The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-20
MEASURE FOR REDUCTION
 OF ASSESSMENTS TABLED
Speaker Carmichael Takes Floor in Opposition to It.
Defends Course of The Legislature aud Declares He Has Voted No Money and Taken No Action
 For Which He h
 Ashamed.

By a vote of 43 to 37. the House tabled MT. Tunstall's bill to fix the assessment at 50 per cent Of the real value. yesterday afternoon, and upheld Governor Corners policy of establish ing a Tax Commission to make val- uation of all the property ir the State at 60 per cent of the cash valuation.
 The measure occupied more atten- tion than has any that hes come be- fore the Legislature during this ses- sion. It was argued upon by several of the leaders of the House.
 Speaker Carmichael himself took Q hand in the discussion. turning the chair over to Mir. Arnold. In his speech. he defended the administra- tion, declaring that there was nothing that this Legislature has done that he regretted or that he was at all ashamed of. He answered the charges that had beeu made regarding the appropria- tions and said he was sure there was not a man in the House who regretted the money that had been given to help
 
 Confederate Veterans, to the over- worked judges of the Supreme Court
 "The people want their taxes reduc- ed" he said, and when the work of the Commission is completed. that is just what will be done. but everybody will bear their, just share of the taxa tion."
 MT. Tunstall's bill was referred to as a bill that would place the affairs of the State in the Federal courts. It was said that the railroad and other corporations. under the Tunstall bill. would be able to go into these courts and declare that they were being dis eliminated against and that . judge would be able to tie up the taxes.
 It was decided that the friends of the bill were trying to throw obsta- cles in the way of the administration. and that they were trying to put the Governor in an embarrassing position
 Some of the members viewed the bill as being altogether in favor of the cor poration. and as against the rural property owners. These declared that what the present Tax Commission was doing would equalize taxes every. where: that 1t would not increase the valuation of the farmers property 5 per cent, but that 1t would make the people who had in the past been dodg- ing taxes come to time.
 Mastin Gives It sauietus.
 It remained for Mr. Mastin. the new member of the House from Montgom- ery>County. to put & duietus on the Dill by moving to table it. It was MT. Mastin's maiden effort In the speech making line on the floor of the House. and he met with a fatering round of applause when he had concluded. He said that no one heard the great masses of the people complain because of the taxes, because they had become used to the burden.
 He declared he stood on the floor of the House as a free lance, belonging to no interests save those of his people, that he was the puppet of no corpora ton; that he was opposed to the meas b; to his people with clear con- sciene.
 When he made his motion to table the measure. MT. Tunstall was instantly on his feet requesting him to with draw the motion. This he declined to do but later said he would do so In or der to let MT. Tunstali speak on the measure, provided that that member moved to table the bill as soon as he was through speaking. This MT Tuns- tall declined to do end the measure went to a vote
 Several other matters of importance were passed on by the House yester- 6av Ii was decided O pass the bill exempting water power plants from taxes for a period of ten years. and also to exempt from taxes manufactur- CTS oe calcium cyanamld Qime-nitro- gen).
 ein in jocular vein
 When the roll of committees was called only a few bills were reported.
 Mir. Arnold offered an amendment to the bill to fix the exofficio fees or the clerks of the circuit court in the small counties of the State
 His amendment provided that In counties assessable to the amount or s2.00O.O00 or less the fees should be $500, and from this the fees to be graduated by allowing $25 per each additional s1.O00.000 valuation up to ss,oOO000. For amounts above this the fees to be $500 The amendment was adopted
 No Ex-OmciO Fees in Big Counties.
 The bill was further amended on MT Johns motion. so that counties where the annual income from fees ex- ceed $10,00O no ex-officio fees should be allowed
 The bill as amended was passed.
 Senate bills were placed on the spe- cial order calendar of the rules com mittee.
 The introduction of new bills follow ed and occupied considerable time of the morning session. Nearly all were of a local character.
 The bill introduced by MT King. of Jefferson to regulate the administra- tion of the affairs of any municiple corporation which has absorbed, or its government extinguished by the re- arrangement of boundry line of anoth- CT city or town. was called by special consent and passed