The age-herald., 1898-10-22
NED BRACE
 ON EXTENSION

| the Greater Birmingham question. The
 suburbanites are protesting vigorously and
 some of the city politicians are running to
 their holes. I hope, however, that the dis
 cussion will go on. Discussions are always
 productive of good. That is, discussions
 which keep within reasonable bounds are
 productive of good. There is no reason for
 any of the suburbanites to get mad. l be-
 lieve when they have properly digested the
 matter that most of them will be in favor
 of Greater Birmingham. The people of
 Woodlawn and Avondale. and the other in-
 ing municipal taxes, and they don't get half
 the benefits they would get if they were one
 great municipal incorporation.
 1 I believe if the wise legal lights of Bir-
 mingham and the people will get together
 and discuss this matter calmly, they can | devise some means by which the city limits
 can be very largely extended without injury
 to the big manufacturing concerns The | Ayondale cotton mill, for instance, is ex- l empt from taxation for a period of years l Why can't other manufacturing concerns be | exempt? Lawyers tell me these exemptions | from taxation will not hold. They say such | acts are not legal But the people have | exempted the cotton mills and the people, l if they want to, can exempt other manu-
 featuring concerns. There is always way | to do that which is right.
 l And there is a way to relieve holders Of vacant and unproductiye real estate. be- l lieve that vacant and unproductive real | estate should be assessed at the very low 1 est figures it is possible for the tax assessor 1 to put upon it. The Elyton company peo- | pie are fighting this extension of the city l limits. I don't much blame them for fight
 ing it. as they seem to think the actual extension will be. They are of the opinion l that their lands will be taxed at the value l they put upon them. If that were the case, | the Elyton company would be eaten up in
 a short while. This company values much l of it's lands at a price far above what it
 is worth. At least, this is my opinion.
 don't see why some agreement cans be
 reached and why Birmingham cannot be | made the city which it actually and prac- | tically is. The last census report made Bir-
 mingham almost a village, and yet we all | know that Birmingham is actually city
 of more than 6O,000 inhabitants, and we l know that the city limits ought to be stretched around these people. I don't be- | lieve in forcing any hardships upon any class of people, but believe in quiet, calm
 discussion, and I believe that eventually
 way will be found by which the city limits l can be stretched out in accordance with the
 map printed in yesterdays Age-Herald.
 
 | see the Montgomery papers and some outside papers have been talking about the | shabby appearance of Alabamas state cap | itol. I was in Montgomery the other day. | went into the governors office. It is | covered with a carpet almost slick enough | for a small boy to skate upon. The rug l in front of the fireplace is as badly tattered l and torn some of the old confederate
 battle flags which we see displayed in con | federae Veterans reunion parades. The | furniture throughout the entire capitol | building Is of the cheapest and most ordin- | ary kind. There are some exceptions but | in the case of the exceptions the desks are
 old and worn. I am rather of the opinion,
 however, that the capitol should not be TO- | fitted. There is much of historical interest attached to every particle of 1t and to ev- cry piece Ol III It. NIGHTLY dH Ol 1 the furniture was there when Jefferson
 Davis took the oath as president of the con- federate states on the portico of the build | ing. Therefore, it should be kept intact l It would probably be well to keep the en- 1 tire building as it is as museum. It would | always be of interest as such.
 l And move the actual capitol-the capitol | wherein the business of the state Is to be transacted-to Birmingham. I have no | doubt but that the people of Jefferson | county would contribute enough to build a l handsome capitol building in Birmingham. | I am sure it would be convenient to the | great mass of the people of the state to have it located here. Of course, such talk | as this is distasteful to Montgomery people. | They naturally want to keep the state capi- l tol in Montgomery. But I rather think if it
 were left to a vote of the people of the state and it was known that it would not cost l anything to move the capitol to Birming- 1 ham, the people would probably vote for it. hear one of the Birmingham representa- | tives expects to bring up this question in
 some form or other when the legislature | meets.
 Governor Johnston and Senator Morgan
 are waking things up in the Seventh con- | gressonal district, and it is now believed | to be a certainty that John L. Burnett will
 be the next congressman from that district. | MT. Burnett is a young lawyer of consid-
 erable ability and will make a good con- | gressman. He has made a magnificent con- l test and the people are already commencing l to congratulate him on a race which is
 practically won.
 WHEN COCKRaLL WAS FLOOREDi | Some amusing stories are told of Senator | Cockrells acquaintance with the people