The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-08

Committee asks unanimous consent to Incorporate the amendment suggested by the gentleman from Montgomery. The Chair hears no objection. The question recurs upon the adoption of tine section as amended by. the substi- tute offered by the chairman.
 vote being taken, the section as amended was adopted.
 The Secretary read Section as fol- lows:
 Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall not enact any laws which will permit a person, firm, corporation or associa- tion of any character to pay privi- lege license or other tax to the State of Alabama, and relieve him or it from the payment of all other privileges and license taxes in the State.
 MT. weakley-I desire to say for the information of the Convention with reference to this section that it is de- signed to meet a situation, or prevent the recurrence of situation, which exists in Alabama today. I will illus trate this by saying that the Southern Express Company has procured the passage by the Legislature of law authorizing it to do business in this state upon the payment of a certain license to the State, and 1t has been held by the Supreme Court in a case originating in the city of Anniston that this license paid to the State was in lieu of all other licenses which could | be charged to the Express Company for doing business in Alabama. AS the gentlemen in the Convention know, in the cities in this State, every person. firm or corporation that is engaged in business in the city limits pays into the city treasury certain privilege or license for doing business in that l rrt lu ka ratl roads, the telegraph companies, the telephone companies and all other cor porations and individuals pay this H. cense, but there Is not town or city in Alabama that has been able to col lect a license from the Southern Ex- press Company on account of this de- cision. I submit, gentlemen, that 1t is not right or proper to allow the Legis- lature to barter and traffic with corpo- rations at the expense of the municipal ities in this State. and if 1t is right and proper that all corporations should pay this license, 1t Is right that this particular corporation should nav it. This explains the section as in | IF. FOster-I presume, MT. President, | that the object of this section was. as stated by the chairman. though the section itself speaks as 1T It were privilege to pay a privilege tax. II seems to me to be little ambiguous. | Now. MT. President, l am not Tn sym pathy with the object of this section think we have trimmed down the powers of the Legislature enough all ready, certainly we ought not encroach rpon this vital power of furnishing revenues to the State government. We have already cut down the tax limit from seventy five to sixty-five, we have curtailed the power of the Legislature upon all these focal matters and now this section proposes to put these cities and towns absolutely above the power of the Legislature in this matter or levying privilege or license taxes. The gentleman has stated that the South- ern Express Company Is by Jaw ex- empt--
 Mr Waddeli-You overlook the fact that they cut down the tag tax.
 Mir. Foster-I did not say anything about the tag tax. do not know what has become of that tax. It has been here 50 often Now, 1t is true. MT. President. that under Section 50 of Article W of the present Constitution, the court has decided that city or town cannot levy license tax upon the Southern Express Company because a general law was adopted by Which the privilege tax was fixed at four thousand dollars and the Express Com pany is required to pay that amount into the State. I do not know whether that is an adequate privilege tax or not I do not pretend to say. but l think this Convention ought to leave 1t to the Legislature to say whenever they tninR 1t proper that the State should take all the privilege taxes which ought to be paid to the exclusion of the cities and towns, that the Legislature ought to be able to say whenever they deem it necessary that the State shall collect
 all the privilege and license taxes which In its opinion any business in the State can bear. This is not. only true of the Southern Express Company 1t is true of the Pullman Palace Cal Company, steam boats and probably some other things.
 init a question.
 The President-Wil the gentleman yield to the gentleman from Mobile.
 MT. Foeter-Certainly.
 MT. Boone-Are you not familiar with the proposition as announced by the Supreme Court of the United States that no city can collect tax upon steam boat navigating one Of the navigable rivers of State?
 MT. Foster--I am not talking about the United States, arl talking about the policy of the State of Alabama Mir. Boore-I contend that the State of Alabama cannot do 1t.
 MT. F0ster--l do not know. I yielded
 to a question, not to dIscusslon by the gentleman from roble. l wad speaking of the policy of the Legis- lature, and the folly of this Conven-
 tion, as I conceive 1t, of taking away from the Legislature the power of put.
 ting into the State treasury the privi- lege taxes that they see fit to collect ' Now, MT. President. suppose the Leg
 islature deems 1t necessary to keeI
 this high privilege tax upon thes' companies of four thousand dollars. fl you put 1t in the power of every towr and city in this State to levy privt-
 lege tax upon any of those corpora. tions now exempt from the specia
 privilege taxes, you would simply make
 1t impossible for them to do business In this State at profit. You either dc
 that or the Legislature has got to give up what goes into the State treasury or a large part of 1t. l must confes' . that am not very much in favor of , privilege tax anyway In my opinior privilege taxes are tax upon indus try. Whenever they are put upon any
 thing which does not specially need DO
 lice protection.
 MT. Hood-Are other Express Com , panies subject to that provision yol
 speak of? Mir. Foster-1 don't know whether | , applies to other Express Companies ir