The age-herald., 1902-01-25
Attorney Blackburn Says t is a Trust Fund for Pub
 lie Schools CHARTER GIVES CITY
 POWER ID LEVY II Does Not Believe the New constltu- ton Violates This-DIscusses
 Some Other Interesting Phases of Case.

MT. Felix M. Blackburn, the attorney, who served notice on the city officials not to turn over to MT. J. B. Francis the county tax collector the money collected by the city from poll taxes was asked yesterday the reason for this action.
 MT. Blackburn stated in full the legal status of the matter saying among other things that this money paid the city was for the public schools of the city and was trust fund. That the mere fact that it had been paid over to the county tax collector did not change its char acter and that 1t can be recovered for the school fund in a proper action.
 Asked as to whether an effort would be made at the coming elections to throw out the votes of those who had paid poll taxes to the city MT. Blackburn said that he knew of no organized effort in this direction at the present time, but that something of this kind might be done. In speaking of the matter Mir. Blackburn saidi
 CITIZENS TAKE ACTION.
 Tn the first place. desire you to cor rect the statement that I entered pro- test against the city turning over the money to the county tax collector as a citizen of Birmingham. The facts are the firm of Powell & Blackburn have been spoken to by a citizen, a tax payer of Birmingham, with view to taking some steps to prevent the city from paying this money collected for poll tax to the coun- ty tax collector. Our client is a patron of the pIblic schools of Birmingham, having three children now attending the schools, and not wishing to see the public school fund diminished or lessened in any way, he desired to have the city enjoined from paying over this money.
 Tt is contended by some that even though the legislature has granted the city of Birmingham in it's charter the power and authority to levy and collect a poll tax, that this act is unconstitu- tional and that the city is, in fact, with out such authority. Our views are that conceding this construction to be correct. question which the Supreme Court in the recent poll tax decision pretermits, the payment by the respective parties of the poll tax was a voluntary act and the money having been paid could not be recovered by them and is now the property of the city of Birmingham.
 TO GO TO SCHOOLS.
 Another view of the question is that the charter of the city of Birmingham ex- al tIof go to the public schools, and therefore those persons who voluntarily paid this tax intended for 1t to be so applied and the city is a trustee of this fund for that purpose and had no more authority to divert 1t than they have to divert the proceeds of the bonds issued for the building of the city hall to some other channel This provision of the charter in relation to the collection of the poll tax by the city of Birmingham has not been declared unconstitutional It is the function of the counts to make such declaration. Neither the citizen who pays a tax, nor the official who received 1t, has the power or authority to declare the positive enactment of the legislature un- constitutional. and until so declared by the courts every intendment should be presumed in favor of the constitutiopality of all the acts of the legislature.
 'The position taken by the city of- ficials in paying the tax collected by them to the county tax collector, and the act of the county tax collector in receiving this tax, Is a virtural declaration by them that the provision of the city char ter in relation to poll tax collection by the city is unconstitutional. In our view until the act Is so declared by. a court of competent jurisdiction, the fund in the hands of the city is as much the property