by the statutes of Alabama, to see
that proper rates were maintained by
the roads, so far as they could, with
out violating the letter or the spirit
of the decree of the United States
courts.
Prepared for Hearing
Under the power conferred upon the
| railroad commission by section 5G71 Of
the code it was authorized whenever it
believed that any rate or charge was
unreasonable to make eX nero motu
an investigation of the same and II
upon such investigation it became sat
isfied that sufficient grounds existed to
warrant hearing to determine wheth-
er the rate was unreasonable to then
serve notice on the railroad affected,
fixing a time and place for the hearing,
to determine what would be reason
BILE rate.
THE attorney general and the special
counsel representing the state prepared
all the necessary papers for inaugural
ing the hearing before the railroad
GoilHlI ISSiOH+ AIteT the cOInnllSSiOli It5-
stored the 2h cent rate on the Louis
Vile and Nashville railroad and when
the Louisville and Nashville cited them
for contempt before Judge Grubb, these
two attorneys. together with the at
torney general, represented the state
and succeeded in defending that effort
to destroy the power OF the commits
mission and nullify It's acts. 1t was
shown on that trial that the commission
had r1ot Affa To ff.,.a
the ~ cent rates but had only exer-
cised the powers conferred upon 1t by
law to 'inaugurate hearing and de-
termine what was a reasonable passen-
ger rate, and hence We're not acting in
contempt of the orders ana DEGREES of
the federal court The Louisville and
Nashville Immediately filed bill in
equity seeking to enjoin the proposed
rate and these same attorneys with the
attorney general again appeared for
the state, preparing the affidavits and
other evidence on which the state re-
lied and In the decision Just rendered
won a sweeping victory for the state
on every important contention.
tom Long Resolution
81 am criticised by Ex-Governor Co
mer for not having obeyed what he has
pleased to term the Tom Long reso-
luton suggesting that l call the legis-
lature in extraordinary session to re-
store the 2h passenger rate. Mr.. Co
mer must have known that the ~
cent passenger rate as well as the
freight rate fixed by the Legislature
which Judge Jones had enjoined were
already upon the statute books of the
state. If the Legislature had been called
in extra session and had gone through
the idle farce of repealing the - cent
passenger rate we'll as the freight
rates fixed by law and then proceeded
TO re-enact these same rates what
would have been accomplished? The
railroads would have claimed that these
rates had already been enjoined and
that AS long as Judge Jones decision
remained unreversed they were of no
force or effect. Whether or not their
contention was sound a long, and eX-
pensiVe litigation would have been pre-
cipitated. The attorney general, the
special counsel representing the state,
the railroad commission and myself all
agreed in the opinion that the safest,
wisest and speediest course TO pursue
was the one which was actually taken
In his decree Judge Jones had held tlkit
the combined passenger and freight
rates deprived the railroads of just and
reasonable returns upon their intra-
state business. Hence, when the rail-
road commission Investigated the
cents passenger rate and reached the
conclusion that it was unreasonable
they gave notice to the railroads to
show why. reasonable passenger rates
should not be fixed and finally fixed
the passenger rates at 2h cents. The
state by this course avoided the dan
ger of having the passenger rate at
tackled on the grounds that the COM
bined freight and passenger rates We're
confiscatory.
Events Justify Course
That the course that we actually
pursued was the safest and best the
recent decision of the federal Judges
fully confirms | thought it better to
follow. the advice of the attorney gen
eral and the trained legal experts rep
resenting the state than to adopt the
suggestion which Mr.. Conner had made
when | had called him into consulta-
ton, of calling an extra session of the
Legislature to fix abe rates Neither my
self nor the states counsel nor the rail-
road commission could agree with his
views, and hence his offense | believe
that Mr. Conner will now confess that
the sweeping victory which the state
has won but confirms tAe wisdom of our
course. His speech of criticism was
made the day the decision was rendered
and evidently before its result had been
announced,
"Mr. Conner will permit me to say
that if he had followed the advice of
/ the able counsel he had employed in the
rate litigation as to the character of the
| bills enacted by the Legislature he could
have avoided the painful duty OF be-
ing forced to subsequently ask the
| legislature to repeal SO many of his pet
measures and would have saved the
state large sums of money, much tedi-
Gus litigation and would have sooner
accomplished what we all desired
proper rate regulation. An inspection of
the act in reference to railroads en-
acted in 1907 and repealed at the extra
session of 1903 found on page 80 to IL
] of the acts of that year shows con-
clusively the folly of drafting impor-
tant legislation without the aid and adj
vice of skillful legal counsel. Each one
of the acts repealed in 1909 had been
enacted in 1907 and yet their repeal
was forced because the supreme court
of the United States had declared in
! their decision In effect that they were
unconstitutional and void.
Repealed By Supreme Court
| "Mr. Conner states that the 'ONeal
crowd upheld every law of the Conner
Legislature. They never repealed a sim
gle one of Importance Mr.. Conner over
looks the fact that most of the impor-
tant laws enacted by what he is pleased
to term his Legislature, were repealed
| by the supreme court of the United
States and the supreme court of Ala
bama
TT has been stated that there were
more laws enacted by the Conner legis-
laturc which were nullified by the
courts as unconstitutional than durin e