The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-23
lMR, CAREER RULES
 THAT NEW LAW Is NOW IN EFFECT Counties May Avail Themselves ofFundS for School Buildings REACH DISTRICT CAN GET
 TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS Aid Is to Be Extended Only to Com
 munlties Outside of Incorporated
 Towns--RuIIng of Attorney \ General.

Montgomery, April Especial )-Attor- ney General A. M. Garber has ruled that the law giving ss7,OOO a year for new school buildings goes into, or went into, effect at once. Hence those districts of the state where school houses are build ing, or about to be erected, can avail themselves of the $2OO which the state Is willing to give to help the work along
 Those counties which do not use all the appropriation one year may get it the next. For instance, a county may use only a small part of the s1OOO allowed 1t in any one year. That being the case, 1t has the balance going over to the fol- lowing year. In case a county did not take any of 1t the whole thousand would be carried over to the next year
 It Is also held by the attorney general that the term 'FuraI' school houses means that the aid is to be extended only to communities outside of incorporated towns. villages and cities. It is further held that any district having a school house begun when the law was passed may have the help, and in such cases 1t is not entirely necessary that the whole amount of two acres be ownes.
 An interesting feature of the opinion is that 1t is held that deeds of lands for school buildings must be made to the state in fee simple. for the state to have and to hold for all time. to sell or other wise dispose of. It is also advised that the superintendent take charge of these deeds and that they be uniform. Also that no warrant be drawn for any aid by the state until the deed to the prop erty is properly made out and approved by the state superintendent.
 The opinion is given to State Superin- tendent Harry c. Gunnells and will be his standard in the distribution of the money. This will be a great help to the country districts, as the money will be outside the towns and apply in the territory where help Is most needed, and aid in making the cause of education grow and pros per in the rural districts. Superintendent Gunnells believes it will be the incen- tive to at least 5000 school houses in the state before the end of the year. where there are none now, or where there are very poor ones.
 The opinion in full follows:
 .sMann pressing matters and an unusual volume of work in this office have rem dered the delay unavoidable in responding to your request contained in your letter
 
 certain provisions of the ''rural school house act" approved March ?, 1907. proceed herewith to render you an opin- ion upon each inquiry:
 Purpose of Act.
 '1 The title of this act Is as follows: ITO appropriate annually s67,0o0. or so much thereof as is necessary to aid rural school districts in this state to erect or to repair public school houses Its pur- pose is clearly expressed in the above title, and it's character is distinctly re- medal. There is nothing in the body of the act as to when 1t shall become op erative It cannot be contended that in the absence of a specific direction on this point there existed any legislative intent to postpone the operation of this act to a future date. It is well settled that unless a different time is specified, statutes take effect and become opera tive from the day of the approval by the governor. Phoenix Carpet company ys. Murphey, 8. Ala. 119 Therefore 1t Is man. fest that this act became effective on March 2, 1907, the date of tts approval by the governor. and I so advise you.
 '2 It Is clearly the purpose of this act to render aid only to rural school dis tricts in the erection and repairing of public school houses, and the provisions of section ? expressly exclude any school district a part of which lies in an in-