The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-29
OPPOSES GREATER
 BIRMINGHAM IDEA
FORMER MAYOR E. J. ROBINSON OF EAST LAKE SUBMITS SOME PERTINENT QUESTIONS ON PRO- POSED LARGER CITY.
To the Edltor of The Age.Herald:

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 A word with reference to Greater Bir- mingham. We have watched with mis- givings the several moves made by your factional municipal board to obtain con- trol of the city; also, We have heard or seen in your paper the charges and the counter charges of graft, thief, liar. etc, banded by the several members, and we have also seen the work of the whte- washing committees, who were sent forth to investigate these charges. We watched the trend of events about the time Mayor Ward was touring Europe and what transpired on his return. We noticed the first effort to increase the license of the saloons and its failure, and the sec ond effort which was put forth by the men who killed the first move, and it's enactment into law; and, then, these same men taking the back track when the saloons spoke. We saw with what suc- cess Mayor Ward reasserted himself on his return from Europe and the love feast that transpired in the first council meet Ing thereafter, and the exit of MT. Parker and his appeal to the county courts and then on to the supreme court of Ala bama and, in the meantime, the Mayors efforts with the legislature of the state and when the Mayor had failed, and Mir Parker had succeeded, how they met and smiled, shook hands and congratulated one the other because of the work accom- plshed And we have watched the old and new board of police commissioners and their contention in the courts, the suspension of Chief Wier, and the general expectation now that the chief VIII go down and out and another be put at the head of the police force to regulate the saloons and the blind tigers for the year 19OS This is Great Birmingham. Can you make her greater by taking in more people and more territory to cucumber the present inability of the board to govern what they now have and them selves?
 We note that your present city govern ment collects $1 on the sl00 ad valorem and that they tax to death tho privilege to labor honestly to make an honest living to get money with which to pay current expenses. Why all this? Why not tax the incomes of the various offi- cials of your city by reducing salaries in order to make up some of the shortage caused by the loss of taxes on whisky?
 When your honorable Mayor entered oa his first official term he said that $25oo was enough to pay for the work of the office Now he gets s5o00 year for less work. Why not let him make his word good and receive a salary of $500? Why give a man 5000 to s12,000 year to col lect taxes? Why have an inspector or plumbing that only occasionally in- spects anything but his salary, and other departments equally as useless?
 We note that under your charter (sec7 tion 42) and the state constitution (arttele II, section 21O your city Is authorized to collect 50 cents on the $100 assessed for state taxes the previous year for general purposes; and, also, the amount, that Is 50 cents on the s1oo, seperate fund to be applied only to the payment of in- terest on the city's bonded indebtedness and to create a sinking fund with which to pay said bonds as they mature. Your Board of Mayor and Aldermen made oath to support these two wholesome laws. Have they used the special fund for tho special purpose for which 1t was created only? l am informed that the whole goes into one common fund and, after paying interest, the remainder, which Is consid- erable, Is consumed In paying current expenses. Not one cent of sinking fund exists notwithstanding these laws have existed for more than i've years. With all these conditions surrounding your city government. the outlying suburbs are asked to vote for Greater Birmingham, and to become part and parcel of you. What for? Jere King says because Greater Birmingham will give us sl, ,OOO, 900 government building, that the men who work at the court house may still do so that our children may play Tn the back yard of the High school and that we may have the privilege of paying taxes-sl in lieu of 50 cents on the $100. and that not 1 cent of these taxes will ever go to pay Birmingham's bonds. We wonder if MT. King Is more sincere in these promises than when he promised the people of the county and the suburbs, If they would elect him to the legislature. that he would not support measure for creating Greater Birmingham without re- ferring the matter solely to the people to be brought in, or the suburbs. l did not know until 1 heard MT. King and his mascot at East Lake on this subject that he had such a splendid building to offer us But when he said that not 1 cent of our taxes should be paid on Birming- ham bonds we knew from past history that he had told us the truth, for 1t will be consumed in current expenses. such as salaries, etc. Neither did we know before that night that the court house was special Birmingham enterprise. Had MT. King offered us the privilege of being taxed double what we now are and to have all of our privileges levied upon for the purpose of raising funds for the treasury of the city to pay its officials, and that in return therefor the suburbs would receive only utter neglect at all points, we could have believed him.
 Voters of the outlying districts, con- slider well what you get and what 1t costs. Respectfully,
 E. J. ROBINSON.
 East Lake, December 2s. 1907.