The age-herald., 1901-08-15

he said: Free silver Is dead issue. It meets Gettysburg in '96 and It's Waterloo in 1900"
  this and the three mill schol tax would leave but PIE mills for all other purposes. Is 1t wise to jeopardise our credit? We have got to refund our bonded debt shortly and we sh2lld try and maintain our credit so as to allow these bonds to be refunded at as tow a rate as possible.
 General Jones of Wilcox spoke in fa- vor of the section. He said the state would have the money to make this ap- propriation, that 1t was really less than it was now paying. It would not jeop- ardise the states credit, which had al- ways been maintained. The people were demanding that the school system be im- proved.
 Dents Amendment.
 MT. Dent of Barbour moved to amend the section by striking out the three mlll provision and leaving the amount of the school appropriation to the General As- sembly.
 He said the history of the Legislature had demonstrated that 1t could always be trusted to appropriate as large an amount to the schools as the income war ranted He favored giving as large a sum to the schools as possible, but thought 1t unwise to put a constitutional provision giving them three mills.
 MT. Fitts of Tuscaloosa said that the question at last was whether this pro- vision reported by the commmittee was safe and conservative. The constitution of 1875 guaranteed s100,000 to the schools. But the income of the state had in- creased. and of late years averaged about s1, ,s00,0O0, and that about one-half of this amount had been given to the schools and no i'll effects had been felt from 1t. The trouble however, was that the schools felt uncertain as to what each legislature might do. and it hindered their growth. The committee wanted them put on a solid, fixed and growing basis, and as the state increased. this fund would increase and the schools develop.
 This was not a radical departure. and was no harder on the state treasury than the present unwritten law that one-half of the states income should be given to the schools.
 The bonded debt of the state would be refunded at 3ls per cent, and this would save the state a large sum in interest. If this provision is adopted every man who pays his taxes will know what he Is paying them for and have an interest In the schools.
 MT. Sanford of Pike moved to amend the section by providing that the proceeds of the fertilizer tag tax shall go Into the public school fund He afterwards with drew his amendment.
 A Financier's View.
 Major Handley of Randolph said this proposition of the three mill tax was the grandest thing htat has happened In the convention It would be endorsed every where by the white people. He gave uf thot ha eft ta' a financial condition was admirable and said that in his opinion the state debt could be refunded at 3 per cent which would save about s150,000 year to the state in interest. The state would be able to meet all of It's obligations and pay this fund to the schools. The time would soon come when Birmingham alone would pay one-half of the states taxes. When he first went there he went to work at Red mountain where he saw a crop of iron that Grant with all his army could never gather in all their lives II was wonderful. Its value could never be estimated.
 He took great interest in the public schools and he would vote cheerfully for the committee's report and hoped the convention would not sit down on It. At all hazards 1t Is the duty of this state to take care of It's educational interests. The committee's report will not put the state in any financial danger.
 MT. Burns of Dallas arose and asked Major Handley if 1t was not a fact that real estate in Birmingham was only as- sessed at one-half its value?
 How Is it in your county?" replied Ma jor Handley. This caused great laughter and MT. Burns sat down.
 MT. Greer of Calhoun spoke in favor of the committee's report and said the boys and girls in the country demanded and needed the common schools. They had no other and he begged the convention to fix this three mill tax in the constitu- ton.
 MT. O'Neal then offered a substitute to Mir Dents amendment. This struck out the three mill tax and provided for a constitutional provision of $1O0OOO with such other monies as the legislature may appropriate.
 The convention then adjourned until 3:3O o'clock.
 Afternoon Session.
 The convention reassembled at 3:3C o'clock with 9z delegates present
 MT. Sanford of the committee on en- grossments by consent made a report that the articles on amending the con- stitution regulating the bonded indebted ness of the State, miscellaneous provfs- ions, exemptions, and municipal corpora tions and the St. Clair county court house ordinance had been examined and found correctly engrossed. The several articles were then read for the third time and adopted on aye and nay votes, about half a dozen Republicans voting against each article. Their read