The age-herald., 1901-08-20

thy money and bushes will increase, but
 do not speculate or risk thy money,
 neither shalt thou quarrel"
 Generally fortunate in all 1t under
 takes will be the child born on this date.
 and it will rise rapidly in life"
 States Debt to the University.
 Said a prominent Aiabamian:
 "It Is a familiar fact of history that
 the State of Alabama many years ago appropriated to it's own use a sum of
 money belonging to the State University at Tuscaloosa sufficient to sustain the un-
 iversity permanently MT. James H. Fitts,
 the venerable and venerated treasurer of
 the University, reported to the trustees,
 of whom the Governor is chief that the
 state owed the institution two millions of
 dollarsl The Legislature passed an act
 acknowledging that debt, but the Cover
 nor of that day vetoed 1t.
 "The point Is this; Whatever may be
 said for or against the University. or
 whatever individual interests, passions or resentments may be aroused by its con
 oerns. the State of Alabama has no more right to restrain or retain the uniyersity's
 property than it has to rob the humblest hillbilly or pineywoodsman!
 sWhen this question was before the
 constitutional convention the other day,
 the Hon. Tennent Lomax of Montgomery,
 an alumnus and trustee of the Univer-
 sity, spoke some strong words of justice
 It's a fixed habit of heart and mind of MT.
 Lomax to speak strong words of Justice!
 In part he said to the conventions:
 Now, MT. President, am not without
 authority in making this statement.
 desire to say to this convention that sub-
 sequently to the appointment of the com
 mission to investigate the condition of
 affairs between the University and the
 state. pr. Wyman. the president of the
 university, recently found among some
 old papers in deserted building in Tus-
 caloosa report of the president of the
 State Bank and that report shows (and
 have copy of it here) that during one of the years that bank prospered, and during several years prior to its dissolu-
 tion, while the funds of the University
 earned 12 per cent, only per cent of the
 amount was paid to the trustees thereof. Taking one hundred thousand dollars as
 the amount of the University fund invest ed in that bank and calculating the in terest on it at 12 per cent. and deducting one-half of that as the money paid to the University, and taking the balance
 that is left, the State of Alabama, on
 that item alone. from 1887 up to now, owes
 the University more. great deal more,
 than 1t acknowledged in the statute which pays per cent, or $24,000"
 Now, the bank finally failed. The Unl- veristy funds were lost in the failure of that bank. A number of years elapsed,
 and they had what they were pleased to 1 call a settlement with the University. In the acts of 1S43, I believe 1t is, that set clement went into an act of the Legisla- ture and the Legislature enacted that 1 the State owed the University $25000o. | and agreed to pay the University 6 per l cent interest on the $250OO0. This trus-
 tee, which had sold the lands of the Uni-
 versity at s17 per acre, aggregating more
 than $700,000; this trustee which by its
 own act had wiped out the debts of the
 people of the State to the University of
 more than one-half, or at least s150,0O | this Legislature said to the board of trus- | tees of the University. by it's act, you must accept this or nothing. and get men stand here and talk about settlement that you would make with a highway
 man who at the point of a pistol had de-
 manded your goods and your money. It was denounced at the time by that splen- did man and patriot, Isham W. Garrott,
 who gave up his life for the State in the
 great war for Southern independence. as the boldest and most unheard of robbery that had ever occurred. Was 1t a settle
 ment? Let us see what subsequent legis- lation has done. In 1859 or 1860 another act was passed. There was still contro-
 versy between the State and its Univer-
 sity. The University still contended that
 the State owed 1t money, and In 1859 or 1860 (and I have the acts here) another act was passed In which the State of Alabama by the solemn enactmnet of its Legislature decreed that It owed the Uni versity s3O0,O00 and would pay per cent per annum on that amount so long as lAtne military QlSClpilHo was there. If the settlement of 1s43 was fair, why did the State in 1859 raise it's debt from $500 to sSOo0o0?
 ''Let us go further. In 1896, lot of gen. tiemen interested In the University came to the Legislature. They came with the appeal of the alumni of that institution, which was proposed by that old Roman, James H. Fitts, and asked the Legisla- ture of Alabama to right the wrongs of her great institution. MT. Fitts, in that appeal. demonstrated the fact that the State of Alabama i'll all justice and all equity and all right owed the University more than $2,0O0, ,0O0 A bill was passed by the House of Representatives. by a vote of 50 to 31.. which acknowledged that debt and agreed so pay the University 3 per cent upon that amount. That bill was killed in the Legislature by executive ,n- | terference, and the miserable pittance of | s10, 900 year was put in the appropriation | bill by reason of the defeat of that meas ure."
 | Hon. Syd Moore and Mobile Flood. A little group of men of consequence, in
 the Metropolitan lobby. were discussing the recent tidal flood in Mobile-every |