The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-31
CITY IF ANN|STON
 MAY HAVE SUITS 4 Attempts to Collect Taxes from
 Local Banks JUNK SHOPS AFFECTED
City Council Joine Civic Improvement Society In Movement to Clean Up to the City-Bill Boards
 Are Excluded.

Anniston, March 3O.-(Special) )--The city of Annlston will in all probability be en- gagged in two litigations as Il result of the session of the city council last night,
 assuming an onense in an attempt to col feet a city, license from local banks doing "a savings business and being respondent
 in a probable suit to be brought by the Anniston junk shop ct al. requiring every
 person disposing of junk in this city 10
 set a permit of sale from the chief of
 police.
 Dr. J. L.. WilIle introduced the follow ing ordinance which was voted for by every councilman present, except Messrs. i Cooper and Higgins, who stated that they ! could not vote intelligently for the meas ! ure: Resolved. That the city attorney is authorized to bring suit against the different banks in the city for the purpose
 of collecting the license tax imposed by
 the license ordinance
 As it Is stated that the city cannot appeal from the recorders court, this suit 1 will be brought in the city court, if the
 city attorney finds that he has a good case. Here is the section of the ordinance
 in question: Each bank doing a savings l business or having safety deposit boxes
 or vaults for rent, any or all, where no
 other license is paid, S250,'
 !, Mayor Kilby opposed this, as he said
 the national banks were exempted by the 1 national government from municipal tax
 ation, and that for the city to bring suit
 would merely impose an unwarranted ex- 1 pense on both the banks and the city; 1 that there is not city in Alabama that 1 requires a license from savings bank l concerns.
 i Dr. Wilkie on the other hand declared I that the savings department of the banks
 are not under the auspices of the govern
 nent, and are, therefore, subject to tax 1 ation while if it is so found the city will | be annually enriched $75o.
 Junk Dealers.
 Rutherford Lapsley appeared before the l council in behalf of the junk dealers of 1 the city, and petitioned for the repeal or 1 amendment of the ordinance referred to l above, inasmuch it was a discrlmina ] ton against the small dealers in favor of l the larger corporations, and, therefore, /, unconstitutional on the ground of class 1 legislation. He stated that it materially curtailed the business of the junk men, l and intimated that it would be tested I in the city court.
 ] State Senator Fred l.. Blackmon was 1 present and spoke in favor of the ordi- nance, declaring that it was calculated l to lessen crime.
 The following ordinance was introduced | by E. P. Cooper, based on the state law l of like tenor: An ordinance amending 1 license ordinance No. 355, fixing the amount of taxes for 1907 Be it ordained l by the city council of Anniston that sec- | tion 1 of license ordinance No. 355 be I tnp 1 iy aI,r 1a1 ta cd l paragraph as follows: Fraternal organ i izations or social clubs at which vinous, i spirltuous or malt liquors are sold at re- 1 tail to members or others or furnished to members, $12OO"
 "cleaning Up" Measures. Several measures were passed upon di- rectly in line with the cleaning up' movement, scheduled for tomorrow, and, | in fact. with the entire mission of the l Civic Improvement society, the authors of
 the cleaning up campaign.
 l Among these were the ordinances requr- l ing the removal of bill boards from Noble | street by July 1, and making 1t misde- l meanor to erect any boards between Sixth l and Twenty-frst streets after that date. l Also, there was the ordinance requiring ], the removal of wood awnings on West | Fifteenth street. between the railroad l and Mulberry avenue. and setting a pen ] alty of $100 for the erection of awnings
 of that kind in the future, the ordinance I to become effective in thirty days. l Furthermore, it was decided that work l should begin next week on the opening of a new entrance to Edgmont cemetery l for the white, and later an entrance for | the negroes on the northwest side. Again | it was decided to pave the sidewalk on 1 the east side of Winner avenue, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets, the