The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-01
SENATE PASSES MEASURE TO
 PROBE FERTILIZER TRUST'

adopted.
 Senator Thomas then took the floor tC make protest against the passage s10 q day for the members of legis- lative committee.
 of the resolution as-long as It carried
 Tt was my purpose to support this resolution but with an amendment which provides that members or tnis Legislature shall hold places of pro- fit created by this Legislature, said Senator Thomas, the proposed act Is in direct conflict with the Constitution. Senators. you are certainly famiiiar with the, provision of the Constitu- ton which declares no member shill accept an office of profit or truss created by the Legislature of which he is member It Is the evident pur- pose of this Senate to pass the resoiu- tion which declares no member shall this Legislature shall sit as an in- vestigating commission and receive ten dollars tlay.Can you reconcile that with the Constitution of the State of Alabama?
 If this Legislature can vote to pay members of its special committees slo a day why can 1t not vote to pay them $100 day? If 1t can vote to pay mem- bers e1o0 day, why can 1t not vote to pay them $1.ooo day7 If you can create one committee to sit at sl0
  create six committees of six members each to sit during the recess. and each member of each committee shall receive s10 a day? Suppose this very proposition should be made in the Sem ate. What great possibilities for trad ing there are in it. Senator "A would be told that if he supported the prop osition for the creation of committees each or the members of which should receive $10 day, he would be given a place on one of the committees. Senator B would be told the same thing and sc on through the member ship of the Senate.
 Commissioners to Get &4.
 .'This very thing is forbidden by the constitution. and you are endeavoring by this resolution to avoid provision of the constitution"
 Did you vote for Code Commis- sion, at slo a day?" Senator Thomas was asked.
 T did not" was his reply.
 Would 1t be legal and constitutional to pay members of the committee $i dAy?" he was asked.
 'ut would, and I would vote for the resolution. replied Senator Thomas
 When the afternoon session had re- convened. and before the final vote on the Leitf1 resolution had been taken,
  by which the $1O a day amendment had been adopted, should be reconsidered It was seen then that some sort of an agreement had been reached. and that the argument of Senator Thomas had had weight. The motion was adopted, and the amendment was killed.
 Then the original resolution was adopted by a vote of 20 to 9. Senator Lusk announced that 1t had been de- termined to amend the Code Commis- sion resolution so that the members a day. as provided in the original resolution.
 Approve school Appropriation.
 There were thirty-three members present when the Senate began its work.
 The bill to appropriate s26,oo0 for a State exhibit to the Jamestown Expo sition was given a favorable report by the Finance and Taxation Committee. ministration, and Is contained in the budget" covering all appropriations, which this Legislature is expected 70 make.
 The school appropriation bill with the Governors amendment was sent over from the House. The original bill provided that the annual increase in the school appropriation should. be- ginning with next year, be $350,00O. The Governors amendment fixed the appropriation for next year $300,0 ,0O0. providing that after that year the ap- propriation should be $350,000 annual ly. The Governors amendment was adopted with seven votes cast against 1t.
 Senator I4eith demanded considera- tion of his resolution raising a legisla- tive committee to investigate the fer tlizer trust. The resolution provided for a committee of five, three from the House and two from the Senate. to sit during the recess and look into the alleged trust. The resolution, after Senator Leith had addressed the Sem ate, was taken from the adverse re- port by a vote of twenty to ten.
 Senator Hinson offered a substitute making the investigation a part of the duties of the Attorney Generals off, flee. and also providing that the in- vestigatlon should cover the cotton mills of the State. This substitute was voted down.
 Amendments offered by Senators Gum. Blackmon and Thomas were in turn voted down. But the amendment fixing the amount of pay of the com mittee at $10 a day, was adopted. The same fortune awaited the resolution of Senator Merritt, providing that the
  Senator Thomas had just completed his argument against the unconstitu- ttonality of the $10 day pay for the members of the committee when the hour of adjournment arrived.
 "POny Circuit" Bill Corrected.
 In the early part of the afternoon session, Governor Conner returned to the Senate the Pony Circuit" bill, but the amendment which he submitted was not important. He asked the Sem ate to supply the words per annum" after the salary of s1,so0, provided for the solicitor. The words had been left out of the original bill The amendment was immediately adopted
 Senator Hamburger called up and had passed the Military Appropriation bill This bill, in It's original form carried the usual appropriation of $1 1000 for the annual encampment of the Alabama National Guard. The bill in the Senate Committee was so amended as to make the appropriation