The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-17

90 clear. Gentlemen speak of 1t as an
 innovation. Now. l am not answering
 the gentleman from Jefferson now be-
 cause if the gentleman had been here
 this morning and had been participat-
 ing in the proceedings of this house, he would know that the question he is
 raising was settled on Section 3. | MT. Lowe--I was here this morning. l MT. Rogers (Sumter)-Were you here
 when Section 8 was adopted? l Mir. Lowe (Jefferson)-I was. MT. Rogers tSumter)--Section , set-
 tied the question of elections, and that
 was all you addressed your remarks to.
 and as that was settled this morning,
 your remarks. l believe, were entirely out of order.
 Now, the reasons why we should have
 the sessions of the Legislature only once every four years are these. First, | 1t will save the State of Alabama every ! four years more than s100,000. Gentle | men speak of this sum of money as If lit were a bagatelle-mere pocket money. | But in twenty years 1t amounts to a | great deal to the people of the State of
 Alabama. The second reason for the l four years session is that it secures | certainty and hxidity of the law As
 it is now, you can hardly know from | time to time es the Legislature meets l what the laws are. 1t takes such a l lenath of time to get the laws printed
 that lawyers can hardly keep up with l them, and the common peopie are un- ! able to do 1t at all. We never know
 when a law is going to be changed. Another reason is, We can hardly find
 out the operations of law in less than | four years. A good law has to run that long before the people can learn | lie aA " nf ad0nt this we will be in line with the States of
 Mississippi and Louisiana. The ordi-
 nance in the Constitution of MissiSsip-
 pi which is the pioneer State In this
 matter, is drawn by one of the great est Southerners that ever lived. | Mir. Brooks-The gentleman stated
 that we are in line with Mississippi
 ard Louisiana. I would like for the | gentleman to show where Quadrennial | ana.
 | MT. Rogers (SumteD-I certainly un- derstand that quadrennial sessions | have been held in Louisiana. l MT. Brooke-The Louisiana Conven-
 tion of 1898 adopted biennial sessions
 of the Legislature, Id biennial cleo
 tions.
 Mir. Long (walker)-You have stated
 that it costs a great deal to hold cleo tions every two years: why is not my
 amendment cutting the sessions down | to twenty-five great saving, and what is your objection to it9 MT, Rogers (Sumter)-The objection | is when you limit the Legislature to | twenty-five days they are apt to act l hastily, and without well considering. When they come here and know they | only have twenty-five days within
 which to do their work they cannot | properly consI1er 1t, and l object to 1t on that ground.
 Now so far as the motives behind | this measure; the only motive l know | of is the desire to protect the interests of the people of Alabama. MT. Boone--Is 1t not your experience that the mass of people throughout the State with whom you have talked on the subject heartily endorse the com- mittees report?
 MT. Rogers (Sumter)-I will state without hesitation that nine-tenths of the people of the county of Sumter with whom I am as close as any man is with his constituents. want this done Every man who approached me asked me for Gods sake to relieve them from the biennial sessions of the Legislature. They said, We cannot l tell whether law is a law or not It takes nearly two years before 1t IS printed and then the Legislature re- peals it. We want certainty. We want to know that a law is going to run a certain length of time and we. there fore, object to biennial sessions of the | Legislature"
 Now, there is ample provision made whenever the interests of Alabama are menaced in any way; the Governor can | call a special session.
 MT. Foster-Do you think the Repre- sentatives of the people ought 10 De at the will of the Governor? Mir. Rogers-I do not. do not think tho Legislature ought to meet at the will of the Governor, but when we put this provision in for the four years, we are representing the people and not the Governor of the. State of Alabama. The people of the State of Alabama Is speaking through us as to make the change.
 MT. Foster-I understood the gentle man to say whenever there was need, the Governor could call the Legisla- ture into session,
 MT. Rogers-That was the provision when it was two years.
 MT Foster-If sessions of the Legis- lature at wide intervals are the proper thing, why not make 1t ten years tn- stead of four?
 MT. Rosers-It would perhaps be bet ter if we could have it ten years; but we live in a great State, where changes may come in time shorter than that, and in reply to the intimated sugges- tion of the gentleman, if two years Is a good time to hold it, why not hold 1t all the time?
 MT. Foster-That is not an answer to my question at all.
 MT. Rogers-I will allow the Conven- ton to judge between my friend and me as to whether my answer was not pertinent. Now. I move the previous question on the amendment and the section.
 MT. samford-I ask that they be di- vided.
 The President-They certainly will be divided; they are separate questions Where a committee reports section and an amendment is offered to the section and an amendment to that amendment they are separate ques- tions and it is impossible to join them. The question will first be submitted on the amendment to the amendment and then on the amendment and then on the section.
 A vote being taken the main ques- ton was ordered.
 The President-The question recurs on the emendmert-
 MT. Lowe (Jefferson)-A division of tha 6Qnna nda0. The