The age-herald., 1901-02-19
TO REPRINT THE ALABAMA REPORTS A Bill Pending in the House to
 This Effect
  WILL REDUCE COST S75O Measure Provides for Reprinting the First Nlnety-eieht Volumes, Which Will Be Gold for $245-others
 Aleardy In Print.
WILL REDUCE COST S75O

Court reports which Is worthy of the thoughtful attention of that body, which act Is published in full below.
 l At present set of Alabama reports cost from s75O to 5000, If they can he bought at all The effect of this act, # passed, will be that any one can get the first ninety-eight volumes for $245. All the others are In print and can be se- cured from the Secretary of State at $2. 50 volume.
 l In addition to getting a verbatim re- print, the act provides that the reports shall be annotated according to the prin- ciple of law announced in each head note. It also provides that separate volumes can be purchased at $3.50 per volume, or when bound with other volumes, that is, two or mere together. at s3 per volume
 The act has received the favorable re- port of the judiciary committee of the House, and carries no appropriation un- l til the volumes are delivered, which will not be for several years. It may be stat el in addition that the Legislature of two years ago passed an act quite simi- lar to the pending bill, but the cheapest Dlu uHuoI II Wdo }off'NV' At'S NSNN~N s-fF-
 priation to carry into effect the present act is about $47C00. payable during peri cd of several years, and even on this amount the State will be credited with all it's sales of the copies subscribed for as provided in the act and of the value of the copies returned when new sets are sent to the various officers through out the State to whom they are to be distributed.
 l The West Publishing Company IS named In the act for the sole reason that they own the copyrights and no other publishers could do the work, even If they desired.
 Full Text of the Bill.
 The full text of the bill follows:
 A Pill to he entitled an act to provide
 for the reprint of the Alabama Supreme
 Court Reports.
 Section 1. Be 1t enacted by the General l Assembly of Alabama. That the secre- 1 tary of state Is hereby authorized to con- l tract with the West Publishing Company a body corporate of the city of St. Paul. State of Minnesota, to furnish to this l State two hundred (200) sets of the re- print edition of the eighteen 0S) prelim- | inary volumes and of volume one CD to l eighty (S0) inclusive. of the Alabama Su- preme Court Reports; said books to be l a verba tim reprint of all the cases and l other valuable matter contained In the original volumes, the original paging to be preserved by means of star paging and the cases to be annotated with notes showing where each case reported has l been subsequently cited or referred to in the opinion announced by the supreme l Court of the State of Alabama. The an- notations shall be full and shall have, so l far as practicable, reference to each proposition of law announced in the sep arate opinions of the court, as set forth in the head-notes of each seperate case
 The paper printing and binding of these books shall be equal. in all respects. to l that in the bound volumes of the South ern Reporter published by the West Pub fishing Company; and the ninety-eight
 (9S) volumes shall be bound in not less than thirty-three (33) books
 l Sec. 2 Be it further enacted That the said West Publishing Company shall be required to keep the said annotated edi- ton of the Alabama reports In print for l at least twenty years, shall sell the an- notated edition In Sets to citizens of the l State of Alabama at a price not exceed
 ing two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) per l original VOlume, ana small sell SlnRle volumes bound separately, at price not to exceed three dollars and fifty cents | ($3.50) per original volume; and when bound In the regular books of the re- l print edition, at a price not to exceed three dollars $SoO per original volume
 Sec. 3. Be 1t further enacted, That of the two hundrd (20o) sets of the reprint of the Alabama Reports SO subscribed for, one hundred and fifty Q50) sets shall l l,a md iotr ta1 jp fha
 now provided by statute for the use and distribution of the copies of the Alabama
 Reports, which Is set apart for the use | by the State under the provisions of Sec | tions 3S70 and 3871 of the Code of 1896; and
 the remaining fifty (50) sets may be sold
 by the State at the same price as are
 the sets of the reprint sold by the West l Publishing Company. The public off
 receipt of the last volumes of the anno- Edition must hold them as the property
 of the State, and shall turn them over to | their respective successors In office On | receipt of the last volumes of the Anno- tated edition, the State officials shall re-
 turn to the Secretary of State the cor
 responding volumes of the current re-
 ports previously delivered to them. and in their possession; and the volumes so
 returned to the Secretary of State shall
 be held by him and may be sold by him | in behalf of the State in the same man. l ner as are the current volumes of the | Alabama Reports.
 l Sec. 4. Be 1t further enacted, That the l delivery of said volumes shall be made | to the Secretary of State in installments | of not less than twelve Q2) original vol umesc. and upon receipt of each install | ment of books by the Secretary of State,
 tlS Treasurer shall pay the West Pub | fishing Company, or It's successors or as- l signs the sum of five hundred dollars | ($500.OO for each original volume of re- l ports contained in the reprint edition so | delivered, according to the terms of the | contract: provided, however, that the
 State shall not be required to pay any | amount on the contract SO entereed into | with the West Publishing Company until | after the expiration of two years from
 the passage of this act; and shall not | thereafter be required to pay more than twelve thousand five hundred dollars | S12,500) in any one year.
 | Section 5.-Be 1t further enacted: That | the publication of the entire ninety-eight | (JS) volumes shall be completed within four and one-half years from the passage | of this act; and the delivery of the State | copies shall be made whenever an install 1 n.cnt, covering twelve Q2) original vol | uines, is ready for delivery, notwithstand- ing the fact that payment for previous | volumes not yet due has not been made | by the State.
 1 Section 6.-Be 1t further enacted: That | the sum of twelve thousand, five hundred dollars (S12500), or so much thereof as my be necessary to comply with the pro- visions Of this act and of the proposed | contract is hereby appropriated out of the | money in the State treasury not other wise appropriated for the year 1so3 and the same amount for each of the two l next succeeding years, and eleven tho,l-