The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-17

! upon the same basis with Mobile. cite these two counties, as said be- | fore. not in hostility to them, but to show that each of these three counties contribute more, not only lump sum, but per capita, than any other county in the State, and that Mobile, after taking out her licenses. absolutely pays per capita into the treasury more than any other county in the State. This Convention has determined that the whole tax upon property shall be ! 6.5 mills: that of that mills shall be applied to school purposes, making six thirteenths of the entire property tax applicable to school purposes. and sew en- thii tcenths applicable to general purposes. If her property tax averages | 80 cents. as it does, that will make about an average of 37 cents per capi- ta for school purposes and 43 cents for general purposes. Now, Mobile pays | $1.S2 upon property alone, and, taking l from it the average of 43 cents for gen. eral purposes, would leave her paying $1.39 over and above her fair propor- tion for general purposes. which is all most four times as much per capita as is paid by any other counties. save Jef- ferson and Montgomery. for purposes other than for general State purposes. | But If you take the average, with the | licenses included, you will ma that | there Is 56 cents that would be applied | to general purposes. and, on that pasls' Mobile would pay an excess or $l.oz' she paying on license and property $2.02, or almost five times as much as 1 is contributed by any other county, save the two I have mentioned, to pur- poses other than the general purposes. So, MT. President l say that when you take the figures, you will fnd that Mobile does not shirk her proportion of the general burdens, Gnd tnat While this is owing to the high assessments | in Mobile. she does. in fact. aIt"t re- taining her required license Tor her school fund, contribute more than neI full share to the maintenance or the State and her public schools I tairk, therefore, that there is no reason m euuity-no just reason-why her s3s- l tenn ..
 Mr Howze-If this section were left out of the Constitution. would 1t anect the right of Mobile to retain the license under the act authorizing 1t! Mr. Smith-Undoubtedly
 Mir Howze-It would?
 MT. Smith-I think 50; but there is something more in it than that license money. Her entire school system is different. It was formed under the act of 1854, and is upon an er.irely dlnerent basis.
 Mr. Howze-Has that act been re- pealed in any way?
 | Mir. Smith-Never.
 MT. Howze-Would not you be entitled to keep that money under the act II It were not in the Constitution! | MT. Smith-I think not. Your pres | ent article creates a school system and provides for the regulation of pub ! lie schools and provides how the funos for that school system shall De ap- | nlied. and if is with reference to that | that the act was passed.
 Mir. Jones (Montgomery)-Isn't 1t a fact that Mobile county, owing to the worthless character of it's lana, sets less benefit from the 18th section fund | than any other county in the state!
 MT. Smith-Yes, sir, gets hardly any benefit, practically none.
 MT. Jones-Isn't it a fact that great many people in the surrounding coun-
 ties send their children and are ac- mitted into Mobile schools?
 | MT. Smith-Yes, sir. we have a pri- mary department and high scnoo' department and the high school ce- parlment is good high educational de- partment and that is practically the normal school for that section of the country. Under our rules anybody In the State of Alabama. I don't care l whether they reside in Mobile perma- nently or board there, are allowed to attend the high school and receive an l education just as the school children of Mobile county.
 Mir. Jones (Montgomery)-"ill you kindly inform us what the tax rate Is
 in the city of Mobile and Mobile coun- ty?
 MT. Smith-Two and seven-tAnths
 T ,l
 there is an indebtedness upon property
 there of thirty per cent. upon its elI- tire value.
 MT. Greer (Calhoun)-I believe you said that Mobile had less of the 18th section fund than any of the counties. Is it not also true that that amount is made good out of the general appl O. pria ton of Alabama and that she re- ceives as much as any county Ia the State?
 MT. Smith-I don't think she doas,
 haven't figured that, but l will say that
 Montgomery got $23,0 GOO against Mo
 bile's $19.569 and that mobile has population of sixty-two thousand against Mont gomery's seventy-two thousand, l believe.
 The President-The time of the gen. | tleman has expired.
 MT. Long (WalEeD-Section 13 of the article as reported favora bly, 1y the | Committee on Education is an exact counterpart of Section II. Article XIII. of our present Constitution. ] want to state in the presence of all the mem | hers of this floor that I come from 1 county that has not roof In the county but what sheds it rain upon | one side or the other so that it fin Is it's | home at Mobile. 1 want ta state fur | ther that I remember well, and my father remembers, when there was no market for' coal in the State of Ala hama except by transporting 1t n fat boats, when We had to wait for ~ise l in the river that would give us a mar | ket at Mobile That was way pack wonder in the fifties. Now l am wiling to admit that the principle Is wrong. but l am willing here to state Dn the | floor of this Convention that there is l nobody not even the delegates from | Mobile, who will more gladly vn:e for l sustaining tthe schools of Mobile than l will your humble servant who lepTe- sents the county of Walker. I want l to tell you that I love Mobile as cur Gulf port. 1 want to tell you that there Is nothing more in Section 13 than | is in Section II, Article XXI. of our | present Constitution. It is a copy yer | batim I want to say with all fairness l that the mineral region of Alabama which I have the honor in part 70 rep resent on this floor, has never made | any kick against Mobile. I want to