The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-15
Former Governor Responds to Remarks Attributed to Senator Underwood at
 Bankers Banquet
MAKES REFERENCE
 TO SETTLEMENT BYo
 LATE COMMISSION
Words "Give Railroads a Chance" Is Text of His Statement-Talks at Length on Relations Between
 Railroads and Water
 Transportation

Former Gov. B. B. Conner yesterday made public a charaeteristically vigorous statement in response to remarks at tributed to Senator o. W Underwood at the recent bankers banquet at the Coun- try club. Taking the words give the railroads chance" quoted from Senator underwood's speech, Governor Conner takes occasion to make an especially bit ter attack upon what the railroads have done in the past His statement Is as follows:
 An afternoon paper of May F, in big head lines stated:
 Underwood asks for chance to be given the railroads; permanent legislation to give the railroads of the United States an opportunity to live and develop was strongly advocated by Senator Oscar W.
 Underwood, in his address before the
 bankers banquet at the Country club Tuesday night
 "The bankers banquet at the Country
 club was hardly a f,x occasion to urge increased freight rates; probably not 5
 per cent of those present. including the
 speaker, ever paid freight rate; ever
 came in contact with one, or knows what 1t is. Senator Underwood ought to have
 made that speech before a lot of farm CTS. They are a great majority of his constituents; they are the ones who pay the freight, and they are the ones whose veal or woe depends upon what the freight taxes are.
 A Chance at Legislation ''The giving of the railroads a chance in our national and state legislation has brought about such corrupt conditions that the question now is, whether the
 public shall own the railroads, or the
 railroads own the public.
 The New York Central, the New York New Haven and Hartford and the Rock Island in their wild orgies of stock in- flamation and political corruption, are the greatest of all our national scandals. The Louisville and Nashville through | the report of the interstate commerce commission, furnished subject matter
 which our national representatives should
 study and understand.
 Meeting on the Tennessee l That great meeting on the banks of the Tennessee, at Florence this week.
 It was designed to furnish ocular demon stration of the wild waste of water power | there, which utilized, would also furnish l splendid navigation; and yet. on page POI. | the interstate commerce commission re | port to Congress. February 16 1915. which I everybody should read, speaking of Re | striction of commerce on Tennessee river, exposes how the Louisville and Nashville l railroad spent tens of thousands of dol- liars to destroy Tennessee river competi- l ton. It also shows the same conditions 1 on the Alabama river The Louisville and Nashville in destroying competition, I sent to death not only the boats, but l the owner thereof What is the use of the spectacular meeting at Lock F on 1 the Warrior? Why the ocular demon- stration of what $l2,000, 900 spent by the government has done for the Warrior river. and for the rivers which could | make competition in Alabama Give the railroads a chance Such chance as they have for years had, and Alabama had Just as well have met and danced around a May, pole. With the Warrior open, the Tombigbee and Alabama open Mobile harbor open, the prospect is indeed gilt | tering. and should be great.
 Torpedoed the Ship Purchase Bill ."Senator Bankhead, the hero of the occas sion, and we justly honor him for the great work done on the Warrior, said that his work was accomplished, and the people should take advantage of 1t.
 How can they further take advant- age of the open waterways until he goes back to Washington and helps to pass the Wilson ship bill, the bill which he and six other democrats tor pedoed just as the German ubmarine torpedoed the Lusitania? Just so did Senator Bankhead and six other dem ocrats torpedo the ship purchase bill It was horrible, horrible, but MT. Un- derwood says we must give the rail- | roads chance
 The Fate of Tuscaloosa "A few years ago when some of the Warrior and Tombigbee locks were | completed, Tuscaloosa, preening itself on it's new opportunities, boasted Of
 what it would do with it's river carriage.
 A railroad paper gave out an interview l without challenge, that the railroads would not allow Tuscaloosa to avail 1 itself of river rates.
 Grim HumOr at Decatur Ut was. the grimmest piece of humor years ago after some lock was com | pleted at Muscle Shoals that the com mercial clubs of the state should meet