The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-15


 My. Graham-I would be glad to have that part of IL submitted at this time for unanimous consent. but the other part of 1t relating to line three we do not accept.
 The Presidsnt-The Secretary calls attention to the fact that 1t seems to be all in one amendment.
 Mir. Graham-I then make no further request. simply wanted to get the amendment before the Convention.
 Mir. Browne fTalladegal--I will state that when the amendment Is before the Convention. q division of the question might be called for. and In that way we could have vote upon the pro- viso and then vote upon the other proposition.
 heartily favor the proviso offered in that amendment. and personally. favor the balance of the amendment offered by the gentleman from Lauder dale, but I do not desire to discuss that question. desire simply to state that the Committee on Taxation Tn its investigation of the subject of lowering the rate of taxation in Alabama for State purposes. took into consioera- ton this question of the appropriation for schools. and in every calculation that the Committee made, they provided for eight hundred thousand dollars. at least for the public schools. They pro yided for the present one mill of special taxation for the public schools, and for an annual appropriation out of the gen eraI fund of i've hundred and nifty thousand dollars, and. as Chairman or the Committee, I desire to say that, in my opinion. the State can safely pro vide, and put 1t in the Constitution, that not less than eight hundred thous- Ap11 Annr0nriated the public schools annually.-after low ering the tax rate from seventy-five cents to sixty-flve cents on the one hun- dred dollars. That will leave, without any increase in taxable values. and without any increase of revenues from licenses, a surplus of at least one hun- dred thousand dollars year. But we know. MT. President, that taxable val ues have increased this over last year over twelve million dollars: the increase will probably reach fourteen million dollars. but will certainly be over twelve million dollars, and we should not lose sight of the fact that in 1907. If there Is not another dollar invested in cot ton manufacturing, we will then be taxing at least forty million dollars of cot ton factories. If we continue the present yearly increase in capital in- | vested in the cotton manufacturing business. which is nine million dollars a year. we will have at least an in crease of seventy-five millions of tax | able property from that industry alone in 1907. But. to be conservative, say that no more money shall be invested in that business, in 1907 we will then be taxing at least forty million dollars of capital invested in the manufactur- ing of cotton alone not now taxable, and if our rate of increase remains the | same rate that 1t has for the last i've years. we will have fifty or sixty mil lion dollars more. Tn other words, un- less you calculate upon panic, we will | in 1907 have, at the lowest figure, at least one hundred million dollars more taxable property in Alabama than we have at the present time. That would yield a revenue of about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If the bonded indebtedness of Alabama be re- funded in three and half per cent interest bonds we will save yearly one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. There is no question about refunding the States bonded indebtedness, if is is done now. at as low a rate as three and a half per cent, and have no sort of doubt but that it can be refunded now at three and n quarter per cent. and probably lesss So there can be no question as to the ability of the State of Alabama to appropriate eight hun dred thousand dollars to the public schools.
 Now gentlemen say this does not pro- vide for scme emergency that may hap pen. Well, 1t Is owning altogether to the extent and to the character of that emergency. There will be surplus in the State Treasury, an actual as well as a bookkeeping surplus. of at least three hundred thousand dollars on the first day of October. 1902. It will prob | ably be more than three hundred thousand dollar, but certainly not less than three hundred thousand dollars. In addition to that surplus, against which there will be nothing charge able, there will be six hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars of actual cash balance in the Treasury, against which there will be oharseable an amount about equal to that, but it will not be payable out of that cash bal ance. for the reason that the receipts from licenses and taxes paid in Novem- ber, December and January following will be sufficient to pay those iiabili- | ties so chargeable against that actual cash balance, without touching any part of 1t. Then, if. in 1903. you have panic, you would he ready to meet 1t with one million dollars. You would have your three nunQTeu tHouhduu uoi- lars of actual surplus. and you would have, in round figures, six hundred and lseventy-hve thousand dollars of cash surplus that you could get along with out, which would be more than suhi- cient to meet the liabilities chargeable against that cash balance without re- course to the taxes of the next fiscal year.
 Now, if such a catastrophe should happen that you could not collect your taxes. you would have this six hundred ana seventy-hve thousand dollars of cash balance and three hundred thous- and dollars of surplus, and you would not need the taxes until that amount was exhausted.
 MT. O'Neal Q4auderdale) - What about the amendment? | MT Browne--I don't care to discuss the amendment, but will say that personally favor the amendment. When the report of the Committee on Taxa ton was up, a howl came from some of the press of Alabama that we intended to cut down the school appropriation, and for the purpose of showing the good faith of the Committee on Taxa ton. I introduced an amendment to the Constitution and sent 1t to the Com mittea on Education. providing that we should never appropriate less than one mill and five hundred and nifty thousand dollars. which Is, In sub stance, this amendment of the gentle man from Lauderdale. It protects the credit of the State. and 1t provides that the Legislature shall never appropriate