The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-16

 of 10 cents for the schools and no dis tribution' can ba made between the children in Clay County and the chil- dren in Jefferson County.
 Mr. Reynolds '(Chilton)-In the dis tricts where negroes are dIsfranchised, how can they vote for it?
 MT. Ashcraft-If there are any dis tricts that do not contain negroes who can vote they would have to wait until they could vote. Of course it is abso- lutely voluntary matter with the white people whether they will tax themselves, and With the negroes whether they will tax themselves. and if there be a community of negroes without a single man capable of vot- ing they will have to wait till they can educate men who can vote.
 The President pro tem-The time of the gentleman has expird.
 MT. Long (Walker)-Would you ob- ject to amending so as to have County School District?
 MT. Ashcraft-The minority consid- cred that proposition with great care. We could find no precedents that would lead Us to believe that such a plan would not be considered an evasion of the Federal statute.
 MT. Jones (Wilcox)-Mr. President and gentlemen or the Convention, It has been urged by great many friends of education in Alabama that Alabama is behind other States in not having local taxation for schools. If there had Leen a provision in the Constitution of 1875 which permitted local legislation in the several counties of this State. no doubt, MT. President, the Legislature of Ala bania would long since have provided for it in the counties. All lawyers on thi1 floor are familiar with the case that came up from Cullman County. In the case of Schultz vs. Ellerbe, 82 Ala. in 1887, it was decided by the Supreme Court that the Legislature could not del egate the power of taxation to a mu- nicipal corporation. and for that reason. MT. President, there has been nothing done in this State. I have examined the Constitutions of quite number of States in the South, in fact nine of them. and I find that there has been a provision in the different States of the South for local taxation, either in the Constitution. or where the Constitution did not prevent 1t, 1t has been done by act of the Legislature ot the States. Now in Mississippi, it has statutory regulation, and So it Is In Georgia, South Carolina. Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas. There is d difference in Florida, 1t is done by provision in the
 
 by a provision in the Constitution of Louisiana. The State of Alabama is the only State in the South where no provision is made for local taxation in any way. The Committee had this question under consideration and spent great deal of time on 1t and we came to the conclusion that the best way out of it was to allow local taxation by counties. You may search the Consti- tuition of every State in the South and every State in the North and you can not find provision in the Constitution or in statutory laws of those States sim liar to the minority report. You can- not find it. And why? Is 1t because such provision is unconstitutional. It is against the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The gentleman has cited two or three au- thorites He cited in the case from North Carolina. First the Cumming case, and which he said went far to- wards establishing the proposition made in the minority report. fhe Cumming case decided nothing of the sort. In that case the Court stated that the had taken the wrong means to get relief. They say further that if 1t had been shown that the school was in fact an abuse. a determination and in hostility to the colored people be- cause of race In any way, that the de- cision of the Court would have been in favor of those filing the bill in that case. In North Carol-na the case of Markham vs. Manning 96 Carolina, the Court decides that taxes for schools open to the children of only one race is unconstitutional as denying equal privileges and immunites. That is the language and opinion of the Court, that 1t is unconstitutional because 1t denies equal privileges and immunlties Now the Constitution of North Carolina, un- der which that case was decided, Is all most in the exact language of the Fed eral Constitution. The gentleman cites another case from Ohio. and that, MT. President is nothing in the world but a provision that we have in our Con- that we have separate schools for the two races. It don't say word a bout taxes, not a word, but 1t simply allows in that State separate schools for the two races, and the gentleman would base an argument upon that, that for that reason you could have sG parate school districts in the county and the money raised for the whites to go to the white children and the money aised from taxes of fhe colored people to go to the colored schools.
 MT. Graham (Talladega)-The gen. tleman is making a legal argument, and I fully understand and appreciate that he carrot finish 1t now. 1 move that we adjourn. I move that the rules be lrst and that his time be ex- tended twenty minutes after dinner.
 The motion to extend the time was adopted.
 Leaves of absence were given as fol- lows: To MT. Ledbetter for today and tomorrow; to MT. Gilmore for Friday and Saturday.
 Thereupon the Convention adjourned.