The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-31

leagues, all of whom are honorable men. I have no doubt of their patri- otism, but they are acting under mis- taken idea If Montgomery owes more than s700. 900 above her assets and cannot sell her bonds, how will putting more burdens upon her save her from repudiation and insolvency? Every tax you put upon her takes away her ability to pay what she already owes, so beg CT you not to make this dis tinction a .. nst Montgomery. Let me say to you at you are honorable men that you are pledged, as am pledged: that I stand by my promises, and l expect you to stand by your promise. and although Montgomery Is but a part, that you will mete to her the same justi:e that you do to the broad State of Alabama, and to all of its people. Do not increase this tax upon her when you do not increase 1t upon others. When you say there are other towns to be taxed, they have the privf- lese of saying whether or not they will be SO burdened by a popular vote at an election held for that purpose. There are gentlemen who. days ago, may have voted for this, and then told me afterwards they would not have voted the tax on their own place. had it not DceH TeIGTTCu UdCh tO thCh PNOPtS " say whether they would accept the burden or not. Montgomery has not that privilege. Troy has the privilege of voting for it, and Attalla has that privilege, but Montgomery has not. All of the towns you have added an additit nal tax upon have the privilege, but Montgomery has no such right. Why, my countrymen, you do not want to be placed in the category of some religious hypocrites, who pray to the Lord, and welr out the knees Of their brooches, asking Him to show them the right way. and then wear out the from it. I hope that such will not De the course of the Democrats Of Alabama or the delegates to this Convention, and yet that is what you are asked to do, to get this commission from the people and then betray 1t by voting higher tax upon the people of Montgomery. Tell me why you should do it? Why should Montgomery bear a burden that no other town bears. without the privilege of determining it by their own votes I ask you. gentlemen, to amend tnis by putting Montgomery precisely where she stood when this Convention assem- bled. There is no harm in that, and you will make friends of a great com munity. Montgomery County. with its fourteen thousand votes. might approve your Constitution as 1t stands, and Montgomery being in that position. hut without 1t q do not make any th1eats), I doubt if Montgomery Coun- ty would vote for your Constitution, if the Constitution should burden her people and rob them of their property, and you violate by your action the pledge given to them, and upon wnich they voted for this Convention. what reason can be given for 1t? It does not relieve the city from insolvency. It is an additional burden, and al though one gentleman appealed to you several days ago to vote for 1t. ana save the great Capital City of Mont eomery from the shame of repudiation and bankruptcy, and another gentle man has said that it is a decrease or taxes from $1.50 to SIPS. Is 1t not strange idea that one says 1t Is neces- sary, to avoid insolvency, to be taxed s1.25 per centum. and another says 1t Is decrease to 1.2o? Loot al the absurdity of the proposition. occupy.
 They will say it is but little. The property tax of Montgomery today for the city is 50 cents for current ex- penses. It pays 20 cents properly to pay the interest upon $547,000. which was the bonded debt prior to the 6th of December 1875. 1t makes in all about $27,300 to pay that. It is true they have been collecting several thou sand dollars more for that purpose. ana applying it improperly. Now they say this is but twelve and half cents more. It is from seventy cents to one dollar and twenty-five cents-an in- crease of flfty-five cents more. Why? Because of the one dollar twelve and a half cents per centum which they have collected, forty-two and a half cents is illegal and will not bear the test of the courts or of any coDtro- versy upon 1t, therefore it is tax of fifty~five cents that you have raised upon Montgomery more than upon any other city. For these reasons, I ask you, my countrymen, to adopt the amendment which I have offered. It places you precisely in the position that you held when you assembled here. and that Montgomery stood in when this Convention was called.
 MT Watts-I am very fond of my friend. the senior delegate from Mont gomery. He Is a man of consider able culture and education. and a very
 
 the one subject of taxation. He never is In favor of the citizen bearing the proper burden. Now, he speaks about the fact that he wants to keep his pledge. There is not a member of the Montgomery delegation who is not as anxious to keep his pledge as my learned colleague. As far as I am con- cerned. individually, I never made any pledge. but had I made any pledge such as he says he made, and found afterwards that 1t was to the ruin and bankruptcy to the city to keep that pledge. I would unhesitatingIy vote against 1t.
 Mir. Sanford (Montgomery)-I would not dishonor myself for the State of Alabama.
 MT Watts-That is ali right. would not dishopor myself either.
 Mir. Sanford (Pike)-I would just like to ask the gentleman from Montgom- cry if the Democratic party in Conven- ton assembled did not pledge the peo- pie of Alabama. together with the peo- pie of Montgomery, that the tax rate would not be raised?
 MT. Watts--Yes. sir, in the State
 Mir. Stanford (Pike)-Did not the Democratic Convention adopt the en- abling act as passed by the Legislature and didn't-
 Mir. Watts-Hold on. I am not going to yield to you to take up the time of my speech. I can speak to one San ford at a time. I just want to say to this Convention that there are seven representatives on the floor of this ha ni #