Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-26
PROPOSED LEGISLATION FOR BlR-
 MINGHAM.

From the presence in Montgomery of Mayor VanHoose and the introduction by Representative John of two bills affecting this city the work of the secret session of the City Council last "Wednesday night has leaked out. Secret or executive session work on matters of such vital public inter- est is unnecessary, to say the least of it, as the very nature of the business requires it to have an airing and public consideration before it can be forced upon the public. There is DO such thing as forestalling pub lie judgment or opinion in the matter of State legislation, and in fact under strict literal construction of the constitution notice of intention to apply to the Legis- lature for the passage of local bills should be published before such bills are intro- duced.
 The most important bill introduced by Colon el John, which was evidently pre- pared by Mayor VanHoose, was "to au- thorizs the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Birmingham to issue bonds of said city to take up, cancel, fund and retire the outstanding bonded inc ebtedness of said city, to establish reformatory and work farm in Jefferson county and to purchase and establish in the city of Birmingham police electric alarm system."
 Abstractly this move on the part of our Mayor appears very com mendabe, at least so much of the bill as refers to the refund- ing of the city's bonded debt, but from practical standpoint it is feared that there is nothing in it. The outstanding bonds of the city bear 5, 6, 7per cent interest, and and are yet to run for number of years a greater portion of them exceeding twenty years. Just how the investor is to answer a proposition to exchange these bonds, which contain a priority clause, according to date of issue, for bonds of larger issue and bearing lower rate of interest, i5 a matter to be considered. The holders are non-residents, having no interest what ever in Birmingham beyond the value of these bonds, and it is unreasonable to sup pose that they will yield one iota.
 However, the AGE-HERALD does not mean to object to the effort being made by Mayor Van Hoose on this line. If he suc- ceeds in what appears to be an effort at re- trenchment the people will be delighted. He has very lively and persistent way of getting after debtors to the public treasury, and he may be able to convince the city's creditors that his plan is to prove safe- guard to their vital interests. We shall patiently wait and see.
 The agricultural tendency of the admin istration is not remarkable in these days of reform, and just why the Legislature should not quickly allow the city of Bir- mingham to go into the farming business we do not see. Within our corporate linn its are numerous and sundry vacant lots, suburban it's true, yet city lots, which could bs utilized in the cultivation of po- tatoes, peas, corn and cabbages, which could be easily devoured by the inmates of the city farm house. These people must be fed.
 AS to the electric alarm system for the police force, let us have it by all means. Our force is so large and so promiscuously scattered over the extended area of the city that the stroke of an electric alarm bell would echo another stroke of economy by our reform administration.
 Let the good work go on and no man ob ject.