The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-29
MAY FORCE YEDERALCONTROL MORGAN STATES Commissioner Says Agita- ton By Attorneys Is
 Responsible SAYS THIRD PARTY
 RESULT OF ISSUE Proper Regulation Given
 As Salvation Of
 Carriers

Unless railroad lawyers cease their activities on legis- Iative committees, advocates of government ownership will sweep all before them, Frank Morgan, member of the public before an interested assembly of members of the Ala bama Merchants's association Thursday morning. He fol- lowed by declaring that rail- road lawyers were contribut- | ing to the onward sweep of sentiment towards govern ment ownership by their ac- tivities.
 Commissioner Morgan threw many bomb shells, including sharp stab at President Coolidge, who dismissed the gigantic problem of transportation with six words in his speech of ac- ceptance" The commissioner added that if President Coolidge's party aided and abetted by some Hamiltonian democrats, had not prevented a modi- fication of the federal transportation act at the last session of Congress, there would be no third party appeal ing to the American people today with government ownership of railroads as cardinal platform principal"
 Scores vaucIain
 In bis. address Mir. Morgan used pointed sarcaam in referring to Presi4 dent Cool lee wliica was Inter employed { hy the q n ionef when hs referred to Samuel vauclain, president of the ! Baldwin I5ocomotive works Who last year before the civic forum of the Blr- minghan Chamber of Commerce advo- cated regulation of freight rates by the railroads themselves" Mir. Nor gan quickly indexed Mir. Vauclain sas n: twin brother of Commodore Van derbilt."
 Mir. Morgan said the commission possessed only one inspector for2the six ty-seyen counties in this state whereas the department of health and the game and fish department had a listening post in every beat of the state. He suggested that it was utterly impossi- ble for the commission to know of i'm proper practices unless the people nOti- fled them. He followed this up by saying that he had seen many cases docketed and then lost through the failure of the pople to place the testi- mony before the official board.
 Mir. Morgan speaking of the Ruhr controversy in Germany said: "There sleeps in the mountains of many Ala bama counties more riches than are dreamed of in France or Germany and the commission grants a petition for a $39, 100000 development and not 100 people in Montgomery are aware of the gigantic development including within forty miles of their city"
 Cites Accomplishments
 In referring to the activities of the commission, Mir. Morgan said it had brought about telephone rate reductions which would amount to $90O,00O when the commission goes out of office. He said that a reduction of rates on coal and coke had been affected which would save $S00,000 by the time the present commission went out of office. He declared cotton growers had been protected against a manifest and gross injustice in the matter of denial of concentration, compression and stor- age privileges. This was done, how ever after legislative action when he said: Was passed over the opposition of certain railroad"
 Some railroads cry out that they are being regulated to death, when as a matter of fact they are doing every thing within their power to make reg ulation a mocker. Propaganda paid for out of their operating expenses, is being disseminated by folders, newspa- pers, periodical and even by speakers before civic clubs"
 "One large railroad operating in Aal- bama has had the poor judgment to is- sue a pamphlet on regulation which contains yelled sneers at state com missioners and makes statements which cannot be proven. Now that same railroad will plead for retention of state and federal commissioners, for its own regulation under private owner ship when the advocates of government ownership, aided by pamphlets as this railroad has sent out, have raised grave doubts in the minds of the American people as to whether governmental reg ulation or private ownership of rail roads is the real solution of the trans portation problem
 Commissioner Morgan added that the railroads had not been valued yet and one could not say whether they were making a fair return. He also ex- plained that the compensation referred to by him at the Praco hearing, re- garding trainmen compensation would prevail, it was testified, if the service suggested by the citizens was carried