The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-06


 1 ticular class likely to be injured. There 1 are hundreds of farmers, 1t is reported, who have borrowed money at cheap rates | on long time to improve and develop prop erty. After the first payments are made. 1 the borrowers being substantial men, the | companies do not care how long the loan 1 runs, preferring the good loan that sticks l to going out after another As conss- I quence, many of the mortgages have be- come due and the companies have the right to call them at any time In many | cases such call means the loss to the farmer of his place, as he cannot get | the money from his bank in most cases, | and there Is none to be had from the out 1 side.
 Laws Were Condemned. ] Captain Forbes says that half of the 1 time of the meeting was taken up in the l effort to begin a campaign to reach tine l members of the legislature in opposition l to laws that are drastic and hurtful 10 I business. All the delegates were instruct ! ed to get busy with the members, and in- I duce them to repeal the money tax law and fight the insurance proposition. On these two the energies of the business
 
 l there is more hope in defeating them than l there Is to any special affirmative move ment at this time. It is pointed out that 1 Georgia, the most progressive state in l many respects in the south, does not tax l foreign money at all. In fact, it Is said 1 that less than half a dozen southern l states do.
 l Captain Forbes hopes that every mem- Der of the legislature will read the papers Q mo fov an1 ha if1SIt ance bill in time to vote on the two. They 1 will be put in the hands of every man in 1 order that he may be informed with re- l gard to the effects of the first law es | pecally. The effect on the country would | be disastrous If the loans now out were | called. One man of Decatur tells how he borrowed $15,000 for five years, provision that 1t might be called at any time with | three months notice. Though he has had | 1t less than a year. call has been made, and he will have to get the money else l where or suffer great loss. The banks | are not able to meet the demands for | money and 1t must be secured from the l outside.
 Birmingham Situation. Captain Forbes was especially inter ested In the effect upon Birmingham, built almost entirely upon borrowed capital. He l was told that number of big buildings were. enterprised just before the passage | of the law, but when the bill was en- | acted the money was recalled and the | buildings were not erected. The result | was great loss to Birmingham, the del | egates asserted and the turning to other l states and cities of money that had start | cd to Birmingham.
 | It was also shown at the meeting th 1t | much money had been borrowed from the | outside at Az and per cent. Montgomery 1 has lot of such money, made possible by | the low cost of placing it. To prolong the l tax measure and enact the insurance bill would be to not only keep other money | out, but bring about recall of the loans | so made. Captain Forbes said that the | business men thought this would be dis astrous for the reason that with rapidly l developing country there Is plenty Of room for investment of idle money in other states.
 With regard to the insurance bill it was developed that vast amount Of money is now loaned in the state by the com panies It was also argued that to en- act this bill would drive the companies out of the state as was the case in Texas Such action would mear. great loss to the state. @
 Business Men United. Captain Forbes Is impressed with the oneness of purpose that now exists among the Alabama business men. They seem to be fully convinced that it is time for all to work together to the common good. There Is marked prosperity everywhere, and 1t is hoped to prolong it with activity in development and the keeping down of inimical legislation. He thinks that If the loan tax bill Is defeated and other bills that have features about which the busi- ness men are complaining kept off the books, the good times will be carried on for many months and years.
 The importance of conservatism is urged by the business men. They may not think that the tax bill Is so bad as 1t Is made out to be, but those who have money to loan think it is and the effect is the same. They can place the funds In other states where there is orestriction. For this reason the commercial interests have handed together to impress the members of tn legislatur If possible that the law ought to be repealed Let us do every thing we can to get money into the state, said Captain Forbes, "along with hign- class immigrants, and let the outsiue world know that we want the peopie ol other states to invest here and make this their home, secure from any burdens that are not justified by equity and good Judgment. as well as the strict letter oi the law"
 Commission Government.
  Captain Forbes is deeply impressed With the proposition suggested in paper py F. P Glass of Montgomery, on munich pal government by commission, the paper giving new insight into this ldea as carried out in other cities. He thihks that the municipal bill to be passed by the legislature should give every city the right, if it cares to exercise 1t, of re- storing to the commission form of gov ernment.
 Another paper that made strong lm- presson was that of H. c. Jones of Mont gomery, on the water powers of the state. A paper by c. H. Greer of Marion, on tobacco culture. also gave the mem bers much information that they had not before known. MT. Jones told of the out look in the state for power development and made showing that was astonish- ing with regard to the possibilities.
 In his paper on tobacco MT. Greer re- called the excellent weed that had been