The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-10

Tt failed to become a law Had 1t passed.
providing as It did for state bonds as
basis, the late bond sale would have
been al a better figure. You will have an
opportunity to vote on a bill providing for
state repositories at your present session.
i unqualihedly advise the passage of such
a bill when properly drawn In this CON
nection / am minded that the COnstitu-
ton does not allow the loan of the states
funds. This clause seems now to be I'M
fortunate
In this connection it might be well to
require of insurance companies doing
business in the state a deposit with the
state treasurer of state or government
bonds as in some sort. a security for the
insured in Alabama.
immigration.
Some practical plan should be put on
foot looking 10 the attraction to Ala
bama of desirable immigrants Some
thing has been done5 in the last year or
two by the railroads, land companies
factories and furnaces. The state govern
ment, while willing to do what 1t could
had no funds at its disposal 1t is prob
ably fair to say that we have received
during the past four years something like
ten thousand home-seekers from the con-
tinent and the north and west. The ma
tional government is spending a large
sum of money at New Orleans providing
an immigration station like the one at
Ellis Island and this will furnish better
opportunity for the south to secure labor
ers for its fields and factories than has
been offered 1t before bureau might
be established presided over by a practi-
cal person. which bureau should be fur
nished with considerable means. This
might be a charge on the state for only
such time as it should appear to the
governor that it is effective stream is
already begun to this state. Some little
assistance would keep it open and pro-
vide for its enlargement. There cannot
be before you many more important mat
ters for your attention than this.
Sale of New Bonds.
The bonded Indebtedness of the state
was s9,351 600 as follows: $96600O due
January 1906 ST. 4S7 600 due July. 1906 and
s954.000 due in 1920. Those due in 1906
January and July to the amount of S.
403.6 have been paid by the use of a
sum of money received from the sale of
s., 1903 COO. the premium on this last amount
BEING sufficient to pay for and retire
$300,600 of the debt. The whole debt has
been reduced by that amount. All of
these bonds to the amount of 81, 403, 900
except something like s3OO.0o0 of them.
have been cancelled and arc in the vaults
of the state treasury. l suggest that YOU
appoint a commission to see that they
are destroyed. The law does not now
provide for the burning of these partic-
lar bonds
l managed to sell 31s mond to take up
those due in January 1906. at 1.02. a
premium of two dollars on the hundred
This sale was made In November. 1905
l even hoped to do as well or better with
the bonds due In July. 1906, but caught
higher market. I advertised for bids
for fifty year bonds at 31s and per cent.
got only few bids for a 31a bond which
required the bidders for the larger part
of the 4 per cent to deliver of the pre-
vious January issue. In this open COM
petition I had offerings to cover about
three times the amount of bonds offered
I accepted and delivered the bonds to
those bidding the highest premium. The
accepted bids ran from a premium of two
dollars a hundred on a az bond to $4134
on n per cent bond. On the issue of Jan
nary. 1906 collected a premium OF $19.-
800, and on the larger two issues. A and
BIS. now combined into issue of AS
alone. was collected a premium of $319,-
ISL.
| seriously contemplated paying the old
C's, or the larger part of them. with tho
money lying idle in the trasury but
found on investigation had no authority
to do so. That plan promised a largo
saving of interest with the use Of unem-
ployed funds even If the legislature when
1t should meet felt inclined to and had
authority to Reissue them.
While the sale of the July bonds was
not altogether satisfactory at the time.
I have seen no day since when think n
better Did or even so good a bid would
have been offered money ruling very
high The annual interest has been re-
duced from SASS to s357.,J0t saving
for each year Of s9l ,230. This has been
done and the whole Indebtedness re-
duced from S9s57 600 to 80, 1000 AS to
the s300.60O in bonds retired let me say
that 1t is very probable you can IL you
see fit reissue this amount In bonds. Tho
constitutionality of such a project Is
however debatable. In the meantime the
interest on them has been saved
Besides this saving in interest and this
saving In the aggregate of the debt, I
found after paying necessary expenses
that l had on hand of the premium
money SOS, 707.9S, which ] have caused TO
be covered into the treasury. That the
journals may hold and keep the trans
action ] have thought ii prudent to fur
nisn in this message a brie4 statement:
Total amount received
as premium on C's...$ 10. $1,000
Total amount received
as premium on AS
& BIS ............. -. 319 71s.11-s3S9, OBS Il
Expenses
Lithographing 80. :. $9.0S625
Express .... -. 49,. 326s.OS
Expenses to New York:
Governor three times.
treasurer once. pri
vate secretary to
governor twice -. 1920
Advertising ...... -. 1900
Exchange -. ........ 1893 L. 1903
old bonds paid for
and retired .... $500 800 90
Total 80. .......... 1913 S3O13
Leaving balance to
cover into treasury 257o7 es
Capitol Extension - '--7~cvemens
AS Is known to W n '+ legislatu,e
made an appropriation nf $4,000 for
the Improvement of the state capitol build
ing and grounds and for the acquisition
by condemnation or purchase of any real
estate necessary or beneficial In improv-
Ing the present capitol grounds. >and for
the erection or acquisition of any neces-
sary additional building or buildings for
the use of the state The act created
capitol building commission. for the
purpose of carrying out it's provisions,
to consist of the governor. the attorney
general. state treasurer. state auditor.
secretary of state. with the director of the
department of archives and history as
secretary. The commission organized June
2S 1904 and at once entered upon It's
work. II would serve no useful purpose
to here detail the deliberations of the
commission. or to recount the stages
PASSED in reaching its decisions. Suffice
1t to say that the commission. In the
execution of the duties imposed has ac-
ouired for the state the south portion