The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-18
MAYFIELD CODE BILL ADOPTED House Passes Measure
 as It Stands. ONE AGREED AMENDMENT TO IT Bin for Printing of $500 Copies
 Also Adopted. Attempt Made By Lee of Houston to Incorporate PrOvfsion Eor Assessnent at Fifty Ger
 Cent of Valuation.

Declaring that the code of laws for the State of Alabama as prepared by Judge James J. Mayfield, and revised | by the joint committee from the House and Senate was the best code the State had ever had. and as perfect as any in the land for that matter. MT. John of Jefferson pressed for its adoption | without change in the House yesterday morning.
 He said that one might look at a screw in the fine mechanism of a watch and decide that slight change in it's | adjustment would not materially change | 1t. but that as 8 matter of fact that slight adjustment would in all prob | ability throw the whole works out of | gear. So 1t was with the code, he said. A skillful man had repaired 1t and | competent committee had gone care- | fully over 1t.
 Now that 1t was before the House for | adoption 1t was quite possible there were members who would think they could see some slight defect that would l be easy adjustment. but however slight l 1t might be, there were grave chances that such a change might spoil much l of the work that had been accomplished. The code was therefore adopted with | but one change, and that one change was accepted by two of the members l of the committee, one of whom was Mir | John. There was an attempt however, l on the part of Mir Lee. of Houston, to | have a definite tax rate inserted in the code, wi.Sl instructions that the officers | who had charge of the assessment l should fix the values at the rate or sixty per cent of the real valuation.
 There was some argument over this. | mainly between members who had not l addressed the chair. The result of the | argument was that MT. Lee wtthdre" l his amendment with the understanding that he would be allowed to bring ms | tax bill before the House at thSt ses- | sion. Later in the proceedings ne called for the reading of that bill. but | he had to do SO in the form of reso- lutiorl, which was referred to the com mittee on rules.
 The bill. authorizing the printing or the code and its preparation TOT oes ets hut few changes, one of these substi- tuting the Secretary of the State Tor ths Covernor. There will be $500 comics of the code printed.
 it was the intention of the House to take up the Municipal Code oiil yes, terday morning put It %as SsM should | to postpone 1t until the oAI SnouAu | come over from the Senate.
 | In order to provide for the printing ara nublication of official records no" in the Department of History ana Al l chives, a bill was ntroouceu |" House, as was another 10 sVe to .no Fair of the Gulf Coast Troplcal AS | sooiation. the sum of $6,OOO annuaiiy, oua half from the State and the other l from the county. ,,.s-
 The code was brought up early yes | ..naav morn,ng. The code prepared bv Judge James J. Mayfleld and wnich was revised by the joint comh'i'.ee | from the House and Senate durihs tne racess. is to go into force the thirtietn
 
 his proclamation of adoption.
 Mr. Tunstal of Hale offered reso- ,ution amending the code so that 1 neither the fees, commissions. or saia- ries of the officers now in office shall be increased.
 John Defends the Code. MT. John said he regretted to be un- | able to produce the manuscript m the House and show 1t. It Is in typewrt
 ten form. he said. and made aoou' eight blocks of paper. It would take from five to ten minutes to find any section wanted. Section 10. as Goes 1 Section 10 in ever code ever published | in Alabama, declares what acts aro re- nealed and what acts shall not be re-
 nealed. The committee determined l earlv in its session to raise no mans
 salary, and it has not been done. ana
 the members of the House can be as-
 sured that nothing of the Kind mas been done.
 The amendment to Section 10. he
 said. expressly said that no local law
 can be changed. Should such an
 amendment go in as that proposed by
 the gentleman from Hale, 1t woLld cause endless litigation.
 Section 8 of the Code, MT. John oaid.
 was there because the Code Committee
 was instructed to get in all the gen eral laws enacted up to the recess.
 This had been done and for the first ! time in the history of Alabama All the laws are in one book and any one who finds a law will find 1t there. l This code he said. was the best Ala ! hama had ever had. In cases where
 there had been conflicting laws, they had been reconciled so that the judges had but one law.
 There had never been an amend ment offered by any member of the | committee that had any semblancc oi personality in 1t. The committee had | worked from eight to ten hours day. and he hoped the House would not | allow any member to change any part | of the code.
 The code is perfect as 1t Is and | agrees in all its parts, the slighes' | amendment however small matter if might appear. would endanger ths | standing of the whole structure. MT Pitts of Dallas suggested that Section 1870 could be stricken out with | out doing any one any harm. MT | John and MT. Leslie of Tuscaloosa had a short conference and agreed this | could be done.
 Both Mir. John and MT. Foster were l on the Code Committee.
 | MT. Tunstall withdrew his previous amendment and offered a motion to strike out Section 1870. Section 1870 provides that no local fee bills shall | repeal general fee bills. The motion | to strike out was adopted.
 | Tax Assessing Amendment. Mir. Lee of Houston introduced an amendment requiring that all officers l who are connected with the tax as- | sessing department should assess at | 60 per cent of the valuation.
 Tt is necessary for the welfare of the people of the State that a different rate should be fixed than that which Is on the statutes" said Mir. Lee, in sup | hort of his amendment, By fixing the assessment at 60 per cent. at the end | of the year there would be an increase to the treasury of $2.000.ooo. while the increased appropriations would amount