The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-15
B.B Boomer Writes About The O'Neal-HenderSon Railroad Settle ment
Tells How Thousands of Dollars Were Wasted and Thousands of Alabamians Disappointed and Gives Interesting History
 of Struggle Against Railroad Domination

have carried these cases to a conclusion would have required an expenditure of
 $9O, 100000, besides the cost of attorneys. etc, and litigation involving at least five tyears, and that the decision would have been very doubtful, as the state only had such evidence in the case as the railroads themselves furnished, which was, so far as the state was concerned meager and of doubtful validity.
 THE STATE PREPARED TO WIN As a mater of fact the state was never better prepared for a contest. It had as attorneys, Judge Weakley and Selheimer, two of the best lawyers in the state, who had been employed in the case for seven years, had thoroughly studied it, were thoroughly imbued with it and knew all of it's angles. They had carried it both to the court of appeals and the supreme court of the United States and in every instance, outside of Judge Jones' court. had won for the state and were per- fectly confident of winning this last and final issue.
 The state had as evidence that all the railroads excepting the contesting rail- roads had used the rates for seven years and were not confiscated and destroyed :;
 also had as evidence that the contesting
 roads themselves had used the rates for
 three years and were not confiscated nor destroyed. The state, much better than this, had the recent decisions from the supreme court sustaining the states con- tention from Minnesota, Missouri and Arkansas. which involved these same questions; and dissolving the injunction of the lower court and affirming the states rights and the states contentious. DECISIONS IN OTHER STATES In the states of Arkansas and Missouri
 pending the appeal, coupons were issued for freight and passenger excess pay ments, which as in Alabama were held in abeyance while the suit was pending and as result of the states carrying it to final adjudication, the patrons of the , road, including gamblers and accumu- fators of the cast aside coupons, were paid back the money which was due. hun dreds of thousands of dollars which had been improperly charged and collected by the railroads. Not only this, but far more | important, these states had the injunc- 1 tion of the lower court set aside. giving valuable security to the state against fu- ture iniunctions of like character
 THE NOTORIOUS L. & N. POLICY ] It was notorious that it was the policy ! Of the L. & N never to compromise an order of the Railroad Commission. or the state, but cohtended for final adjudca- l tion. In Alabama's case, the O'Neal- Henderson compromise, they came with their attorney to Alabama for settle
 
 l ion in these other states. And whom did | they see? l They saw Mir. Henderson, candidate for Governor, then president of the Railroad Commission, and Governor O'Neal abet- ting MT. Hender<on's candidacy, and saw them with a compromise prepared by themselves. The meeting was secret the proposition was secret: the states at- torneys, Messrs Selheimer and Weakley. for seven years contesting the case and | the only parties in the state who knew l it was favorable to the state; MT. Sell {! heimer was phoned not to make con- ditions for the state, but to approve the conditions already made. and he was the only representative that Governor O'Neal
 had who was familiar with the case and who knew the full intent of the states l rights and the states chances.
 l Governor O'Neal by implication says 1 that Mir. Selheimer approved Governor O'Neal Knows better. that Mir. Selheimer over his own signature published l throughout the state, that he was not called into consultation but simply made one suggestion on the articles of this particular compromise. after heinz called
 or telephone by Governor ONeal, who was hts entnioyer in the casa
 l SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE 1 Governor O'Neal says it would have taken five years to adjudicate the case
 It was evident from the very interest that the railroads manifested in coming | to Montgomery for settlement, that they did not believe it would take five years
 or any considerable time; and the fact of their coming, as I say, and being in Isrch a hurry, should have put a thought full man on notice that the causes were by no means lost and the state had some
 prospect of winning. and this. too. in short time. It was spectacular per | ( f- &I<-% x<a1 cnr1 a !. picious
 Governor O'neal states that the pas senger coupons and by implication the difference on the freight rates were IT the hands of spectators, and cites thai numbers of coupons had been picked uI on car floors by brakemen, newspoys etc, and sold to speculators and held al gamblers would hold them. It makes no matter who held them. the faith oi the state to prosecute to final deci sion was pledged. Every citizen wht ,,held a dollars worth, whether freigh or passenger, had a right to rely or the state and no matter whether gam bier or what rot, it was due >the goot name of the state to protect them Bu lGoyernor Oneal's statement shuff1ine it off to a gamblers holding is in error There were hundreds of thousands. mil lions of these claims held by the peo ple of the state; it was money that be ionged to them, their property. ant
 should not have been ruthessly bar gained away. N
 THE STATE DOUBLE-CROSSED What did the state get? Accordin:
 to Governor O'Neal the people got tn, immediate institution of 21s cent in
 stead og 8 cent passenger rate and tn, railroads agreement that they woul,
 recognize the commissions right t
 make rates.
 The state got nothing. Judge lone
 himself had said they could put in tn