The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-29
Adjourned Before Definite
 Vote Was Taken.
Measure to Increase Pay of Chief Executive from $3, ,ooo to 36,ooo Precipitated . Protract-
 ed Debate.

The House of Representatives divided very nearly even on the proposition to increase the salary of the Governor of Alabama from 5000 to $500 year and after a protracted and rather warm de- bate adjourned yesterday before any defi- nite vote on the bill had been taken.
 The bill went over until today leaving both sides hopeful. The advocates of the measure claimed, and 1t was asserted, that the vote which apparently favored the postponement of the bill, was not a test vote inasmuch as several members who voted for the postponement stood for the bill. It was further said by the friends of the measure. who were quite active yesterday afternoon and last night, that several of the members who voted yesterday to table the motion to postpone would today support the bill.
 The bill, as originally introduced in the House by Hon.. A. 8. Lyons of Mobile, raises the salary of the Governor from 8 3,OOO to 5000 and 1t carried the further provision that he shall be allowed $l.o0O a year for contingent personal expenses. The latter provision was cut out of the bill by the committee. Its action was accepted by MT. Lyons and the commit tees amendment to that end was for mally adopted.
 Lusk Fixes 1t at $4,oOo.
 Representative Lusk of Marshall offered an amendment reducing the salary as named in the bill from 5000 to A,000.
 MT. Benners of Jefferson moved that the Lusk amendment be tabled and the ayes and nays were called for on the Ben ners motion. The vote was extremely close when the roll call was finished. It was stated that the vote stood F for and 47 against the motion to table. hut one or two Representatives. before the announcement of the vote, changed from aye to nay, other Representatives who were absent at the time came in and de- sired to be recorded as voting or the proposition and several members charged
 The vote as announced was 50 for tab ling and 47 against.
 Representative Bogart of Jacxson said that he thought It advisable that the members should be given ample i'.re fon the consideration of the bill. There were, he said, two propositions before yhe Leg islature affecting the Chief Executive. one providing for the enlargement O. the Capitol and buying of additional g1o und and the erection of a Govern prs Man. sion: the other providing for the raising of the Governors salary from $500 to 5000.
 ''The members of the House, said MT. Bogaart, should be given :'une to' study these two questions and I move that the consideration of these bills be made the special order for noon of the second Tues day in February"
 MT. Lyons of Mobile moved to table the motion to postpone. Before the Lyons motion could be put MT. Lusk asked that the motion be withdrawn that he might briefly address the House, but Mir. Ly- ons insisted on his motion.
 The motion to table was voted down there being 40 ayes and 50 nays.
 Be Cautious Says Lusk.
 Mir. Lusk then spoke on Mir. Bogart's 8 motion to postpone, favoring that propo- sition. MT Lusk declared that while he was in favor of the Governor being paid salary commensurate with the dignity of his office. he did not think that the State was at this time in a position to make an increase of 5000 in the Gov ernor's salary. He said that the State, in it's anxiety to meet the necessary ex- penses, had adopted "the drastic back tax law" The members knew. said MT. Lusk, that there was now on the desk of leach one of them a copy of the most strin- gent revenue bill ever drawn. This State. he said, was going to the homes and farms of the people of Alabama to main- tain its credit.
 Tt is time to go cautiously" declared MT. Lusk. "It is imprudent to make haste.'
 Hon. Hubert T. Davis of Etowah ex- pressed himself as unqualifiedly fin fla vor of the bill raising the salary of the Governor. He reviewed the work of the Constitutional Convention which recom- mended to the Legislature the raising of the salary and said that it was the sense of the Convention that the present salary was inadequate. He remembered. he said, Gov. Thomas G. Jones standing upon the floor of the Convention and recounting the demand made upon the Governor and his embarrassment at having to serve at the small salary. It was only necessary, said Mir. Davis, to go over the list of the States and the salaries that they paid their Governors to show that Alabama paid one of the smallest salaries in the list. Some of the State officers and ju- dicial officials he said, who hold posi- tions of far less dignity, were paid great CT salaries.
 Advocated by Maner.
 Mir. Maner of Montgomery protested against postponement.
 This" he said, lis no new matter