The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-25
ASSAILS MORTGAGE TAX
ANOTHER CORPORATION IS NOW
 SEEKING RELIEF.
Mr. Campbell Came to Montgomery fin Interest of Republic Company to Confer Wlth~BOard of
 COmurOmiae.

With the determination to mandamus Hon. Samuel E. Greene. Probate Judge of Jefferson County, to file c deed of trust for $10,000,000 executed by the Republic Steel and Iron Company, of Birmingham, Hon. E. K. Campbell, counsel, came to Montgomery yester- day to appear before the State Board of Compromise to see if the court pro- ceedings could not be averted.
 On account of the absence of Cover nor Jelks, the Board did not hold a meeting. Nevertheless, MT. Campbell held interviews with State Auditor T. l.. Sowell and Attorney General Massey Wilson and will probably arrange to return to Montgomery at an early date when the Board can give him a hear ing with all present.
 The grievance of the Republic Com pany is somewhat the same as that of the Manhattan Trust Company and the Continental Trust Company. It is against the new mortgage tax law of Alabama which requires that IS cenfs shall be paid on every hundred dollars of the amount of a mortgage or deed of trust given to secure an indebted ness. The Manhattan Company, in pos session of $2,000,000 deed of trust made over by the Louisville and Nash vile Railroad Company. and the Con-
 
 trust given by the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company in the sum of $75,- 100000, are now attacking the constitu- tionality of the State Rw.
 The attack which Is threatened by the Republic Company, however, would assume different shape from either of these. Probate Judge Greene, of Jeff ferson County, refused a few days ago to record mortgage for $10,000, 900 be- kA A1 kfa tax on this amount It is understood that Counsel Campbell at first purposed to petition for a mandamus to compel the Probate Judge to record the mort gage, but later decided to approach the State Board of Compromise with a pos sihle chance of reaching some sort of agreement
 The form of attack being made on the mortgage law by the Manhattan Com pany Is familiar to Montgomery, for it was in the City Court here that suit was brought by It's counsel recently to recover $3.000 fees paid on the deed of trust filed with Probate Judge J. B.. Gaston. Judge W. H. Thomas gave a decision. upholding the law.
 In the case of the Continental Com pany there Is a suit now pending in the United States Court for the District of Maryland brought by the State of AldDdHld tO IeCOVeT plIS,OUu OI IeSS dA~ legged to be due on the deed of trust filed in Russell County. The Manhat- tan Company's case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Alabama, and it Is now a race between the two actions as to which will finally settle the con- stitutionality of the law.
 There Is some equity in the case of the Republic Company as contended by MT. Campbell He yesterday expressed a willingness to the State Auditor and the Attorney General to pay the stat utory tax on $3,000,00 of the $10,000,- 900 secured by his company's deed of trust. He offers to pay this because as he alleges, the property of the com pany in Alabama put up to secure the indebtedness for improvements they are about to undertake, is not worth more than $3,0O0, 900. The rest of the prop erty lies without the State For this reason they argue that they should not be required to pay the mortgage tax on the whole amount, making the total fees $15,000, which is a considerable amount.
 It was these menaces to the general revenue law of Alabama that caused Acting Governor Cunningham. when he was in the chair. to say he would call the Legislature in extra session if the law Is not sustained.
 There has never yet been a compro- mise, so far as known, on the mortgage tax. If the Republic Company suc-