The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-29
OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS or
 THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF ALABAMA

The call was completed and no re-
 ports made.
 MT. Bulg-r-I ask to offer a resolu-
 tion as my name was passed.
 The President-Is there objection?
 There was objection.
 The President-The next order will be the special order, the consideration Of the report Of the Committee on Tax ation.
 Mir. Sollie-I rise to a point of order.
 The President-The Convention had under consideration Section of the report of the Committee on Taxation to which the gentleman from Mont- gomery offered an amendment and when the Convention closed the gen. tleman from Montgomery had the. but the Chair will recognize the gen. tleman from Dale in a point of order.
 MT. Sollie-If there was a gentleman holding the floor. do not care to urge the point of order. The point I was about to make was that the motion to reconsider would be next in order. I withdraw the point of order with the understanding that I will make it later.
 MT. Oates-Before proceeding, I ask the Clerk to change the figure four in the eighth line and make 1t "three and a halt" The Convention has noS entered upon the consideration of the amendment and think I have a right to amend it.
 By consent the change was made.
 MT. Oates-Now, MT. President, I confess that enter upon the consid- eration of this matter with some mis- giVings because of certain opposition that has heen made known to me in a very respectful and kind manner by the Committee on Taxation which re- ported the proposition. But I feel 1t my duty to discuss this amendment briefly to this Convention and to call the attention of the Convention to 1t and try to impress upon them just what is meant by 1t. All of us know that the State of Alabama has a bond ed indebtedness of nine and one- third millions of dollars. Over nine hum dded thousand of that Is represented by four per cent. bonds most usually called Seay bonds because when Seay was Governor he negotiated those bonds in lieu of bonds bearing six per cent interest which the Legislature had authorized prior to that time in order to take up what was known as Horse Shoe money. There was e million dol- lars of that issued by authority of the Legislature years before which was a kind of lien. You will recoHect there UNAC NAAAo Ol ahV1AGy dA1u EO0ROu& ou IHG bank in the shape of horse shoes. They bore eight per cent. interest and were seid in the market frequently as low as fifty cents on the dollar. but they improved until they reached par when 1t was found that the Legislature pro- posed to refund them in a six per cent. bond. But that was not conclusive and the Legislature subsequently, believing that a bond bearing 8 lover rate could be substituted for them passed an act authorizing the Governor, when Seay held that office, to negotiate su@h re- funding bonds, and he succeeded in me- gotiating four per cent. bonds which do not mature until 1920 So that amount of our bonded debt Is not tn- cluded at ali in the proposition I of- fer. With the exception of the Seay bonds, represented generally by the let- ter c. bonds resulting from that set~ tlemen twhen MT. Houston, Mir. LawIer and the Governor were the Commits sioners and which have always been four per cent. from the first to the present time. $s46, 600. They are includ- ed with the Glass 4 and B bonds and of the Class B there Is not quite Se00- 900. They were given for the release of the State or to take up the States obligation or bonds which had been unwisely issued by act of the Legis- lature and given to certain railroads to lease the State from its endorsement of their bonds at $16.000 per mile. I believe these bonds were for $5.0e0 a mile and the amount that had been fs- sued then and used in that way when the credit of the State broke down Is represented by the five hundred end odd thousand dollars of bonds and they bear five per cent. interest. Of the TIoga f@ in nAf0hhA~hAMA of $7,0O0.000, and they bear five per cent, as do also the B bonds. and Class c bonds bear four per cent. and all three classes of these bonds ma tIre five years from the first day of next month, July 1. 1908.
 As the State will not be In condi- tion to pay off these bonds at that time. 1t is necessary in advance to prepare for some way of meeting this bonded debt.
 MT. deGraffenreid-May ask the gentleman a question for information?
 MT Oates-Yes. sir.
 MT. deGraffenreid-Canno that be done under the section without your amendment by the Legislature?
 MT. Oates-I think it can possibly be done under that, but I have yet to learn that in a delicate matter of so much importance as this, dealing in millions of dollars. there is anything to be lost by being more definite In what we say about it. That Is a general declaration. The Legislature may pro- vide for refunding the bonded debt.
 Mir deGraffenreid-The point I want to make Is, is not your amendment a act?
 MT. Oates-No, it is simply a direc- 1 tion for the Legislature and so reads.
 Gentlemen will find 1t i nthe steno- graphic report. This section Is:
 That the Legislature shall, at its first session after the ratification of this Constitution, authorize the Cover | nor of the State to cause to be issued | ($S, 800, ,000) eight million. five hundred | thousand dollars face value of State bonds, to mature fifty years after date l and to bear not more than 31-2 per cent. per annum, payable semi i-annu- ally; and that eight million, four hun | dred and three thousand six hundred | dollars ($s, ,4O3, ,600) of said bonds shah | be used exclusively for the redemption | by exchange or otherwise. for an equal 1 amount face value of the Class A, | Class B and Glass c bonds of the State, which when thus redeemed shall | be destroyed"
 Then there is a provision that the bonded debt of the State shall never fin | any event exceed g, 800. 600. I put that | latter ci4use in because I think the i limit of bonded indebtedness should be | declared in the Constitution. It adds somewhat to the value of your bonds | when you show to the world that the | State ig not going to over burden it. self with ponds.