The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-10

best, but will prevent many an old fellow countryman from suffering. It must be very satisfactory to you when you con- slider that you have provided nearly three million dollars for the care of the public schools and the care of the old soldiers thus giving the very highest keep commensurate with the rev enues of the state to these two extremes of your cftlzenship-those historic bat tiers for our rights. the old soldier, the generation going out; and those coming battlers for our future, the youth of the land, the generation coming in God be with them both.
 Immigration.
 You have passed an immigration law authorizing the governor to appoint an immigration agent and providing the means for his compensation and his duties. Soon after this bill was passed the attorney general of the United States rendered an opinion regarding the federal laws then in execution and the one go- Ing into effect July l, 1907. The latter regulated immigration and limited the same and the execution of your bill, as think, making it practically of little avail, as after the 1st of July the ef- forts of the state would be limited to sim pie advertisement of the resources of the state, not allowing any direct per sonal inducements. These duties l thought might be discharged by the commissioner Of agriculture, and which are practically now under the laws governing that office. l will state that under the Act, I ap pointed MT. II. R. de1ol immigration commissioner and he went to Germany under the charge of the Tennessee Coal and Iron company, bringing over nearly one hundred German immigrants. These immigrants. I understand are first class and worthy, and we are watching re- suits with much interest This appoint ment was limited to this one trip, and there Is now no immigration commis- sioner for the state, nor has the state so far been out any expense. l refer the matter back to you. either for instruc- tions or for any notifications of the law that you may see proper, or repeal il. ] recommend the repeal
 Jamestown Exhibit
 Your provision for the Alabama exhibit at Jamestown came very late. I ap- pointed commissioners and with them made an effort to get up and get out a creditable exhibit for Alabama. After making several trials, the commission de- cided that the appropriation came so late that 1t was doubtful whether we could get up creditable exhibit, and declared the matter off, which was done.
 There was some little expense attached to the preliminaries but practically all of the appropriation is still In the treas nry unexpended: so that if we have not the exhibit, we have the money.
 Corporations In Politics.
 You have made a law preventing the unlawful use of money by corporations for political purposes, and when you con- slider how debauching this has been in the past, and how public service corpor- ations have used money taxed from the people to control the electorate and how many of our citizens were brought by the use of these funds under their de- bauching influences, you can apprecia te the importance of this law
 Franchise Tax.
 You have an annual franchise tax from foreign corporations: you have provided method to secure capitalized values from railroads. telegraph and telephone com panies, making 1t so that they shall pay taxes on their property in the same pro- portion of value that the farmer and bus mess men pay on theirs You have passed a law establishing a measure of damages for loss and injury to freight and other property, and a remedy for collecting same. Every shipper coming in contact with railroad or express com panes will recognize at once the impor- tance of this law. No man can calcu- late how many citizens of Alabama have sustained loss or Injury to freight and property, amounts frequently too small to bring suit for and yet by arbi- trary and systematic delays and conten- tons' have finally been beaten out of their claims.
 Ire intent of this law was to secure the collection of this class of claims by placing the onus of cost Of delay and suit where 1t properly belongs. and se- curing to the sufferer collection of their property value without the loss of the whole.
 Anti-Pass Law.
 You have made an anti-pass law re- quiring that our public carriers should charge everybody alike. and destroying the bad influence of the pass system aboI- fshing the practice of making one eias, of citizens pay not only their own way, but the way of the man with The pass.
 Railroad Commission Bill
 You have established rallload commis- sion bill and I call your attention to the fact that Alabama has been trying to pass this bill for twenty-seven years This Is practically the law of every ad- vanced state, and has been used for the protection and safeguard of the people. This law should have nean rn- acted years ago. By the failure of the state to establish an absolute re- straining power. the cupdlty of the public service corporation owners, absentee land
 
 erty and the business of the state at their own discretion and taxed at their own desire, this by the absence of a con- trolling power friendly to the people Freight rates are so arranged that 1Nac- tically every product of the state is shipped out of the state as raw material and every article of consumption of the state shipped Into the state; barbarous destructive, uneconomic condition void of every true statecraft and political econ omy. In addition to the above, we have the highest local freight rates and most arbitrary conditions of any of our sister states.
 The intent of this bill is for the rail- road commission to equalize and limit the charges of our public service corpora tions. and to 20 arrange freight charges cn the productions of the state, between the different parts of the state, to at least secure for the manufacturers and consumers In the state an equal pes mile rate for like distances to other sec tons; and If secured, most important ana valuable right. All of the above will give an inadequate idea of the im- portance of this law. and unsitnted cred 1t is due you for the accomplishment of this act.
 Demurraae Bill.
 You have passed demurrage bill This bill requires that the railroad compa anie es should pay cost for inadequate service, at the same time making the shipper re- sponsible for detention of the property of the railroad. This bill, taken almost entirely from the Virginia statutes. is not drastic, but secures both the inter- est of the carrier and the shipper: re- moves from the former the power of nlal<- ing arbitrary and one sided rules: se-