The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-08

l | less there was more money now Tn the l treasury than two years ago.
 Why should be put this off?" asked Mir Arnold in concluding. "The oppor- tunity is ripe for it. If the finances are l not ready the bill provides that the Gov 1 ernor can put stop to the appropriation. | If the State is not able to pay for the | building, pray, tell me when it will be able?"
 | MT. London of Jefferson made a brief but telling argument for the bill "The author of this bill. said MT. Lon- don, brings before us what the lawyers call a self-proving exhibit. We have | only to look around us to see the merit | that Is in the bill. The Capitol Is con- | fessedly insufficient for the needs of tine | State Government. It is confessedly put of repairs and it is sonfessedly not a | source of pride to the citizens of the | State"
 He declared that it was wel1-knowa to | the members of the House that there was not so much as a single room in the building where committees might meet. | The chairmen of committees had to | search continually for places for the as- | sembling of their committees and they had often to throw themselves upon the generosity of local lawyers for the use of | their offices.
 | London Praised Jelks. | He praised the business administration
 of Governor Jelks, and said that the Gov
 ernor, in the bill, had assumed the re- | sponsibility for the improvement He | had heard the cry of poverty, he said but
 he placed no cred,nce in that cry. He said that Alabama contained about 3S- GOO, 000 acres of land, but with all its min | eral and agricultural wealth. 1t was only | assessed at 8 an acre. The State, he | declared, was not poor. but, he said, as
 long as the present system of tax assess ment prevailed, the cry of poverty would be heard. He said that the contents of | the Capitol building were more than | double the value of the building and he urged the Legislature to take the proper steps to preserve the valuable books and l records.
 MT. Starr of Dallas, in beginning his re-
 marks, said that the question before the
 Legislature was one involving the honor
 and integrity of the people of Alabama
 and its history. He reviewed briefly the
 history of the Capitol from the session of the Legislature of 1s44 and 1s45, which decided that the Capitol should be moved I from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery. The
 original building had been constructed on
 ground dorated the State by a leading
 citizen of Montgomery, and the building
 had been constructed by patriotic citi-
 zens who. led by Colonel Charles T.
 Pollard and Colonel A. J. Pickett of
 Montgomery. Lad subscribed to the bond
 issue of S5.000 for the building The
 original building. he said, had been de-
 stroyed by fire, December IA. 1S4S. Continuing, the Dallas Representative said the Legislature had, on February II. 1S49, appropriated $60000 for the con-
 struction of the present building, Since
 then the State had only appropriated $-o,- GOO for the annex to the structure
 Patriotic Montgomery Citizens. The first building said MT. Starr,
 was erected without the cost of a dollar
 to the State. This magnificent tribute
 was laid at the feet of the State of Ala
 bama by the patriotic citizens of Mont | gcmery."
 The State of Alabama, declared Mir. Starr. had spent less than $2,00O a year on its Capitol He took no stock in the cry of poverty and lack of money. If there was fault in the assessment, as there seemed to be, he said 1t was not the fault of the State but the fault of other | officials and the fault of the legislators He contended that because assessments had been neglected was no reason why the Legislature should neglect the duty Of caring for the States property. The failure of County and State officials to | discharge their duty, MT. Starr said, was no reason why the members should get up on the floor and cry poverty. There exists in the State Capitol" | said Mir. Starr, "a most unfortunate con- | dition. Not department has adequate room for the dispatch of its business and there Is no place for the expanding in- terests of the State. The demand for more room constantly addresses itself to the State officials. We owe 1t to the | State. we owe 1t to posterity. we owe it to the illustrious company of men who have preceded us, to make a provision for the decent preservation of the laws and records of Alabama. As patriotic | citizens we should rise to the necessity of the occasion"
 Came Near Being $2oo,o0o.
 At the conclusion of MT. Starr's re- marks MT. Curry of Pickens, moved to lay the Arnold amendment on the table The most sensational vote of the ses- sion followed. The fate of the S20O00O ap- propriation was decided by three votes
 The vote which was taken with the mem bers standing resulted in 46 ayes and Al nays. and the amendment was tabled. | That amendment having been disposed of MT. Lusk of Marshall, offered an- other. providing that the appropriation should be S50.000. He said he favored the plan of disposing of the appropriation as ! OulAAIleu III tIlS DiLl
 MT. Lusk declared that the amount pro- posed in his amendment would renovate
 the Capitol until it would be amply suffi-
 cent for the demands of the State for the
 next twenty years. He said that he
 would make a plea for the men with the
 blow handles and picks who were not l here to speak for themselves. The citi-
 zens of Montgomery, he said. had cheered
 the periods of the gentlemen who had
 spoken for the large appropriation, but 1 the men In the country were not there to
 applaud when their side was presented.
 He said that 1t had been asked where
 was the money coming from for the ap-
 propriatlon and that question had not
 been answered.
 Prodded Lusk with Questions.
 Mir. Lusk was interrupted by MT. Du- l Rose of Jefferson, who intimated that a
 large part of it was coming from Jefter-
 son County. where in four days the Tax 1 Collector took in more than Sl920O
 Does the gentleman" asked MT. Eos
 ter of Tuscaloosa of Mir. Lusk. propose
 to take the appropriation and divide it among the men between the blow ham | dies and the men with the picks?" | Mir. Lusk did not give MT. Foster a direct reply. but continued his argument.
 He said that he had done what he could