Bisbee daily review., 1916-03-02
ARIZONA RAILROADS
 REFUSE ID HANDLE
 PERSONAL" LIQUORS
Decision Based on Fact That They Would Have to Bear
 Burden of Proof in Court.

PHOENIX, March l - Railroads
 which do an interstate freight busi-
 ness into Arizona are not going to accept for transportation shipments of
 liquor consigned to points within this
 state. even if the consignees swear on stack of Bibles that they intend to
 employ the joy juice for purely per
 sonal use. Not until somebody goes into the court and compels them to do so, anyway.
 This decision was reached at a meeting held in the Hotel Adams, at- tended by attorneys for Fl Paso & Southwestern, Southern Pacific and Santa Fe systems. There was not a dissenting voice when the final vote was taken.
 The railroads don't want liquor business and are not going to handle it unless compelled to do so.
 Before they came to Phoenix the attorneys had read the decision of the supreme court in the now famous Sturgeon personal use" case. They were convinced that the transporta- tion of liquors into Arizona for per sonal use is not in violation of the prohibition amendment or the Webb Kenyon act. But they were also con vinced that whenever a railroad or express company delivered a consign- ment of liquor it must be prepared tC prove that the consignee intended the liquor for personal use. Moreover they would have to run the risk of a sudden change of intent and selling or giving away the aforesaid liquor. in violation of the tsate constitution.
 "A mere affidavit from a consignee that he did not intend to use the liquor for an unlawful purpose would not be sufficient to clear railroad of complicity in a violation of the prohibition amendment should the consignee not follow out his declared intention" said Gibson Taylor, secre- tary and chief attorney for the Ari- zona Eastern, who was present at the meeting and took a deep interest in the proceedings.
 ''Too much of burden is placed on the railroads. We simply cannot af- ford to accept liquor shipments under the circumstances. Nor are we go- ing into court to endeavor to prove that the carrier which delivers shipment of intoxicating liqor as- sumes no responsibility Someone may go into court to force up to ac- cept shipments but it is not our in tention to take any steps to bring about a test"
 The attorneys and a number of other prominent railroad men whose headquarters are in Fl Paso. Chicago. San Francisco and Los Angeles, are here primarily for the three-cent fare hearing which is to open before the commission tomorroy. Among the visitors are:
 E. w. Camp, one of the leading at torneys of the Santa Fe system, Los Angeles; A. NJ. Rhinehardt, assistant general freight agent of the Santa Fe, Los Angeles; F. E. Batturs, general passenger agent of the Southern Pa cific, San Francisco; Eugene Fox, traf- fic manager of the Fl Paso & South western, Chicago: c. W. Durbrow. in- commerce commission attor- ney for the Southern Pacific, San Francisco: John Franklin, Fl Paso & Southwestern attorney. Fl Paso; A. L. auditor of the Fl Paso & Southwestern, Fl Paso; Garnett King. general passenger agent of the Fl Paso X Southwestern, Fl PasO; F. P. Cruice, assistant general freight and passenger agent of the Santa Fe. Prescott & Phoenix, Prescott: H. C.. Hallmark. general passenger agent of the Arizona Eastern. Tucson; Gibson Taylor, secretary and attorney for the Arizona Eastern, Tucson; T. H. Will jams. superintendent Tucson division