The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-19
.TWO-CENT BILL
 IS HELD BACK 4
 Printer Delays Action of
 Senate. MEASURE COMES UP MONDAY Proceedings in Session Indicate Possible Opposition. MT. Blackmon Announces He VIII Ask for Reconsideration of Railroad Question--Says It Is Uncon-
 stitutionaI.

The Senate of Alabama yesterday had its mind made up to take the TWO cent Passenger Rate Bill off the Calendar, amend 1t so as tS fix the passenger rate at two and half cents. and send 1t over to the House. The Senate was prevented from carrying out It's pur- pose by the circumstance that the bill was in the hands of the printer. and nothing could be done about 1t until Monday. when the next session will De held.
 The Senate, in its session yesterday, took no other action on any of the ad- ministration railroad measures which have been in the hands of the Com mittee on Commerce and Common Car riers, except to order that thousand copies of the railroad measures pc printed for distribution.
 Chairman overton has announced that a public hearing of this commit tee will be held Tuesday afternoon :, | This public hearing will be the chief | incident during the present Legisla- | ture of the passage of the administra- | tion bill, unless something unexpected should happen.
 | The proceedings in the Senate yes | terday indicated there might be some parliamentary sparring over these measures, and that after all some in l terest and excitement might accompa- | ny tHEAN PdSsS6S ~AAONSN~ WY | and Senate.
 1 Assessment Law UnconstitutionnI. l Senator Fred L.. Blackmon, yester- I day. as an instance in point, announced l that there was something constitution ally wrong with the bill which the Sem 1 ate had passed on the previous day. | and he notified the Senators that he
 would move Monday to reconsider the | vote by which 1t was passed. This Dill l is the measure which authorizes the | State Board of Equalization, wh9n 1t | comes to fix the tax assessment or railroad, telegraph and long distance telephone companies. to take into con. | alteration the New York stock market | quotations on the stocks and bonds oi | the railroad or other corporation, and at the same time to take into consid- eration the sworn statements made by l the companies to the State. Railroad Commission, whenever the comission undertook to regulate its rates. Senator Blackmon said that the bill was unconstitutional, and the Senators would no doubt agree with him, when | he had drawn their attention to it which would be done when the motion
 came up for final action.
 Senate Bill Number 1, which changes
 the present system of apointing ths
 pages and other employees of the Sen
 ate, yesterday was given final pas l sage In the senate. IulS IS tHS piiA
 which amends the statutes so that thu
 President pro tenn of the Senate. car | appoint those employed. The meas
 ure, on It's introduction, had a specla
 interest because 1t was believed to con
 tain an echo of the first fight of tht
 Senate, the one between the President
 pro tenn and the Lieutenant-G Governor over the question of naming the com
 mittees. It was believed that possibl.
 some of the present employees appoint
 ed by President Pro Tenn Thomas might lose their places as soon as the
 bill had passed.
 T Present Employes Not Affected.
 But this fear was set at rest by Lieu
 tenant Governor Gray when he was 1 asked, by Senator Reese?
 What effect will this bill have on
 the tenure of office of the present force Il of employees"
 T will tell the gentleman from Dal- T las, that It's passage will in no way effect those employees of the Senate
 who have been appointed and are al Il work"
 Il With that, the bill passed, although Senator Blackmon tried unsuccessfully