The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-02


 Town. if not be wiped out. Amounts to the educational and benevolent depart hent foots up $1,1is.000. In that is in- rluded the public schools for which l have already estimated and deducting the public schools from that it leaves y42o. .00e for the educational and benevo- lent institutions, State institutions like those at Auburn and Tuscaloosa and The Girls Industrial School. Institute Dor the Deaf, Academy for the Blind. Tor Negro Deaf Mutes and Blind, In Sustrial School for Boys. A. and M. College, University and Normal col tueges. That foots up S42o.0e0.
 Now the general expenses foot up )547.00o and this added up with the other items above named will give you H.177. 900. These are the actual every lay expenses of the government. They Ire bound to come and you have to nave the revenue to meet them and you have but s1.0o0.000 left on the ba- Sis of the valuation ot property fur pished us by the Tax Committee. That leaves deficit of $1T7 ,o0O every year.
 Now. I have left out of the estimate the agricultural department Of S4I,OOO because I do not believe we can ?ount pn that for all time to come. l firmly believe that the tag license will be re- huced or repealed and that source of feevnua cut off.
 have left out the convict depart ment. And why? Because while 1t IS true there Is $125.000 to the credit of that fund but there is a great deal of expense connected with it. There is the expense of $114.000, hardly a profit of s25.000 and the history fthat de- pertinent in this State is that it won't make the revenue.
 MT. Cunningham-Can ask the gen. tleman a question?
 MT. Jenkins-You can If you wait uu- til I get through.
 Mir. Cunningham-ls not the expense of the convicts part of the expense or S550,000 and is it not a fact that the convict department is paying annually more than half of the deficit the stn- tleman is counting off?
 MT. Jenkins-Feeding the State pris- pners Is in that but the salaries Of the ronvict department are not, neither gre the costs. bills of the courts and main tenance.
 I say. Mr. President. that thero was time in the history of the state when the convict system did not pay revenupe but was heavy drain on the treasury. That time may come again because there are lot of people up in Jeifer Son County who have been contendins for years gone by that the convicts Bhould be taken out of the mines, and whenever you take them out or the mines there will come bankruptcy In that department instead of profit. That sentiment has been going on for years, and there Is no telling what the future will bring forth. The convicts may be taken out of the mines and put on the farms, and instead of their be- ing a revenue of S125, 900, they may cost the State $300000, as the State farm has cost us during the last six years. NOW I maintain that in making hgures ol the revenue for all time to come, that that sort of question should be elimln- ated and not allowed to come In. The wise and economical administration and successful conduct of the department in the last few years is no guaranty that it will be SO for all time to come. These are the figures and you cannot deny them. Take your pencil and work II out, and it will show just as l nave stated it. .-,x
 There IS another question: We have on the statute books law that mas been viliffed. abused, despised-I won say cursed-but it has met the con demnation of the people over the State and that is the back tax law. There is no question in my mind but that the time will come when that law VII be repealed; and when you repeal that law you are not going to see Vaiuatlons po up and stay up like they have ln the last four years. That Is going te affect the question, so Will the tag license probably be taken oh, so VIII the convict system badly admlnlstereo So will the expenses or comPIeN e.ee- tion machinery which We are pouho Ie have under our new Constitution. You are going to have new expenses you navar had before. It will probably cost the State $1O0,0 ,0O0 to hold the f1rs' election under the system that we are going to adopt. In addition to that there will be a falling off in the poi tax receipts of at least $5o,OOV' we have had $15O0o0 collected from thai source. but when you say to man "you need not pay the poll tax" there wont he one negro in a thousand that r,;u nav the poll tax, and the result will he that that fund will go down vou are face to face with these things and you must think about them. And fin reply to the gentleman from cham bers. who says we ought not to let oui state be shackled as she marches UT the hill of progress. I want 10 say Il you put a constitutional limit or sla and a half mills upon the feet or tna, fair damSGl dS SHc NolNS Nf e"N progress. you will shackle her So thai she cannot walk with the steady stride and even step she ought to. Let hel 20 on the road of progress untram' melled and unfettered. and walk ur hat high hill looking forward and up card without feeling the burden anc hackles of an unjust tax limit upor ner.
 question? .,,
 Mr Hefin-Did I make any remark ,hout shackling a damSel? l desire tC disclaim any intention of doing that.
 Mr Jenkins-I was merely using the 6rure the gentleman started. The gen tleman compared the State to woman and talked about shackiing her rect He would hardly compare it to man
 want to say as a State, We are en towing great prosperity such as wt have not enjoyed for many years 1T the past. but if you vote this proposi tion in here today you will see the sur of rrosnerity, which is now riding sC high and clear near it's zenith, soon be 1i1 to falter and waver in Its course and with sad and sorrowful counte nance. you who sit here will see 1t be gin to sink toward the west in de Cline from which 1t will be many year! before it returns.
 And another point right here and will close. There is not word, ther' ie not a breath that comes floating or the breeze from the people of Alabama
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