The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1916-05-04
|. 8 n. RAILROAD
FLUSH IN PASSES
EFFORT TO PREVENT THEIR
cARELESsNESs FORM THE
A. & w. ROAD.

ATLANTA, May 3.-The recent dis
free passes by the Louisville & Nash
vile railroad and its subsidiary, the
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
railroad, and the use of an alleged
slush fund by the l.. & ~, in Alabama
politics, have aroused a great deal of
interest in Atlanta. by reason of the
fact that the state of Georgia is now
engaged in a struggle to prevent the
Louisville & Nashville railroad from
obtaining control of the Western G
Atlantic railroad, which runs from
Chattanooga to Atlanta, which is own
ed by the state and which is leased
to the Nashville, Chattanooga & st.
Louis.
The Western & Atlantic railroad Is
the state of Georgia's most valuable
property. Its value gives Georgia
bonds commanding position in the
financial market, and its revenue de-
rived from the lease pays two-thirds
of the support of the common schools.
The present lease will expire in 1919
In preparation for the expiration of
the lease, the Louisville & Nashville
railroad has been engaged for year
or more in an attempt to build a line
parallelling the Western & Atlantic
from Chattanooga to Atlanta. The
Georgia Legislature in 1915 passed ar
act prohibiting the assurances of a char
ter to any railroad to build such a
parallel. Shortly thereafter, agents
of the Louisville & Nashville applied
to the secretary of state for a char
diately instituted proceedings in Full
| ton superior court to compel the is
suance of the charter by a mandamus
of the secretary of the state. The
writ was denied, and the case was APP
pealed to the state supreme court.
Arguments on the appeal have been
presented to the supreme court and
| the case is now before that tribunal
| for decision The state is represented
| by Attorney General Clifford Walker
and Judge Horace M. Holden. The
Louisville & Nashville is represented
by King & Spalding and by Dorsey,
Brewster, Howell e Heyman, the head
of the latter firm being Hugh M. Dor
sey. Fulton county's solicitor who gain
ed widespread notoriety in the Frank
case and is now a prospective candi-
date for governor.
The Interstate Commerce commits
sion, sitting in Nashville, has disclos-
ed the fact that the Louisville &
| Nashville and the Nashville, Chatta-
nooga & ST. Louis, during 1913, is
| sued 22,800 free passes for total
milea geof 100000 miles representing
a cash value of $226,000 These passes
were distributed among legislators,
| judges, court officials, jurors, witness
es. newspaper men and others in Of
ficial AM quasi-official positions who
were able to reciprocate with favors
| to the road 1t was also brought out
through the testimony of an Atlanta
advertising man that the l.. e NJ,
spent between >20,0 and $4,000 in
Alabama to defeat Conner for gov
ernor and to create sentiment fayora-
BILE to the railroad.
Increasing apprehension is felt in
the Georgia capital regarding the out
come of the states titanic struggle to
prevent the sale or parallelling of the
| Western e Atlantic railroad. 1t is re-
garded as foregone conclusion that
the attorneys representing the Louis
vile & Nashville will take their case
to the United States supreme court if
| they fail to secure a decision in their
favor from the supreme court of Geor-
gia.
In addition to the attempt to par
allel the Western e. Atlantic the prop
uganda in favor of the sale of the Yves
tern & Atlantic which is generally
believed to have been launched by the
Louisville & Nashville is assuming
more and more serious proportions.
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