The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-07

universities in Alabama, and when we thus have the opportunity of sending our children to these schools where | they can receive proper training, they will go to your colleges, they will go to the universities in Alabama, l know MT. President, that this is a very pret- Fly question with some of the delegates, but mark my prediction, majority of the opposition to this substitute will come from the men who represent guano factories. who have them in | their town. and from men who have already agricultural schools establish | ed in their counties. Now, I know, see already, some distinguished gen. tlemen on the floor going around to | move to table this substitute. It Is a popular move in this Convention, but say the time will soon come when the people of Alabama will pass on you and some of you gentlemen will
 be tabled and retired to political ob- | livion. Now. I say this, if 1t is right to tax fifty cents it is right to tax a l dollar. If 1t is right to establish nine schools. 1t is certainly right to estab- | fish sixty-six schools in Alabama. and | I want to say to you I much prefer paying one dollar tax on fertilizer and getting a school than to paying fifty cents and getting nothing. That is my position in a nutshell.
 MT. Reese-Does the gentleman think that one dollar ton will produce enough revenue to run school in ev- cry county in the State?
 MT. Greer-Yes. SIT. It will give | about three thousand dollars to each county in the State, that is about what it will give. Two hundred thousand l dollars in sixty-six counties. Now. we rI aF vention that the farmer did not pay this tax-sometime ago, when the matter was up. Be that as it may, l am a farmer. I live by the sweat of my brow. get my living from farm ing, and expect to continue to do it. and am willing to pay a dollar tax on fertilizer that I use. if in return you. will give me and the people a school where we will have the privi- lege of educating our boys, and school ing them in the scientific method of farming that they may be independent, and may be as skilled in their profess sion as the professional men of this Convention and of Alabama. Now, MT. President, I know that the resolu- ton offered by the gentleman, MT. Nor rissette. I do not remember where he Is from. I believe it Is Monroe, to reduce the tax to ten cents, but 1t also says that nine agricultural schools shall be provided for out of the gen. eral fund. If they provide for those out of the general fund, want to ask you where it is to come from? It is to come out of the common schools of Alabama. You are taking it out of the agricultural distric:s where you certainly ought to give rather than to take, because they need your as- sistance. You cannot take between twenty and thirty 'housand dollars from them without hurting the schools in the rural districts. In the cities you have public schools and educate your children. In the rural districts we have none. except such as the State has seen fit to give us. and when you take from us a part of the small pit tance you have already given us. with out giving. that if you do that where do you expect us to educate our boys. where do you expect the children in the country to qualify under this election law passed here, and become useful men and womenA but on the contrary you give us these agricultural schools, one in every county, and we will edu- cate our boys in those schools ana prepare them for useful men and the girls for useful women; we will have an enlightened and cultured people,
 
 kind, and they will be better for hav- ing that privilege. and we, as farmers, will pay for 1t ourselves. I as farm CT, ask that privilege. I say that l have just returned from my home where I have spent four or five days, and where I have consulted the farm CTS. and every one of them that l con- suited, and l consulted them by the hundreds, all are in favor without ex- ception, and they begged me to come hack and when this resolution came up, to offer the substitute that l offer. and I ask this Convention to consider we'll. and I ask the distinguished gen. tlemen who are so ready to table ev- erything, not to do 1t until they hear the matter properly discussed, and let us do what is best and right in the premises. We ask nothing more. If our position is not right then vote 1t down by vote of this Convention, but I ask one thing. and 1t will be the last request that I have on this proposi- ton. and that is that when I call for the aye and no vote on this proposi- tion. I beg you in the name of the boys and girls who live in the rural district of Alabama, to stand up here like men and say, Yes. we are willing to go on record on this proposition. That is the last request l have to make of you in regard to this propo- sition.
 MT. Pearce-I have a substitute to offer to that amendment.
 Be it ordained by the people of Ala bama in Convention assembled, that after January 1st, 1903, no tax on fer tilizer in excess of ten cents per ton shall be levied on the sale or manu- facture of fertilizers in this State. That the proceeds arising from sucn tax shall be used exclusively for the benefit of the farmers of the State.
 The President-The question Is upon the adoption of the substitute of the gentleman from Marion to the amend ment of the resolution offered by the gentleman from Calhoun.
 MT. Pearce-It is very easy to an- swer the gentleman's speech who has inst preceded me. It Is on that same old line. that if you cannot keep the government from taking money from me I want some of it. That answers his proposition. In order that the Con vention may understand me, 1t IS that same old human nature that If you cannot keep from concentration of the people's money by legislation, by some hook or crook. want some of it. That answers the whole proposition. l say without fear of successful contradic- ton. and I tell you. gentlemen, l am so earnest in this thing. man can De so earnest in a thing he is too much embarrassed to make a speech or ne can be so little concerned. but reel
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