The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-03

cludsd his remarks. The President pro tem-He taneo so ! do 50. The question Is the motion TOT
 the previous question on the penoA'hs
 amendment and Section.
 l The Secretary again read the ameno- ment. t A vote being taken the amendment i was adopted. and on A further vose oe- ing taken, the Section as amenoed was | adopted.
 Mr. white-I have a substitute Tor Section lS, adopted by the Committee. and ask that 1t be offered In lieu or
 1t and all amendments.
 The Secretary read the suostitule ~s follows: The poll tax mentioned in this Ar ticIe shsll be S1 50 upon each male in- habitant of this State over the age or q years and under the age of eo years who would not now be exempt by iaW !, provided, that those male inhabitants or the State who shall reach the age or
 45 years on or before the lst or Jan uary, 1903, shall not thereafter be re. quired to pay a poll tax. Such poll tax shall become due and payable on the 1st day of Ocsober in each year, ana
 become delinquent on the lst aay or the next succeeding February, but no legal process nor any fee or commls- sion shall be allowed for the collection thereof. The Tax Collector shall make returns of poll tax collections separate from other collections. The poll tax shall be applied exclusively to the sup port of the public schools of the county in which is it collected"
 Mir. White-The change in me sup stitute from that in the original Sec- tion consists in this: That after Jan uary 1, 1903. those arriving at 45 years of age shall be subject to poll tax until they arrive at the age of 50 years. That does not affect, however, any person who Is now 45 years of age. ana who is exempt, or who will be exempt on January l, 1903 so that 1t does not affect any person who now Is exempt from the payment of poll tax, nor any one who would be exempt on January 1, 1903. It was believed by the Com mittee and urged before the Commit tee with great force that this is really the only avaffabie arrangement. l say it was deternnihed by the Committee and urged before 1t with great force that after January 1. 1903, when the permanent plan goes into effect that the poll tax provision is the only thing that Nill give permanent relief to the country, and therefore the change was made.
 MT. Fitts (Tuscaloosa)-Mr Presi- dent, this to my mind is very dan- gerous proposition. This Is in one sense an increase of taxation, there Is no other way of looking at 1t. This is a very serious menace to the ratifca- ton of this Constitution. There are a great many men in this State who arc g years of age, 40, H, 43 or A years of age, who are poor men, and who have been looking forward already to the time and counting the years up to the period when they would be re- lieved of the payment of poll tax. Lit tie as 1t seems to men who occupy seats upon this floor, it is an import ant factor to men of little material substance, but Of considerable charac- ter in various portions of the hill coun- try of this State. These men have sser their brethren go under the rope, pass the age Of 46 and escape the pay ment of poll tax for the balance of their lives. They are almost up to that point themselves. They are looking for ward to the point where they them selves will be free, that within a year or two of the time when they would be free from it, these men have been expecting 1t. It is a part of the un- written law of the State. as old as the 
 breathe, that the working of the roads aud the paying of poll taxes ceases at 45 years of age. They have been look ing forward to it, taking 1t into &C., count in their expectations, it is a part of their unwritten law, part of the fabri,:: of the country and they expect to be relieved of it when they reach 45 years of age. There are possibly a number of these men approaching that age, who have been looking forward 10 this relief, and if you write down in the Constitution that they shall pay a poll tax for fifteen more years of their lives, 1t is serious matter, ani if IL is rot serious they allow their iInagi- nations to give i: a serious turn. it be- comes serious, and as little as you think about il, there are theusa nds of men In this State who are ranging about the age of 40, who will take this as matter to themselves, they will bring it home to themselves and they will say that the payment of a poll tax for fifteen years of my life "nen I was about to be relieved of #. wien I was just about to be freed from t. and it will put bad taste in their mouths, so to speak, and it will set them against the ratification of this Constitution. Now, Mir. President, IL does not meet thls objection in the least to Say that this is not tax that can be collected by law and that 1t is a voluntary con- tr'bution to the school fund. Is the highest tax because in addition to making 1t poll tax, you have made it qualification to exercise he tuf- frage. It Is useless to say that lie need not pay it, because if he does not pay It he disfranchises himself, and you put upon him collector strC nger than the strong arm of -he law when you restIan hlm from the ballot box if he does not pay it. It is an in- crease of taxation a violation of the Democratic platform, that taxes should not be increased by this Constitution Conceal it as you will it is a tax which he must pay in order to vote, it is tax which the collector cannot col lect from him, but which the law col lects from him before he can vote. It is an increase of taxation because no matter how little the increase Is, 1t Is an increase. It is not for us to judge how much increase the people will bear without a murmur, it Is an increase and in many instances, 1t is an in- crease from twenty-two dollars and fifty cents to twenty-four dollars, as the case may be. by men who are com ing close to the period when they would be freed from the further payment of a poll tax. It is useless to say patriot ism will prompt it's payment and inspire an approba ton of this article in the Constitution. Patriotism is good patriotism is connected with the pay AG aAwnN -G