The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-22

Birmingham, Ala, March 21, 1914. HON. B. B. COMER,
 City.
 Sir: You have denounced with great heat and yehemence the recent rail road rate compromise.
 If correctly quoted, you have said that this compromise sold out the state and surrendered to the railroads, and that the whole bunch should be put in jail if there was any way to do it. This is pretty strong and incorporate language. You do not even say that 'the compromise was "ill advised" or that the state struck bad bargain, but you unqualifiedly brand it as an iniquitous piece of business, and that the perpetrators should be in jail.
 Do you really mean this? Do you even think it? Are you honest in all this, or is it given. out merely for ef- feet, to prejudice the people against your opponent, and for you to "get away with the goods" as the peoples champion? In word, are you acting in good faith or trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people?
 In 1907-S, when you were not run hing for office and had no axe to grind, as you now have, you did some compromising yourself along the same line of which you now complain, only you did not make SC good a bargain or trade as the recent compromise that you characterize as a "surrender." merely cite this to show your political insincerity and hypocrisy.
 Well, you say, let's have the proof
 On March ?, 1907, you approved an act to establish maximum freight rates, commonly known as the 1l0 Commodity Act (Gen. Acts 1911 D. 209 ct seq.). This was subsequent ly repealed and re-enacted at special session, 1907, into the S-Group Acts Opp. 91-159).
 These acts established maximum freight rates on intrastate shipments; the acts classified the roads, estab' fishing the maximum freight charge for each class.
 Various roads commenced to fight filing suits in the federal court.
 After the act had been in effect some 14 months, you had managed to compromise with seven lines of rail road, comprising three-fifths or sixty per cent of the mileage of Alabama and pursuant to your written com promise agreement, 9-4, not 1-2 cent passenger rate was authorized to be put into effect on those lines.
 And what was the price and consid eration paid by you for 2 3-4-cent passenger rate? You arbitrarily iusurped and arrogated to yourself the power to reclassify the roads il contravention of the act, and thereby actually did allow and permit the roads, in consequence, to increase theil freight rates over what the law passed Iby your legislature had said under its classification was just and reasonable It must have been just and reasonable for the act had been passed at youl Iinstigation.
 Fortunately, the people are begin ming to investigate this railroad rate business and you will not be able t6 ret away with your bluff.
 But let me put a concrete case ant strip it of all technical allusions tt
 classifications," etc., and give tht people the plain net result of tho iniquitous thing you put over on them Take your settlement, for example with the Alabama Great Southern rail road: You compromised on 3-4 cent passenger rate, according to you written agreement, and bargained witt the company, allowing it to increas, Tits freight rates 20 per cent over ant above the maximum amount fixed fo it by law. Now isn't this so, MT Conner? Yes or no, no side stepping
 We'll, if it is true-and there is n, denying of the truth, for it is matte of record-don't you think you made pretty poor trade to penalize the pee ple of Alabama with 20 per cent ad ditional freight rate? Please furthe state. MT. Conner, who surrendered YOU or the Alabama Great Southern railroad?
 Again, what was true of the Alabam Great Southern railroad was also tru of the other six lines compromise with, except that the additional freigh charges allowed them did not amour 70 quite so large a per cent increas es in the case of the Alabama Grea Sauthern railroad. All this is true. I jit not?
 Do you not realize and know, MI Conner, that the profitable business 0