The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-15
COMER'S SPEECH
is FULL OF VIGOR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE H.

the state was most thoroughly canVaSSed.
The vote of the people, no matter what
your office, had the same trend; there
was no such thing as a divided issue,
there was majority of sixty-seven
counties, there was a majority of ninety
six thousand for these great issues: so.
again, l say to you, on the platform of
the democratic party, the great white
mans party of the state, l stand with
yOu-it was made for us all. These things
have not been weighed by one man, they
have been weighed by two millions of
people, and as stated the verdict of one,
is the verdict of all; so. gentlemen, you
owe it to the patriotism of your fathers
and the generations to come to stand by
the principles of your party and your
people, and to enact these things into
law.
Not Alabama of Old.
Alabama today is not the Alabama of
old; formerly having cotton as the only
marketable crop, we have added coal
and iron production, and to these we
have added cement and steel. We are also
grading into lusty infancy cotton, lum-
Der, steel and iron manufacture, and see
the oncoming of a great mercantile in
terest Across the eastern horizon we see
the roseate bloom of the rising of inter-
state commerce; we are about to strike
loose the transportation bonds which have
tethered and taxed the business of the
state; we are about TO strike loose the
railroad boycott which has been placed
upon the waterways of our state, and are
going to make these great waterways
freight rate makers and freight carriers,
thus giving to the people of the state the
just use they are entitled to these, the
states greatest assets. We are going to
make it possible for every manufactures
in the state. whether of fertilizer, wheth-
er of lumber. whether of cement iron,
steel or cotton, to assemble the crude ma
terial within the state, and ship the fin
ished material through the state giving
them and the people the advantages
which nearness to the unfinished material,
and the nearness to the consumer entitled
them: and we are going to give our truck
rasers, whether of watermelons. straw
berries, cabbages, potatoes or what not,
the advantages that should come to them
from home market; and we are going
to give our manufacturers. producers,
users and consumers the reasonableness
and the business of that freight carriage
which inherently belongs TO every citizen
of the state. In other words, we are going
TO put the limitation of an equitable law
made rate, no matter what the class of
public service corporation, and insure to
the people and to them the full protection
of the law. The people of Alabama with
unequaled facilities for lntrastate BUSH
ness and interstate business, with lines
east and west, With waterways and the
geodetic conditions, carrying everything
by the trend and flow of gravitaton, and
through your own bounds, all of which
will make prospered conditions, If you
would but realize on the birth right of
the free. You do not need any appropria-
ton for this, it simply requires the prompt
discharge of duty in carrying out the just
demands of your state. The federal SUI
preme court has just sustained a rate of
31a cents on grain from Vicksburg to
Meridian, 167 miles. Compare that with
many times this price paid from the
waterways of Alabama The supreme
court has iust sustained a rate of l
cent a ton per mile on phosphates through
Florida. Compare that with the greatness
OF the charge that Alabama pays, and
this will give you some idea of what your
laws and your railroad commission can
and should procure for the citizens of
Alabama Everyone knows that the rail-
roads have maintained lobbies in this
state house for the purpose of guiding
the hand that makes the laws which es-
tabish their relation to the business of
the state. This is radically wrong and
should be stopped, their lobby should be
swept out of our state house and made
impossible; and. gentlemen. by your help
we will do II. Their agents have no bus
mess in here; let them, II they will go
before committees, give their names as
their agents. give their pay and whom
they serve. and then plead their cause,
and | can assure them before hand OF
the equity and justice of the treatment of
Alabama. They have got great property
and they have a great interest, but that
is no reason why 100000 people should be
subject to their unrestricted tax and their
unrestricted conditions on our business
There will be introduced bills correcting
all of this / commend same to your care
and enactment Again, there will be bills
presented embodying the safety of the
people in their contracts and method OF
business with these great corporations,
and method of settling claims and FUR
nishing cars and paying demurrage. There
will be bills presented to prevent the Civ
ing of passes to anybody except bona fide
employees. Certainly this should apply with
rigid enforcement to every employe of the
state. counties and municipalities. The
constitution has declared 1t bad because
OF its probable influence to give passes to
our judiciary and to our legislators; the
same reasons apply to other ella sses OF our
citizens. and we are recommending laws
preventing the giving or accepting of
passes, and in consideration of this great
saving to the railroad companies, l am
suggesting that the passover tariffs of the
state on all trunk and branch lines be
reduced to 2b cents, and on all short lines
to cents per mile. These measures ought
to be enacted for the safety of the car
rier and the people, because business can
not survive under unequal and onerous
conditions
1t is fully understood through the state
that our method of tax assessment Sc
cures very unequal taxation on individ-
uals on localities and on counties of
the state. and I am advising a state
board of assessors for the purpose of Sc
curing equalization of these great mat
tiers. / do not think you could pass a
better law, one that would be more far
reaching for fairness and for beneficent
returns to the state than to accomplish
this. The state has given many fran
chises to public service corporations,
which are valuable and the same assess
ment should be placed upon these as
any other property of the state. And
there are corporations with great holdings
of properties and magnificent display of
securities, and with tremendous shrink
age of their value when turned into the
tax assessor. Certainly, this needs the
equalizing hand of the state. The far
mers' lands are always listed, and while
they may not pay as high tax value
as they should, you must remember that
1t is they who are the burden-bearers,
the bone and sinew of the state, the
very foundation Of the state, and what
ever is left to them, still goes to the
upbuildng of the state but these other
escapes go from the state never to re-
turn. In the same manner large tim
Der tracts held for saw mill purposes
should be assessed on their valuation.
The tax value is in the timber, and as
soon as the timber Is cut. the value will
be gone.
Old Soldiers.