The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-27

Mr. Graham which prohibits Inanufac- turers and dealers from charging up in | the price of fertilizer the cost of the
 tags. Does not that statute recognize
 the injustice of 1t?
 MT. Espy--It certainly does.
 i As was proceeding to say, here
 where there Is nothing but :ita.e line, where no tax is levied in Georgia ex-
 cept the cost of analysis which IS from
 to 10 cents. the price is one thing.
 and over in Alabama where We Lave
 a 50 cent tax there is an increase O. 70
 cents on the ton, showing exclusively
 tha- the extra charge is made bee ause
 of the license, and that the consumer
 In Alabama, notwithstanding the pro-
 visions of the laAv, has that lag tax to
 pay.
 Mir. Parker (Elmore)-It has been | stated just now that the agricultural
 features of the school are not 2 suc-
 cess.
 Mrf.. .Espy-Yes, so far as have been
 able to ascertain. I do not speak. for
 all of them.
 l MT .Parker-Is 1t not fact that only
 five hundred dollars a year is app:o- priated in each school for that purpose?
 MT. Espy-Yes; and in my county
 they say they cannot expend the $5O0
 upon the little farm they have in or der to draw the 5000 the succeeding year. There is nothing there to use
 that five hundred dollars for and 1t Is
 practically sQuandered and applied to
 no practical or useful purpose at all. Now l get back to the proposition,
 must these schools continue to thrive l upon an unjust tax eexacted from one
 particular class of our people? l don't
 think the delegates to this Convention l want that done. The farmers of Ala bama have applied to Legislature aeter | Legislature and each time .hey are
 met with the proposition that there Is
 an onslaught upon these institutions Of | learning, and they are turned away
 without relief. Now they appeal to you
 to give them that relief in the form of a provision in the organic law trat
 you are now framing and making for
 them. Will you do it or will you. Ike
 the various Legislatures to whom they have appealed, turn them away with out relief? hope that you won't do it. Here is what it means: They have nine | of these schools and in every Legisia- \ ture they have eighteen repreS Ssntatives and nine Senators. In other words ty the establishment of these schools they have successfully added in each Leg's- ! lature eighteen men In the lower House l and nine men in the upper House to | help them hold on to this iniquitous l fund that they are exacting from these people. I say strike it down and you
 ask me what will you give in the pace | of it. I don't want to destroy these ! schools, but cut off this tax and # it is ! necessary to have more money raise your general taxation and let the entire | people of the State pay the money that | supports these schools. Now I want to | state practical illustration of the working of these schools. There IS Cne l in each Congressional District. In my own district We have 225, 900 people Und the school in this district is located at Abbeville and what per cent. of that | 225.0oo people get tbe benefit of that school? The children of a citizenship of not exceeding one thousand people. | The money is raised from the entire 225.000, but when it is expended t is expended upon the children of school | age of less than one thousand oitiZens. Some one may answer me ard say | well the school is there and the farmer can send his children to the school. | If such point as that is made 1 Say, yes, the institutions are there and there is nothing to prevent the children ! of the district from going If they have
 the money and pay their way but Fer | all practical purposes these schOO are as much beyond the relief of the great l masses of the people as Johns Hopkins University. They are not able to go
 there and pay the board
 Gentlemen ask us would We -epudiate | this law and lose this valuable proL- | erty that has been deeded to the State. tell him no. we don't ask for that. That is not the proposition. He don't deny but what is Is double taxation but seeks to divert the minds vf the delegates to this Convention rom the
 real issue and make it appear that we are attacking institutions of learning, very ingenious thing on the part Of l the gentleman from Talladega.
 JAS said awhile ago, strike down tEis tax. The amendment offer provides a sufficient amount of money to pay for the analysis of the guano and that is as far as it ought to go.
 I think I have demonStrated to the Convention that adopting the theory of the opposition, it is only a ma..sr of twenty-five thousand dollars a year to these Normal Schools and the balance of it goes into the general treasury and the entire people get the benefit of 1t.
 MT. Fletcher-I would ask the gen. tleman what per cent. of the pupilS in these Agricultural Schools become far mers?
 MT. Espy-I never heard of one of them becoming a farmer. They are al- ways lawyers and doctors.
 In conclusion, I only want to speak for minute and to appeal to the dele gates in spirit of justice and fairness to support this amendment and thereby relieve the unjust burden resting upon the yeomanry of your State. l appeal to you in the spirit of Democracy to repeal this tax and strike from the statute books one of the most vicious pieces of class legislation that every @X- isted in Alabama. I appeal to you to rise above self interest and !At what you think is right as between maj and man alone dictate how you shall vote on this matter.
 MT. Harrison--I have listened with interest to the argument pro aud c"n upon this amendment. The amendment offered by the delegate from Henry ap- pears to my mtnd to be species of legislation and that 1t does not do what the gentleman so elo- quently said was one of the prerogatives of the Constitution which was to prohibit the Legislature.
 Mir. Espy-Let me ask the question: This legislation has been enacted. Dill igent effort has been made to relieve the farmers from 1t. That is fact.
 MT Harrison-I think so, it has been repealed once.
 MT Espy-Not repealed entirely but simply changed from bad to worse. Now is it not proper when an evil of this kind exists and the people have