The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-27

in the Senate Committee MT. Harrison-SUppose he is correct, and that the Legislature has not done its duty, are not the legislators amen. able to the people of Alabama? If this had been question, and you wished to make 1t question before the people, why not send to the House and the Senate men instructed to reduce the tax? Why bring it here and put it in the Constitution, and array all of those clements of opposition against the irs- strument we shall frame? I think vs are taking upon ourselves too much, when we say that this body has ali the intelligence, all the wisdom and all the patriotism in the State. and that the Legislature cannot be trusted to do its duty, held as they are responsible by the people, as they always have been and always will be in the future. I therefore trust. Mir. President. that we will consume no more time under. taking to inject here. without consider ation, matter that has never been con- sidered by any committee. A great deal can be said, and doubtless has been said about the members of the Gen. eral Assembly having this tax first fifty cents and then reducing 1t to twenty five, and putting it back to fifty. There Is diversity of opinion In the State about 1t. That Is shown by the very action of the Legislature. It is shown by the very speeches made on the floor of this Convention by the farmers who have addressed us. Let Us offend none. Let us go on and keep 1t out of the Constitution. Leave it to the Leg islature. and if these gentleman feel that they are wronged, all they have to do is to appeal to that tribunal. and nafI nd lr friends who are friends indeed to the general movement of revision. sulk in their tents, and not be friends and supporters, and feel that we have come here and turned the back of our hands upon these Agricultural Schools, whetn- CT right or wrong, and offend those who believe 1t is right to maintain them. It is not necessary for us to de- termine this question as to who is right and who is wrong, as to the proper amount to be pai1 out for inspection, if you admit, as the amendment 10 the amendment undertakes to admit. that we should have an inspection. Can we not leave it to the Legislature to say what 1t should be?
 Mr. Malone-The gentleman refers to the change from fifty cents to twenty five, and then the change from twenty five to fifty. Does the gentleman know the working of the matter, by which it was changed from twenty-five to fifty?
 Mr. Harrison-I do not. I only know that it is a fact from current history. . MT. Malone-Will you permit me to make a statement as to how it was done?
 MT. Harrison-You have a right to the floor. I am about through. If you want to make speech I will yield now.
 Mir. Malone-It will not take but a second.
 MT. Harrison-All right.
 MT. Malone-The gentleman from Henry. MT. Ward. moved to change it from twenty-five to fifty, and MT. Williams from lower Henry agreed if you support my bill to put a court house at Dothan. I will support your bill. That is how it was done.
 MT. Harrison-That is a very serious charge you are making.
 Mr. Malone-I give you the names. do not hide the names.
 MT. Harriscn-I do not deny or af- firm 1t.
 MT. Jackson-Will my colleague from Lee allow me to make a statement?
 MT. Harrison-Let me say this, know the good people of Henry sent one of those gentlemen back to the Legislat- ure.
 The President-Has the gentleman from Lee concluded his argument?
 MT. Harriscn-I am just now done.
 MT. Jackson-I just want to state
 MT. White-I make the point of order that two gentlemen from Lee cannot have the floor at the same time.
 Mir. Jackson-I make the point of or- der that my distinguished colleague has yielded the floor for one minuta to me.
 The President-The gentleman is in order, and will proceed.
 Mir. Jackson-Now, MT. President, I merely wanted to make this statement. In 1894 or 5, think 1t was, l won't be positive about that, know I was member of the Legislature at the time, and at the request of the farmers of Alabama this tax was reduced from 50 to 25 cents That bill was introduced here, sir, and passed, and it also pass ed the Senate, and by some means don't remember now how it was, ex- cept that I want to say this, it was not done like 1t vas in the Shelby County case, the wrong bill was carried to the Governor. A bill retaining the tax at 50 cents per ton was carried to the Governor, and that bill was ap- proved.
 Now I know as a matter of fact, Mir. President, that members of that Legis- lature went home and told the farm CTS that this tax had been reduced to 25 cents, and the papers came out and stated afterwards that it was 50 cents ton. and upon inquiry it was found that through some mistake the Cover nor had gotten hold of the wrong bill. That is why 1t was made 50 cents ton instead of 25 cents a ton.
 MT. Harrison-Now, sir
 MT. Gilmore-I rise to a point of or der. The gentleman from Lee has consumed more than Gtirty minutes.
 Mir. Harrison Governor Jones'S amendment was not adopted yesterday. was willing to be limited to five min utes. but I thought you all wanted me to speak half an hour.
 MT. Pettus-I have listened With much interest to the long debate on this important question. and it seems to me that those who advocate the amendment introduced by the gentle man from Pike, and the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Hen- ry, have made statements upon the floor of this Convention which would lead one to believe that the farmers Of the State of Alabama are standing as a solid phalanx and demanding that some such provision as this be put into the organic law of the State. From the way the gentlemen speak on that side of the question, one would think that the farmers cannot get justice at the hands of anybody except the farmers who happen to be upon this floor, but it occurs to me, MT. President, that some of the most eloquent advocates