The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-05
Increases Made OR Nearly Every Business, Some 4aub|ed and
 Others TrebIcd TOTAL LICENSE REVENUE WILL AMOUNT ID $268,OOO Water Works, Coca Cola, Daily News papers and Telephone, Telegraph
 and Express Companies
 Must Pay Heavily.

The miscellaneous committees report to the City Council was the feature of very interesting session held last night in the city hall The report is in the form of an ordinance setting forth the license schedule for 19OS This will lay over two weeks and be adopted at the next meet ing.
 It shows increases on nearly every busi- ness. at least one-third of the licenses having been doubled, some of them trebled. and number of new commodities taxed. The Birmingham Water Works Is raised to s2O,OOO from $15.o00, while the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company is one of the few left as be- fore, $35, 900.
 The license for Coca Cola bottling is increased from $25 to $500, while slo IS added to the soda fountain license for the retailing of coca cola. The daily news paper license is raised from S25 to $500, this being the largest proportionate change made in the schedule. The ex- press companies are raised s750 to $1oo0 The Bell Telephone company from s2Ooe to s25O0 The others are too numerous to mention, but are given in carefully pre- pared list below.
 The total sum raised from licenses as calculated on the number issued during this year will be about s26S,0o0 The new schedule makes an incerase over 1907 of $7S,646.
 The report of the miscellaneous com- mittee recommends the abolishment of et,- fc,x- of $S be levied. Here it is in full:
 Birmingham, Ala, December 4, 1907. Honorable City Council of Birmingham:
 Your committee begs leave to respect fully submit herewith an ordinance show ing suggested license schedule for the year 1908.
 In explanation of this schedule your committee begs leave to state that it is confronted with a very serioi/ question in raising the revenues of the eity for the ensuing year. It is necessary to consider the large sum of money which the city has in the past collected from liquor and kindred licenses, and which cannot be anticipated for collection next year.
 Your committee has also decided to rec ommend, and does recommend to this Council. the abolition of the merchandise tax heretofore levied in the city of Bir- mngham. To casual observer 1t might appear that the licenses proposed on mer- chants In the schedule submitted are out of proportion to some of the other H. cenceses: but when the fact that the mer- chants tax is to be discontinued is con sidered it will at once be seen that the instances mentioNed are not out of pro- portion.
 Your committee finds it impossible by change in the license schedule to raise all the money which will be lost from the liquor license and the merchants tax, and, in fact, does not consider it fair to levy this drain upon industry. Therefore it is decided that it will recommend to this honorable body that a street tax be levied upon the men of between the ages of IS and 50 years of s each; that the city attorney be instructed to draw an ordinance to this effect, and that this body take proper means for the enforce ment of its collection.
 If these recommendations are concurred in, your committee believes that with the reductions in the various city departments which will be recommended to you the financial condition of the city during the year 1908 will be sound.
 In conclusion, will say that your com mittee has devoted a great deal of time, and made an earnest endeavor to formu- late a schedule of license that will be just and fair to every interest
 Serious changes in our condition have made it imperative to revise the license schedule, and it is not unlikely that many objections will be raised if this report is adopted; but I am sure that any sched- ule adopted would likewise be objected to by some. The city cannot raise the nec- essary revenue to meet expenses and please everybody