The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-29
J. D. BEALE
 FILES A BILL Attacks Legality of a Maintenance Fund. ASKS FOR AN ORDER State Department of History
 Is Involved. Petitioner Declares That Law by Which Director Owen Has Drawn
 Moaey From Treasury
 Was Misco.strued.

l piii or complaint and an applica- | ton for an order restraining Thomas
 M Owen. Director of the State Depart
 ment of Archives and History, T. L..
 sowell, State Auditor, and J. Craig
 Smith. State Treasurer. from using cer-
 tain state funds. was filed in the City
 Court of Equity yesterday by Jesse D.
 Beale, well known retired business
 man of Montgomery.
 The application is based upon the claim that Director Owen Is drawing l from the State Treasury for the main-
 tenance of the Department of Archives
 and History $700 annually more than
 the Department is entitled to receive. MT. Beale in his bill states that he files 1t as tax payer of Alabama. He asks that restraining order be issued directing Mir. owen not to draw more than $2,500 annually from the State Treasury for the maintenance of his department and directing that Auditor Soweil not issue warrants for any fur ther amount and that Treasurer J. Craig Smith not honor any such war rants above the stated amount. A Question of Construction. The question raised by Mir. Beale. | several State officials say, is a con- struction of the general appropriation act and the special act creating the State Department of Archives and His- tory. The act creating the State De- partment of Archives and History spe- cially provided continuing appropri- ation of $2.5o0 annually, of which
 s1,s00 was to be paid the Director as salary and $700 was to be used as contingent fund for the expenses of the department. Two years later in the general appropriation bill an item pro- vided that the sum of $2.5o0 should be paid annually for the maintenance of the department for a period of four years.
 The question to be settled is whether the last appropriation is a cumulative appropriation, or was 1t intended to take the place of the first appropria- tion?
 It is not disputed that the department fpropriations.
 The Bill of Complaint. The full text of Mir. Beale's bill Is as follows:
 ITO the Hon<A. D. Sayre, Judge of the City Court of Montgomery, sitting in equity:
 Your orator. Jesse D. Beale, respect
 fully showeth unto your honor: ''First-That your orator is of full age and resides in the city of Mont gomery, State of Alabama. d fide tax payer to the State of Alabama
 upon taxable property owned by him and situated in said State. "Third-That heretofore to wit on the 27th day of February, 1901, an act of the Legislature of Alabama was ap- proved, entitled An act to establish a Department of Archives and History for the State of Alabama, to prescribe it's functions and duties. and to provide for ty,tn 1197), under the provision of which act la Department of Archives and History for the State of Alabama was created and organized. and Thomas M. Owen was constituted the Director thereof, and as such Director the said Thomas M. owen has remained in control of said Department to this time.
 "Fourth-That by the terms of the third section of said act, the salary of said Director was and is fixed at the sum of eighteen hundred dollars per annum. payable monthly as other State officials and said act in said section provides that "A continuing appropri- ation for said annual salary Is hereby made.
 "Fifth-That by the seventh section of said act 1t was provided That in addition to the salary of the Director Ihereinabove appropriated the sum of seven hundred dollars annually Is here by appropriated for the maintenance of said Department, and the Auditor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the State Treasurer for the whole or any part of the said amount In such sum and in such manner as may be authorized by the Board of Trustees
 The Additional Appropriation.
 "Sixth-That on to wit, the 3th day of February, 1903. an net of the Leg