The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-16

of the minority report I ffno 70 the majority. Is that the unit of taxation
 is too large. Tn all matters of local government it is a matter Of opserva- ton that the smaller the unit the more apt the measure to carry. In. matters of prohibition, have known counties where they would hold an election as to whether saloons should be open Tn the county or not, and prohibition
 would fail. and in those same coun- ties when the precincts or locanties would take hold of the matter and vote as a precinct prohibition would be es- tablished, and so I regard 1t with rei- erence to the two propositions before us that 1t would be difficult matter to persuade any one county to vote tax upon themselves as county, whereas. I believe that in many cases it would be an easy matter to persuade these districts. much smaller than the counties, that 1t would be best for them to have this special tax. It has been objected by some members that this proposition of a special tax would decrease the general appropriation. I feel that that proposition has been answered In the Section ;hat has already been aoopteo which provides that the appropriation cannot be decreased at the VIII of the Legislature. It seems to me, MT. Pres ident, that the principle running through the minority report of local self government Is one that we can safely afford not to be afraid or. IL has been argued that the tax payer ana the non-tax payer would come In con frict with each other on other views on this proposition. In answer to that I would remind the delegates that as they well know the tax paying element l Ia q country | is usually the element that predoml- mates in populac elections. One gentle man referred to the poll tax idea and doubtless will be followed by others. | It las not been the practice Of tnls | State to divide the poll tax between the races according to the amount that each paid. It would not be constitu-
 tional, as charged by one speaker, but
 for one, with many others. believe
 that the poll tax idea is right, and l
 also believe that the proposition for di- viiIng the courty into school distrt US
 for taxation Is right, and believe that the time to strike an effective blow at l he weight that has SO long hindered the white people of the State Of Ala
 bama is now in granting to them In l this new instrument which is to be the new Constitution for perhaps a quarter
 or a half century to come. the right l to tax LneufSelVeS IOT thC PphPSSS VI
 educating themselves and when this | is done believe tha: the people we rep
 resent will say tha. our work here has not been in vain and that they will be | glad to vote for a Constitution embody- | ing propositions that lie SO close to them as the question of local self government.
 Mir. Coleman (Greene)-Mr. President
 and delegates of the Convention: do not think that I will be able to present
 this question as 1t ought to be in the
 short time that is allotted to us. but l since the gentleman who last addressed
 YOU has stated that he was not satis- fled that this law was constitutional,
 the proposition made by the minority
 report, I would respectfully invite his
 attention and the attention of any oth- CT lawyer in this Convention, to the
 consideration that I will give 1t for a few moments. It is so clearly unconsti-
 tutional and can be so clearly demon-
 strated, that if you will pay attention,
 think you will have no difficulty in corning to q conclusion. A legal argu-
 ment is always dry, there is no room
 for verbiage or rhetoric and whe ether in- | teresting or not, as a matter of tudg-
 ment for your own guidance l respect
 fully ask you to follow me while con-
 slider the argument presented by the
 first gentleman who addressed you.
 have all his authorities lying here be-
 fore me and they are so clearly against
 any proposition that he has presented
 to you, that there can be no doubt upon
 it. Now the only decision by the Su-
 preme Court of the United States Is
 that in 17j II. &, Cummings vs. Board
 of Education. In this case the injunc-
 tion was filed by some colored citizens
 to enjon high white school at wh ch
 about sixty pupils attended, and the
 complaint was by some coRored men
 that their daughters were excluded
 from the privileges of that institution
 Now as there had been no law In line
 exactly as is proposed here, the re-
 spondents answered this way: We
 have appropriated the money as as-
 serted by you and maintained the high
 school at which sixty white pupils at-
 tend, and no colored pupils are ad-
 mitted there, but they say We have re-
 served the funds so that you could get
 equal benefit of the money and If you
 esta blish a school a, which only sixty
 colored pupils could attend we would
 thereby exclude from common schools
 300 negro children. Now that was the
 issue before the Court, whether or not
 the Board of Education in passing up
 on what was for the best interests ot
 both classes were justified in withhold
 ing a high school for negro children
 in ( der that the mroey which would be
 taken for that pun pose should be appro-
 priated to 300 negro children in the
 common school, and the white schoo
 of sixty not getting any advantage 1T
 the way of fund. in that view of the
 proposition, but the question was
 whether the Board of Education wa: acting fairly between the two race:
 with the funds. not that they proposed
 to take any money or to deprive the colored children of the money, but they
 proposed to apply 1t in a different way
 where 1t would do the most good and the court said that they could not set ,I exactly how it could be held that the
 Board of Education was not giving
 them the benefit of the school funds
 equally. The cclored school> chilirey
 of the county would not be advano et in the matter of their education by 2 decree compelling the Board to cease giving the support to high school fol white children. The Board had befor, 1t the question whether 1t should main. tain under it's contro! a high school fol about sixty colored children to bring them up to sixty white, or withhold the benefits of education and primary schools from 300 children of the sam, race. Now the question was whether they would take the money and estab fish a high school for sixty, or appro
 priate that money for 300. "It wa! impossible. the Board believed. 10 glv,
 educational facilities to the 300 coloreC q Lii N1rt1. .l F1..